Coop Design

[othercents]

I'm in the process of designing my chicken coop and I have decided on location and basic design. I am going to place the coop about 6" from the back of the house on cinderblocks. The coop will be 4x8 in size with a slanted roof that slants away from the house not to exceed 41" in height. The problem I have is that there is a fresh air vent for the basement on that side of the house. Does anyone know if there is a problem with the coop that close to the air vent?

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[othercents]

Since the coop needs to have a 2:12 ratio slant roof for snow and has to be under 41" I'm thinking about making it only 36" wide with clean out doors on either side and the front having external nests, chicken door, and another cleanout door for the center (just in case). doing it that way makes the roost about 17" from the walls and ceiling.

Anyone see a problem with building it that way? I'm almost thinking I should hinge the roof to allow greater access.

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[nh104]

is the vent for air going in or out of basement?

 

[ChickenMan77]

From what it sounds like, you are building the coop off the ground a bit. My coop is smaller, like about 4x5 (off the ground by about 3 feet with a run below it) and it is easy to clean out with a rake. I don't think you will need doors on 3 sides just to clean out the coop. Hinging the roof might come in handy but will you need a ladder to reach inside or is the coop actually sitting on the ground? Are you going to have a run attached or will the chickens free range?

Ultimately I got way into building my coop and I am still adding things a year later. If you want doors on all sides then I say go for it. Part of the fun of all this chicken stuff is building the coop!

 

[othercents]

I the vent does not have a fan on it and is to allow humidity out of the house, but if the air outside is hotter than inside then I think the air will be sucked in.

I looked at he house today and decided if I make the coop 4x4 then the coop will actually fit between the basement vent and the water spout on the house and I can build it right against the house. This wall is north facing and gets plenty of sun, but placing it against the wall breaks my ridge ventilation I had designed. I do have another area that I can get a 4x8 coop built free standing next to the deck, but I'm concerned that the deck will provide too much shade and require me to heat the coop during winter. The area next to the deck also slopes by 13" over a 8' span. What do you think would be better? Next to the deck or next to the house. Wife likes next to the deck because it is more out of he way.

My coop will be on the ground per my HOA requirements of a coop 41" max height,, 2ft away from property line, and 4 chicken limit. Having the coop on the ground is why the hinged roof might work great especially if a Chicken decides not to leave the coop when we want to clean. Chickens will be free range in my back yard. I have significant slope in my backyard and sprinkler system that i have to deal with when designing the coop. There is some space along the side of the house, but I have only 5 foot to the property line, no sunlight, rocks from there to the grass, and I have to get a mower through the space.

Last option for regulated temperature is my garage. I can poke a hole in the wall to the outside for the chickens from the coop and make an indoor run for winter months. There is still the issue with the rocks, smell, lack of real sunlight, and ventilation, however I could possibly hide more chickens and put them on a 12hr day lighting schedule (makes them think one real day is two days).

Let me know what you think.

 

[othercents]

See now that's what happens when I write something when I am tired. Anyways I think I will build the coop on the other side of the deck where the wife wants it, but take the size down to 48"x64". This will use the roof design of the Purina coop, but with lots of other modifications.

Basic design:
1) 48"x64" with short walls facing N and S
2) slant roof (2:12 slant) going W to E with 1 1/2" gap for ventilation.
3) 4 concrete footings
4) insulated floor and walls
5) external nests on east side about 6" above floor
6) north wall with window that can open.
7) south wall that opens for cleaning, window that opens, and chicken door.

Need to draw some plans. Let me know what you think.

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[ChickenMan77]

I insulated the walls of my coop thinking it would be too cold for the chickens. I learned that many of the laying breeds are cold hearty, which means that they are good till about 10deg below 0. I think insulation is a good thing for the summer however, to keep the coop cooler. If you are not getting chickens that are cold hearty then keeping them warm in the winter will be important. A light in the coop in the winter to provide 15 hours of daylight will provide you many more eggs. This will decrease the number of years they will produce eggs at high levels but then you can butcher and get a new round of chicks if you have dual purpose birds.

Ventilation is a huge deal as well. The cold isn't what harms the birds, it is the humidity. If the coop is humid the hens can get sick. I have even seen some coop designs, in cold areas, that only have 2 walls, a roof and a floor, with roosts for sleeping and boxes for laying. Since I got my most recent round of chicks the older hens sleep on the roost in the run. Recently it has been in the 30s and rainy here and they still sleep outside in protest of the new chicks.

This past winter, even on snowy days with temps in the teens, my hens were out in the run scratching around in the snow. I couldn't believe that they would rather be out in the snow instead of the warm coop I built for them. Larger coops will encourage the hens to stay inside because they have room to move around and scratch around. My coop is smaller so the hens only use it to lay eggs and sleep, unless they are sleeping outside in protest of the latest flock addition inhabiting the coop.

 

[othercents]

From what I can tell I have plenty of ventilation with the 1 1/2" gaps in the roof and extra openings on either side for summer. Good to know about the temperature, so I can forgo the insulation. I was thinking about making the coop 4x4 since this is just for 4 chickens, but I might just keep it at 4x6 or even 4x8. However the slop on my yard causes some issues with making a larger coop.

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