Coop plans

[Sinfonian]

Finally got our original coop plans scanned and on my file sharing site, so I thought I'd post them here and get your feedback. Note that we've revised our plans since these were drawn. Specifically the roof will not be peaked, but slanted like a shed, with a 6 inch opening at the top of the 6 foot wall for ventilation. The louver vents on the back will hopefully transfer air out without causing a draft. I'm still unsure about how much ventilation to give without creating a draft... seems a fine line. Other than that, I'm using 2x3s rather than 2x4s to keep it lighter.

Here's the front, where I hope to make the 2'x4' door out of plexiglass for natural light.

And here's the back.

Lastly, the sides.

The coop door will be in the floor with a pull string to let it down from the outside.

 

[cajunhillbilly]

Looks like a really good plan you have there! As far as the ventilation I would use the foundation vents that you can open and close as needed so you can regulate your ventilation as you need! Just my opinion...lol

 

[elmo]

Welcome to the forum!

Have you read this page about ventilation? Chickens need way more ventilation than you'd think, and this page gives an excellent explanation about the difference between ventilation and drafts.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

If you get hot weather in the summer, you might think about having that plexiglass window switch out for a hardware cloth one, or maybe have the plexiglass panel as an awning over hardware cloth. Small coops can get unbearably hot inside in the summer without more ventilation than you use for winter, too hot even for chicken occupancy. Most chicken breeds actually handle severe cold much better than they can handle extreme heat because of their down insulation, which they can't take off for summer. If you do have hot summers to contend with, be sure to site your coop someplace that gets as much natural shade as possible.

Another point about siting of the coop: pick a place in your yard that has good drainage and doesn't stay wet or boggy after heavy rains.

Chicken wire isn't predator secure, so if you use it for your run you can't count on it keeping any predators out. For such a small run, it wouldn't be that much of an expense to use hardware cloth (welded wire) and make your chickens safer. If you do use the chicken wire, be sure to lock your chickens up inside the coop every night when predator danger is greatest.

Cutting a pop door (or chicken door) in the floor means that your bedding (whatever you put down on the floor inside the coop, usually pine shavings) is always going to be falling out the hole in the floor unless you build a lip of some kind around the hole to contain it. It'll be much easier to build this before you assemble the coop and put the chickens in and discover this problem.

If I understand your diagram, the run is 3' by 6' right? The usual rule of thumb for stocking density cited here is 4 square feet per bird indoors (coop) plus 10 square feet per bird outdoors (run), but to my mind that's really more of a minimum guideline. By that measure, your run is a bit on the small side for two chickens, but could work if you really plan to free range them most of the time anyway, or if you pick breeds of birds that tolerate confinement well.

Have you thought about how you're going to clean the run? Droppings will build up under there pretty quickly.

The other thing to think about is predators digging under the edge and into the coop. You can prevent this by adding a hardware cloth apron attached to the base of the run and extending out flat on the ground for about 2 feet or so. Predators begin to dig at the edge of the fence, hit the wire, and don't realize they need to back up and start digging at the edge of the skirt.


Edited to add: Now that I look again at your design, I realize this is a tractor, right? Then you won't be cleaning underneath, but moving the tractor every day or so. You can still use a wire apron to deter digging predators, just weight the corners of the apron with bricks or blocks of some sort. That's what I do with our day tractors.

 

[Judy]

If your 6" ventilation opening is at the top of the higher wall, that should be good for ventilation. Actually you don't need a different place for air to enter. It will exchange, go in and out, at the one vent opening. Makes it a lot easier to avoid a draft on the chickens.

Lots of threads on here, especially lately, about chickens pecking and picking and feather pulling, even when they have the standard 4/10 sq ft per chicken often called for.

 

[gsim]

Elmo is right on. I did 80 sq ft/chook for my run. Cramped quarters make for lower egg production, more fighting and bullying, and greater chance of disease. See 'My BYC Page' for ideas on ventilation, run, and how to do an electrified fence.

Gerry

 

[Aimiel]

I may not know much about chicken coops (yet, anyways) but I do want to suggest that you raise your wood off the ground and if you're not going to build footers out of concrete at least place the coop on cinder blocks or even bricks, to allow for drainage. If you just set the wood right on the ground it will rot much faster than if it has good drainage. I even use anchors designed to allow for better drainage, when attaching wood to the footers I build. They don't cost much, but pay for themselves in keeping the wood safe from dry-rot.

 

[gsim]

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Good info. I would add here to be sure to raise it to at least a foot off the ground all around to discourage rodents, predators, and snakes.

Gerry

 

[Aimiel]

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Good stuff. You don't want your egg harvest to be swallowed or stolen.

 

[Aimiel]

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You have an AMAZING set-up, Gerry.

 

[gsim]

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You have an AMAZING set-up, Gerry.

Thank you Amiel. It was a first ever coop for me. (I did get some practice beforehand building my own house tho)

I think we will have our next flock around half the size of current one. Cheaper to keep fed. If kids still want to have eggs, they can buy chicks AND feed for them from now on. Our goodwill gesture has an expiration date on it.

Gerry