I am finalizing my coop plans and think I have it all worked out. While I am not disabled or anything, I am in my 50's and have arthritis and sometimes a lot of pain. So while I try to not let it stop me from doing things I love, there are certain activities that I would rather not do. So I am planning my coop with ease of use in mind. I am wondering if anyone has any ideas about this type of coop?
What I have planned so far is that the coop will be raised 24 to 30" off the ground and will have doors on opposite sides so that I can open them and just push the shavings out the other side with a push broom. The perches will be located just inside these doors and have either a poop board or a poop hammock which will be easy to reach, remove and clean. Perches will be removable for easy cleaning as well. I will have exterior nest boxes that are located on the coop wall that will be inside the run, as will their food, water and forage station. No standing in the rain and snow gathering eggs. Water will have heaters so I do not have to lug 5 gallon buckets of hot water from the house. My boss (I work at a water district)thinks I should run a water hydrant right outside the coop and wrap it with heat tape for winter use. I might check into having it run right into the corner of the coop. The guys at my work would install it for me on their day off and I could just pay them for their work and the parts. This would mean I could just sit the waterer under the hydrant and fill it and the heater would keep it warm. All food will be stored in metal cans under the raised coop so no lugging 50 lbs of feed. The coop will be right off the driveway and I will only have to carry them about 8 ft. and only if hubby isn't around. Otherwise he does it, but he really isn't into the chickens and I want a set up that I can manage on my own. The human door to the run will be right off the sidewalk going into our large pen, so there will be no schlepping through deep snow to the coop either. I will have pine shavings in the coop and sand in the run. The whole insdie of the coop will be painted for easy cleaning as well.
Have I forgotten anything? It is mostly my knees, hips and shoulders that hurt so I want to eliminate a lot of bending, stooping, shoveling and heavy lifting. I appreciate any thoughts on this as I have to get this right and we are getting close to starting. I may be hiring someone to build this as my husband hates building stuff and is probably taking a new job which will leave him very little time. I will be doing the painting and the designing and once it is done, I will not be getting a do over. Thanks for any tips you might have.
What I have planned so far is that the coop will be raised 24 to 30" off the ground and will have doors on opposite sides so that I can open them and just push the shavings out the other side with a push broom. The perches will be located just inside these doors and have either a poop board or a poop hammock which will be easy to reach, remove and clean. Perches will be removable for easy cleaning as well. I will have exterior nest boxes that are located on the coop wall that will be inside the run, as will their food, water and forage station. No standing in the rain and snow gathering eggs. Water will have heaters so I do not have to lug 5 gallon buckets of hot water from the house. My boss (I work at a water district)thinks I should run a water hydrant right outside the coop and wrap it with heat tape for winter use. I might check into having it run right into the corner of the coop. The guys at my work would install it for me on their day off and I could just pay them for their work and the parts. This would mean I could just sit the waterer under the hydrant and fill it and the heater would keep it warm. All food will be stored in metal cans under the raised coop so no lugging 50 lbs of feed. The coop will be right off the driveway and I will only have to carry them about 8 ft. and only if hubby isn't around. Otherwise he does it, but he really isn't into the chickens and I want a set up that I can manage on my own. The human door to the run will be right off the sidewalk going into our large pen, so there will be no schlepping through deep snow to the coop either. I will have pine shavings in the coop and sand in the run. The whole insdie of the coop will be painted for easy cleaning as well.
Have I forgotten anything? It is mostly my knees, hips and shoulders that hurt so I want to eliminate a lot of bending, stooping, shoveling and heavy lifting. I appreciate any thoughts on this as I have to get this right and we are getting close to starting. I may be hiring someone to build this as my husband hates building stuff and is probably taking a new job which will leave him very little time. I will be doing the painting and the designing and once it is done, I will not be getting a do over. Thanks for any tips you might have.