Coop Plans in 3D

[Umbral_Necropolitan]

After a little bit of brain storming on what kind of coop I want and need for taking care of two hens, I came up with a design. Its not 100% complete, but in order to show people what I envision I made a very basic 3D model of it and a lil video tour of the coop and run. The coop will be put in a corner so that a concrete wall will help block sun light and the other side is a sturdy chain link fence. The "windows" and run will be cover in chicken wire to keep them safe and allow ventilation in the coop at the same time. During the winter if necessary the windows will have small hatches that can cover them.

Video Tour

The pictures are views/areas I felt didn't get enough coverage in the film.

The coop from the outside


Lil boxes for the hens to nest in if/when they start to lay eggs


Food and water dispenser inside the coop... plan on having a setup in the run for them as well.


The initial plans/brainstorm sheet



I plan on insulating the coop, including the attic shaped area as doing that in my house has help tremendously with being too hot. Figure if it works on the big house, why not a little one. The design will allow me to build each wall, the roof, and floor separately. I also would like the floor of the coop to be removable for easy cleaning. To do that I plan on having the floor rest on metal bars or slats... how to explain... Think of a garage door latch that would go across the whole door rather than just a small area.

Imagine this is the floor of the coop viewed from underneath, the big box is the 40"X40" piece of wood and the
'=' are the metal bar holding it up and the '\\' is a U shaped bolt holding the bars in place.
_________
| |
=\\==========\\=
| |
=\\==========\\=
|________|


Questions or comments are appreciated, as it is going to be my first coop, I'm sure I will be missing out on some important things.


EDIT: The coop will be around 5 foot tall, and the run 6 foot tall.

 

[Joy Cluck]

Wow... now if you could just set the video to music...hey what kind of music DO chickens like

 

[SewingDiva]

Looks like you're off to a great start! A few things came to mind:

(1) Since you live in a hot climate yo might consider covering the run with a soild roof so they have shade on a hot days; we live in MA and even in our climate the girls really like the shade in super hot weather

(2) Maybe I missed it in the 3D view, but external nest boxes, or external acess to the nest box, will make it much easier to collect eggs.

3) If you can have one wall swing open like a door it will be much easier to clean out the coop.

4) Same thing for a human size door into the run.

have all of these details on our coop, there a some photos on my BYC page.

Phyllis

 

[Anny]

very nice looking, fancy 3d-ness

 

[eschwaderer]

There are a few free plans on Google's sketchup website.

 

[Umbral_Necropolitan]

I was thinking of covering the sides and top of the run with a vine plant for shade, but a solid roof would probably be good until the vines covered it. I guess if I use a latches on the corners on the front of the coop to secure it instead of screwing the frame together, allowing me to just take the wall off... or I could do that on the side with the nest boxes so I can get into them.

For the human door into the run should the door swing inwards into the coop or outwards away from it?

I want to use linoleum or vinyl lining on the bottom of the coop to make cleaning it easier.


In the area I plan on building the coop has several weeds and grass growing in the area, there is only one I'm worried about though, Stinging Nettle. Does anyone know if it can hurt chickens? I know they don't have problems running through it in the yard but I don't want them to eat something that might hurt them.

 

[RendonRoo]

I noticed that you said you were gonna have 2 hens so you should only need one nest box. That can save you work and some expense. Looks great. O Yea.... Welcome to BYC

 

[Gonzo the Great]

Quote:
Yeah, I can almost hear "Eggs for nothing and your chicks for free!"

 

[SewingDiva]

Quote:
Our door swings out, but that's because the run is only 4 x8 feet. If your run is bigger you could do it either way and if your hands are full you could open the door with your foot. We did use screen door spring hinges on the run human door so it slams shut on its own, which is handy for keeping them from getting out unless I want them out.

Quote:
We did this too, it has worked out well.

Quote:
I asked a similiar question recent;y about poison ivy and a couple people pointed out that animals often don't have the same sensitivties that humans do, and basically chickens don't react to poison ivy but if they run through it and I pick them up I'll get it from the oil that has clung to their feathers. But I don't know about stinging nettle specifically; hopefully someone will be able to answer that one for you.


Phyllis

 

[Suburban chick farmer 09]

Okay, now get started I want to see some pics.