Coop Questions...

[Closer2Chickens]

K so...I'm building mah first coop..ever.
A woman, and two teen girls. We're ready for it to be done...
If it was a regular size I'd give dimensions, but we used wood pallets so everything is a little askew...but it's level so yay! Best guess is...it's about 9 ft long..5 ft wide and 5 ft tall...with 5 nesting boxes. I'd post a few in progress pictures but I can't figure it out at the moment...

Do I have to paint it before I put the chickens in there?
I really...really...really need them out of mah house...lol
They're 6 weeks old and getting noisy & smelly...

It has a bottom cuz we have a big predator problem, do I have of paint that too?
We used plywood for the flooring and the nesting boxes.

Do I have to put some sort of..I don't know what it's called...weather proofing on the roof or will the plywood be fine? We don't get a ton of snow in the winter...just a couple inches overall..and it's been uber dry so I don't know when rain would be an issue...

Almost all the gaps are filled in and there's chicken wire around the top for ventilation..my little one wants to keep the chickens inside and use it as a playhouse some guess we did good? Lol

Also...what sort of door do I stick on there for the chickens? I didn't do a people door cuz I'm not that adept..do they need a ramp? Would a flip down hinge door work?

I have about a days worth of work left on the building and if I don't have to paint it they're going in tonite.

Any input would be GREATLY appreciated.
Thanx.

 

[jetdog]

You don't have to paint the inside but definitely paint the outside or it will rot,you also need some type of roofing to protect the plywood roof maybe a piece of metal roofing, shingles or something, you want a door that you can open and close easy and be able to lock it at night or you won't have your chickens long, you should make a human door if not how are you going to be able to clean the inside, a ramp will be alot easier for them to get in and out.

 

[Closer2Chickens]

Half the roof is hinged so that we can lift it n clean out the interior cuz ya otherwise it would be impossible to clean it when necessary without a human door.

There's also a lock, just in case.

I think though...if I frame out the chicken door slightly bigger than what I have currently, it could be a human door or at least a kid sized door which would be easier...

So definitely paint the outside. Got it. Thanx.

Leftover interior paint prolly wouldn't do the trick eh?