Coop help needed....sorry so long!!!

[chickie_momma]

I need help..I *think* I know what I want for my coop- but Im not sure if it would be suitable for my 5 chicks im expecting on 9/2.

I was planning on building it in my backyard-which is all cyclone fenced in- on a slight slope to help with drainage.

I want to build the actual coop at least 2-3 feet off of the ground, and have it be 8'x4'.

i want the nesting boxes on the outside back wall for easy egg removal, on the upper front and back wall I was planning on cutting out an area and then placing coop wire over it for ventilation.

I love the idea of the suntuf roofs for added sunlight- as we will probally not have electric in the coop.

the floor will have linoleum for easy clean up- BUT- here is where my husband thinks I have lost my mind--I want to have the floor placed in 2 seperate panels and at the middle seam have them cut to a 45 degree angle so they fit together nice- and on the outside bottom of he floor have slide locks bolting them together. So when I want to clean up- I just unlock the floor from underneath and the floor will "fall apart" letting the pine shavings fall underneath inside the pen.....Does that sound too much???


we live in PA and have cold winters so all coop walls will have to be insulated...

As for the run I would like it 8'x6' with a suntuf roof...I have seen people wrap the outside of their coops with the clear plastic stuff in winter to help keep out the snow and wind...is that ok???


i think that is enough for now !!!!

 

[LynneP]

I would not hinge the floor that way- your bedding will fall down, clog the center and will be very difficult to remove. Also, since you are in a winter climate like us, that floor is going to be ice cold and any water spillage will turn to ice.

We started building in February, some ideas in our home page below, we're very pleased.

Also consider having some platforms inside and in your run. Not only do the birds love them, but in winter when they might not want to slog through snow, they can huddle on a platform, gladly. Platforms save bedding too; if you scrape them daily into a catch bucket, most of your manure will be removed.

Oh and you can now obtain solar lights with a panel that goes outside and illumination on the other end of a wire- a very green way to light a coop.

You're in for some fun, and a few surprises- enjoy!

 

[patandchickens]

Your plans sound good to me

That's a reasonable size coop for 5 chickens - the run is ok too, although if you made it a little bigger I bet they'd be even happier.

Don't forget lots of ventilation - you will need some of it open even in the wintertime! - because it is FAR FAR easier to have plenty and close some down in bad/freezing weather than to have it turn out you don't have enough and you have to go cutting more holes in your nice finished coop

On the one hand I think your floor design would work, and you don't really need 45 degree angle cuts (which will be semi pointless in plywood anyhow), just a batten on the outside (bottom) that is attached to only one side but spans the gap.

On the other hand, I really wonder how pointful those sorts of floors are. You will still need big 'human access' doors to the coop, so you can reach in to all parts easily (to spot-clean, or to retrieve objects such as eggs or chickens, or etcetera). And if you're doing that, it's really simple to have a removable sill so that when it comes time to change out all of the litter you just lift the sill out and scrape it all out onto a tarp or whatever. MUCH less engineering, and fewer moving parts, than the whole drop-down or slide-out bottom concept. JMHO of course.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[chickie_momma]

how do you guys deal with the freezing floors in the winter?

do you leave the coop door open during the day in winter so they can access the pen- or is the cold just too much for them???