Coop Interior Help/Thoughts, Please: Sketched ideas on page 2

[NightingaleJen]

Well, it has been a rough couple of months since my original post, but my perfectionist self came up with a few interior layout plans. I'd love everyone's thoughts! Since there is, in fact, nothing but air in the interior right now, the main 'wall' (which will probably be mostly chicken wire or HC) can be moved to create more coop room. I know myself. The "small flock" has a fair amount of potential to get bigger, so if necessary we can always build out that wall further into the "people" side of the coop, where we're planning to store chicken feed/supplies and cleaning supplies, masks, goggles, et cetera.

I'd like to use poop boards, but Hubby wants to use the DLM. His plan is to start without poop boards and see how that goes, adding boards later if necessary.

The nest boxes will be on the inside wall so I'll be collecting those from the human side of the coop.

I prefer to keep the birds' food & water outdoors, but will obviously be keeping it inside the coop (daytime, anyhow) come wintertime due to our weather patterns, though where exactly to put them I'm unfortunately not sure. For winter, we're likely to need a heated waterer of some sort. I really need to figure out what kind, exactly, of feeder & waterer we'll be using—hanging? On bricks? PVC piping on its side?

Our plan is to track down some of those old wall-mounted metal match/salt holders for oyster/egg shell dispensing and grit dispensing, but if we cannot find those, we'll use the wine bottle & shallow can/wall-mountable dish method. Our neighbor is a talented vintner. Obtaining such supplies: not an issue.

The side labeled "front" faces southwest (mostly west). "The Far Side" will get sun most of the day; the sun rises behind that left rear corner. There are trees & brush behind the coop ("back"), but they're not too thick. The run will be off the "far side" of the coop, and so far as the pop door, I plan to place it in the opposite wall from where the people door *inside* the coop is.

The big black line in the 'middle' is the 'wall'. Again, it can be moved further in either direction.

The first two plans are pretty similar. The main difference is obviously the location of the brooder/infirmary. Initially, I thought we'd put that in the front part of the coop, with a mini-run along the front of the coop (when we get to the point it's necessary). However, that spot does get a lot of sun, so with that in mind, I also whipped up a schematic with the brooder in the back part of the coop. We could of course cover the top of the mini-brooder with something opaque, and could plant (and protect) something along the front to provide more shade, too.

Brooder in the front (No. 1):

Brooder on the back side (No. 2):

Again, I know myself—the flock is likely to get bigger even with freezer camp available. So, to give myself more room, I came up with this third plan. A bit more room. The brooder will let out on the sunrise side of the coop, with a little run on that side (which may mean taking down a small tree or two, but that won't be a big deal, truly; we live in the woods. We have many trees).

I can put a little work counter above the brooder, and maybe even have that on hinges for easier cleaning. That said, I'd like a little mini-door opening into the human part of the coop so that I can get in to sweep the brooder, et cetera. Not sure where the best place for that door is.

No. 3:

Just realized I forgot to type out on No. 3 that there will be four nest boxes there near the door—16x16, two over two. Oops!

That's all, folks (for now). Thank you to everyone who has posted their coop schematics, especially @DobieLover, from whom I stole most ideas.

If I've left out some important info, and I don't doubt I have, please ask! Thank you again.

 

[aart]

Just looking quickly, I like #2 best

 

[CatWhisperer]

I use a poop board above the deep litter. Since my chickens spend practically all day outdoors I can scoop the poop daily and the coop stay fresh smelling forever.

 

[aart]

I use a poop board above the deep litter. Since my chickens spend practically all day outdoors I can scoop the poop daily and the coop stay fresh smelling forever.

Deep Litter usually connotes a composting litter, of which poop is a pretty vital ingredient as well as other components, including moisture.
Poop boards are not a part of deep litter, but I like mine.
Deep Bedding is just shavings that stay dry to reduce odors.
These two terms are not common, 'deep litter' is often 'mis-used' and has been discussed ad nauseam.
The terms 'deep litter' and 'deep bedding' are often misunderstood and misapplied.
I've always liked this explanation/discussion:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-method-with-this-coop.1075545/#post-16440037

 

[NightingaleJen]

I definitely think the boards would work well, but...we'll see.

And perhaps it is deep bedding he's thinking; I'll have to double-check with him.

FWIW, No. 2 was my initial favourite, but for some reason I've been leaning to No. 3. But we'll see. Still kicking it around, obviously.

 

[DobieLover]

I definitely think the boards would work well, but...we'll see.

And perhaps it is deep bedding he's thinking; I'll have to double-check with him.

FWIW, No. 2 was my initial favourite, but for some reason I've been leaning to No. 3. But we'll see. Still kicking it around, obviously.

I'm on the fence between 2 and 3.
If you go with three, the workbench surface could be the hinged top of the brooder and you could install a door under it to be able to sweep out the brooder by lifting the top and securing it.
You need to knock some sense into that hubby of yours. Poop boards are one of the best assets of my coop.
I have yet to clean the shavings out of my coop. I'll do it when things start to warm up. Likely close to the one year anniversary of using it.

 

[aart]

The only thing I like about 3 is that the brooder is adjacent to the coop, so integration would be much easier. Might offset easier human door to coop access and larger nest bank.
(I don't like stacked nests).

 

[NightingaleJen]

@DobieLover, that is what I was thinking about the hinged workspace area. It could be very handy in a variety of situations!

@aart, perhaps it is difficult to see but the brooder is open to the main coop in all of the variations. I suppose the only real difference is that in No. 3, the brooder/infirmary run would be away from the main run, but we plan to free-range the flock as much as possible.

Why do you dislike stacked nesting boxes?

Also...is there a way to change the title, since I did finally add some schematics to the post?

 

[aart]

perhaps it is difficult to see but the brooder is open to the main coop in all of the variations.

Sorry, I missed reading all the notes.

Why do you dislike stacked nesting boxes?

They tend to rise above the height of roosts, which can lead to nest sleeping.

Also...is there a way to change the title, since I did finally add some schematics to the post?

Click the 'report' icon (lower left) on first post in thread and ask to have it changed...type out exactly what you want changed.
'Report' sounds kinda 'negative', but it's the best way to communicate with the mods about a specific thread.

 

[NightingaleJen]

Oh, another thing I wasn't sure about—is there enough landing space for the birds amongst the roosts? Should we fashion a wee ladder for them?

Sorry, I missed reading all the notes.

No worries, we've all done that! Sometimes on purpose...

Good point about the stacked boxes—that is something I was already thinking about, compared to the roost height. Thank you for the reminder. And for the report advice. Nothing like reporting oneself to the authorities!