Coop design question.

[mynewromantica]

Hello!

I am trying to design a coop for my mother-in-law who is wanting to get in to raising chickens. The problem is I don't exactly know what the coop should have. If someone could just let me know what a coop for about 10 chickens should have that would be great.

Thank you so much for your help.

 

[annek]

Where in the country are you? Depending on your weather is what type of coop you should look at. You want it to be 10chickens x 4' so at least 40' inside room but if you are in a colder climate you want more. You also need nest boxes, roost, and some type of windows/ventilation.Also needs to be predator proof. Take a look at the coop section that is on this site, there are some wonderful designs.

 

[mynewromantica]

I am in Central Utah. So we get plenty of snow in the winter

 

[patandchickens]

Build it as big as you can manage. That will allow for giving the chickens more space (which is always better, and simplifies cleaning chores and air quality and wintertime and things like that) and/or adding more chickens in the future and/or using some of the bldg for storage.

Things built in the style of storage sheds work fine but ideally should have a lot more roof overhang than storage sheds usually have. Alternatively you can build a more traditionally chicken-coop-shaped thing, i.e. shed-roofed. Or, really, anything else, those are just the commonest options.

You want VERY LARGE openings in all the walls for lots and lots of airflow since you get hot summers. These could be openable house-style windows, but could alternatively just be very large expanses of wall where the plywood lifts off to reveal just hardware cloth (=galvanized 1/2" welded wire mesh), but you can replace the plywood panel for bad weather or wintertime. You will need at least one or two windows that, when closed, are still transparent for light.

10 chickens will need 8-10 linear feet of roost space. Also 3 nestboxes, whcih should be mounted so that they are distinctly LOWER THAN the roost, and need to have a steeply sloped lid or other arrangement to keep them from being roosted on and pooed into.

And, obviously, a feeder and waterer and a chicken-sized door so they can access the outdoors. For the outdoors, it is a real good idea to have a strongly built secure run even if the idea is for the chickens to free-range -- there WILL be times you want to confine them (e.g. when loose dogs are in the neighborhood, or you don't wnat them pooing all over the big fourth of july picnic) and it is awful nice not to have to lock them *indoors* then.

If you browse the coop design pages on this site (link near very top of page) you can get some ideas of what might work for you

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Judy]

What patandchickens said.

In that climate, I would not consider anything smaller than 8' x 8'. They are going to stay in during the winter a lot. Minimum recommendation on here is 4 sq ft per bird, so that would be 40 sq ft, like a 5x8 coop. But the extra space of an 8x8 will make it a lot easier to get inside and clean and see the birds, plus allow storage for a garbage can for the feed, etc. Besides, since materials are 4x8, the scraps would be wasted. Also means you don't have to try to build exterior nest boxes, which create lots of predator proofing and weatherproofing problems. If she wants access to eggs from outside, it's a lot easier to cut an access hole, then cover it with a hinged and hasped piece of plywood. And do make it a walk in style, like a storage shed. You do not want one of those 3' tall coops in that climate. I have about 7 sq ft per bird in my coop and am so glad I made it that big.