coop ideas....

[kxmfarm]

So right now i have 41 layers...we are getting 40 more of the "red star" in February. I am looking for some good ideas on coops that we can build. I need to double the size of it atleast. Was wondering if I should put a type of flooring down that I could hose of throughout the summer. I dont know....maybe a crazy idea. Just want to keep my hens happy and clean. And...get the best "bang for my buck"...And also, They have about 18 nexting boxes right now and between all of them they use 3 of them. Any ideas on how to spread out my hens? I've tried the golf ball trick and that only helped my one hen that likes to sit all day

Any suggestions would help..

 

[SelfMadeFarming]

Click on the "COOPS" tap at the top of the page.
There are tons of pictures of coops, it's given me a lot of ideas.
Good luck building, be sure and post pics !
:cd

Those nesting boxes must be their favorites. LoL

 

[JackE]

Build a Wood's coop like the one below. It is easy to build and easily expanded as needed. To expand, just remove the sheathing on one side wall, and build onto the coop a clone of the original. Coops like these were used throughout the U.S. and up into Canada. You can get the book, 'Fresh air poultry houses" from Amazon. In it, you will read about why this is one of the best coops your chickens can be kept in. You can see measured drawings for the coop below. And see drawings for a Woods that can hold hundreds of birds.
I have a wooden floor in my coop protected by a rubberized roofcoat product I got from Lowes(Blackjack#57) I could, if I wanted, hose my coop out. But would need some kind of floor drain. I just shovel out the old bedding/waste. Works for me.

 

[kxmfarm]

Well we did go to home depot and got some good priced lumber. We bought all the junk wood basically and it was all 70%. So now we are going to start the remodeling of the chicken coop. First we are going to add hopper feeder to the outside. Since they don't use one section of the nesting boxes we are gonna turn it into a feeder. That way we only have to dump bags of grain in from the outside. But we really need to concentrate on adding on enough space for 40 more birds..

 

[RicLec]

Is your coop insulated and heated???

Temps on my farm can down -25 at worst and consistently in the single digits and low teens. My coop is framed out using 2x6 & R19 floor, walls and ceiling. Thermostatically controlled heater set to 45 degrees keeps my ladies happy. There is quite a lot of body heat to begin with.

Winds can reach 70mph in a good storm. We also have bob cats, mountain lions, coyotes. So I built my coop strong and solid to keep these critters out at night.

 

[kxmfarm]

Our coop is not insulated. We do have two heat lamps in there to keep them warm and they all seem very happy. Since I got rid of all my roosters my egg production has more then doubled. Must be they were bullying all my hens. And I also just switched to a higher protein feed so we will see if that makes a difference as well. I am planning on trying to figure out which hens are laying and which are not. I bought some leg bands so I can mark the chickens that I find in the boxes. But I swear my hens start laying at 3 am. We find 10-12 eggs by 6:30 every morning. So it should be pretty tricky.

 

[RicLec]

Interesting what you said about your roo bulling your girls. Are your heat lamps on all the time?

I would like to double the size of my flock as well. Currently I have 48 chickens and 16 ducks. However, the draught here in CA has me concerned though. I'm 50 miles from the Oregon boarder and it's the driest winter we've ever had.

Here's the hopper I just built. It holds 500# of layer. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/851076/mega-feeder#post_12699579

 

[LarryP2]

I think it is far more important to keep chickens totally dry than it is to keep them warm. This picture shows the output of 30 chickens in one week, with temps well-below zero every night. I have over 1000 square feet of chain-linked run covered with metal roofing. They have maximum fresh air and maximum natural light. I question totally-closed in chicken coops, because of the moisture build up.

 

[RicLec]

You raise some good points. I leave 2 windows cracked open. That seems to deal with the moisture issues pretty well - so far. I looks like you have some Americauna' s. Are your dark brown from Murans or Welsomers? What breeds do you raise? Could you post a pic of your chicken run for us to see? I need to expand. Do you have predators to worry about? If so do your bury your fence 6"-12"?

Thanks

 

[LarryP2]

The brown eggs are copper Morans. And yes, this is my first experience with "Easter Egg" chickens. And I have several Buff Orpingtons and Silkies. I do worry about predators, so I had enough chain link fencing to cover the floor of the runs and then attached the "floor" to the chainlink "sides" with heavy duty zip ties about every two inches. NOTHING can get through.

The Metal roof is strengthened with 2x6 joists and held up well under about 4 feet of snow. This is my first structure. I have attached two smaller chicken coops to the main runs, but the chickens never seem to go "inside." None of the pictured eggs were found in the attached coops.

The cute pictures you often see of adorable chickens clumsily wading through snow drifts? I can guarantee those chickens aren't going to be laying very many eggs any time soon.