Coop Height

[FarmKat]

Can someone tell me the pros and cons of a short coop vs. one tall enough to stand in? I am seeing them both ways and wondering which everyone prefers and why. I am leaning towards one big enough to stand in, but am wondering if its overkill (only have 8 chickens).

Thanks!!!

 

[CarolJ]

I can't stand up in mine - and no way to reach parts of the run. If you can afford it, go with the bigger coop & run. I wish I had waited and gotten a larger one. However, we will build a bigger coop and use this smaller one for new chickens before introducing them to the rest of the flock.

 

[Dingleberry]

i can not get in mine but have a larger door for me to clean out the bottom. I like it. My coop is on my homepage it is 4x4 I have 9 housed in it right now. ok 9 hens and 2 ducks. they are inside under the poop board.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

You'll appreciate being able to stand in yours. It makes cleaning a lot easier, easier to get to things, keep things tidy, which makes healthier chickens. If you need to grab a chicken it's a whole lot easier to maneuver in too. I only have one coop, my first, but I can't imagine not being able to stand in it. The only con is that it'll cost more in building materials to make. However, building up isn't as expensive as building out, so for a little bit more you can make life easier for yourself!

 

[Chick1043]

I have a coop I can stand up in. I prefer them for cleaning. I have had a 3-4 foot coop but didn't like it very much because it was soooo hard to clean out. I also prefer tall coops so chickens can fly around if wished and feel free. I dunno..That's just my opinion!

 

[ThinkingChickens]

We had a low run and it was such a pain to clean. We are almost finished building a walk in run. It's better to have free and easy access to clean and standing up sure feels nice.

 

[teach1rusl]

I have both. Although I can stand in either run, the housing of my (raised) bantam coop is only about 4 ft. I hate it!!! The coop is pretty, and I did include an ample door to access things inside, but I hate not being able to go inside. For example, in my main coop, when my girls were chicks, I could go sit inside the coop to work on socializing them. Winter, summer, it didn't matter - I even kept a little folding chair/stool thing inside for just that purpose. And my big girls are VERY friendly because of that. But once I put my banty chicks out in their coop, that wasn't able to happen. Oh, I'd still crawl up and sit inside, but it was very uncomfortable. Therefore I didn't spend nearly as much time hanging out/socializing them. As a result, they're not nearly as people friendly as my big girls, despite them being very docile/friendly breeds. Plus I bump my head all the time - I have to lean in to clean, and think I've left a permanent dent in the upper door casing from raising up upon my exit...lol.

 

[Chemguy]

I'm busy building my first coop and I have decided to make sure that I can stand in it. It will be 4x8, and the roof on the front will be 6 feet in height, sloping down to 5 ft in the back. I chose to do this so that I could stand up and use a shovel/broom/pitchfork easily while cleaning, or stand up in the event that I needed to do repair work on the interior. I also figure that with more vertical space I'll be able to hang feeders or waterers, or to postion perches at a variety of heights.

 

[CupOJoe42]

I prefer a coop and a run that I can stand up in, for all the reasons already mentioned and because it is easier on my back.

 

[gale65]

When we first started discussing coops my main thing I wanted was something I could stand up in. DH bought me a prefab at a farm sale and guess what. Can't stand in it. After doing anything in there my back is killing me.