Coop & Run for multiple breeds

[bockbock2008]

I have 1 coop that is 12'x 8'. There is an attached run that is 20'x 40'. I am wanting to build, somewhere in my spare time, a coop approx 16 x 16 that will house different breeds in one large coop so I can get some purebreds. I am wanting to build something similar to a barn that houses horses with the pens down both sides and an isle in the middle. Each pen would have its own access to its own run. I will only have about 5-7 birds of each breed so what I have in mind are 4 - 4x8 pens down one side and on the other side 2- 4x4 pens for isolation/sick or just to seperate and one 4x8 brooder. Does anyone have plans or pics of anything like this I can broaden my ideas with? My existing coop and run will continue to house a mixed flock.

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Sounds like a great setup. Let us know how it works.

 

[Frizzledhen]

It sounds like you are wanting to do some chick raising, purbred. So plan ahead for all those new chickens. No matter how many pens you have, you will not have enough. If you are like the rest of us, you will always want more.

 

[patandchickens]

Basically I think you just wanna build a pole building and probably run 'stalls' down each side of a center aisle, as you say. My building is set up kind of like that because it was a dog boarding/breeding kennel in former lives (I didn't build it) -- 4x6 chainlink pens along one side, then a divideable 7x20 pen along half of the other side, with the center aisle about 4' wide. It works really well. I recommend making using an empty doorless pen for storage/feed -- use one of the ones towards the *middle* of the barn so you don't have to walk so far to take feed to pens.

A significant contributor to the cost of a building is the span of the trusses. A 20' clearspan building costs significantly more to build than a 12' clearspan building with the exact same square footage, you know? So before getting too committed to a particular design, it would be worth pricing out trusses (or the appropriate size rafters for each size, which will be different, if you really wanna go that way) for different widths of building. You might find that it is more economical to go 12x22, for instance, rather than 16x16, or something like that. Or of course, maybe not; but then you'd know for sure

Good luck, have fun,

Pat