Coop Height

[ECBW]

Walk-in or reach-in, that is the question...

Well, if everything else being equal, I would drive a Mustang GT convertible, but I drive a Civic instead, happily.

For my flock size (+-9), I went with the reach-in. Just make sure there is a big door (3'Hx2'W on mine) and you can reach all corners. Mine is also off the ground so leaning in (and sometimes crawling in) is easy enough.

 

[TrystInn]

I have one of each, with a covered run attached to each, and I VASTLY prefer the walk in. Frankly, I don't think I'll ever get another short one, its not worth the problems.

Pros of the big coop:
I can stand, walk around, sit comfortably and move around without bumping into things in the shed coop.
Plenty of room for feed storage, first aid supplies, extra carriers, etc.
I can reach every corner of the coop.
There's nowhere I can't get to a bird, if need be.

Cons of the short coop: caveat - the short coop is very deep, I could take a nap in it without being uncomfortable or cramped. A shallower one would be easier to work with.
The chickens can hide under things, past my reach.
I have to climb in on my knees to get to things.
Its hard to clean and there's no storage room.
I swear those hens lay eggs where they know I cannot get to them.
The door is large, so I can access the interior for cleaning, etc. This also means they can pop past me and get loose.

 

[FarmKat]

Quote:
Wow - this is basically exactly what I was planning! I figure by making it 4x8, there would be a lot ow standard sizes, so not as much cutting... lol When do you plan on building and do you have plans or draw up your own?



I was already leaning towards a taller coop, but after hearing everyone's opinion I am sold! Hoping to start this weekend, with some plans I drew up based on different coops here (similar to the above).

 

[al6517]

I am also going with the flow of a walk in, I am 6'2" and there is no way I could even think of having a little toy reach in coop no bigger than a refridgerator box LOL. Being able to walk in stand up and do the many different chores effectively in the coop is critical for me, I have alot of different breeder pen's and larger grow out pen's, equipment and feed areas, brooder and incubating spaces. It is so much more enjoyable for me to be comfortable and so are the birds, so a 30'X40' makes sense but I am still adding on every year LOL.

 

[Ole rooster]

I built a chicken coop, hot a house. Still I can stand in the tallest section. The coops goes from 6'2 down to a 4'2" and that section is 5X8. It is kinda nice to be able to stand in there.

 

[Chemguy]

Quote:
I'm building (most of it) this week. Before I started, I spent a lot of time looking through the pics on this site, listening in of the forums and asking a few questions. I'm no carpenter, so I did sit down with pencil and paper to sketch out what I wanted my own coop to look like when done. From there, I made a good guess at how I would need to frame the structure, based only on what I knew about house framing from having seen it done.

Here's the base:

Yesterday I used 8 ft. long 2x4's to frame everything up. Every board needed to be cut! My father in law built the nest boxes:

Here's another view:

Once the walls were up, I really felt a strong sense of accomplishment. Until then, it was just a buch of wood and an idea. Today I'll be putting on the rafters for the roof and building a door.

Pete

 

[baldessariclan]

If your coop is small enough where you can reach anything you need to by hand or with tools, it doesn't necessarily need to be big enough to stand up in.

Much bigger than this, though, and you'll probably prefer being able to walk on top of chicken poop, dust, bugs, etc.,instead of having to crawl through it...

 

[stcroixusvi]

The taller coop also lets you give the chickens a higher roost. We have a second level for our chicks that gives them more square footage on the floor - for a rainy day like today - and a nice high roost for their need to feel safe.