Coops for the Severely Unhandy

[Krugerrand]

More things to consider.

First and foremost, check your local laws and ordinances. It may impact how many chickens you can have, if you can have roosters, where a coop may or may not stand on your property.

Your location will make a big difference on the type of coop that will work best for you. The best coop for the hot humid south east is different than the mid-west or near artic conditions or the southwest desert.

Try and determine your chicken plans. Are you raising meat birds exclusively? Their needs are different than egg laying hens. Do you intend to raise chickens for show? Again, they have some special considerations. Do you expect to let some hens raise chicks? Again, that will impact space and next box designs.

How many chickens do you intend to keep at any one time? Many people with smaller flocks like raised coops. But, if you get over 5-6 chickens, that gets very impractical and you'll need something you can walk into.

Assuming you're interested in eggs ... their production slows down over the years. Do you plan to cull and replace? or, will you support older hens in their 'retirement.' Many people will add a percentage of their total target size to start and increase that gradually over the years so that they always have a group of younger better producing hens. Existing hens can be shockingly mean to newcomers if you haven't yet experienced that. The biggest solution for that is extra space. If you plan to add chickens over time, you'll need even more space than bare minimums to accommodate that integration process.

What is your waste management plan? Lots of people around here go for poop boards. Others go for deep bedding. Lots of users of wood chips in the run. Some do sand. But, your location often dictates what can and cannot work where you are. Your waste management plan can drive what features you will want to include in your coop.

Finally, ask questions about any and all of these things as your ponder them. Lots of people here are glad to help.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum from Louisiana, glad you joined. What country are you in? If someone did have a suitable coop it may not be worth importing from overseas. If you modify your profile to show your general location that information is always available and often comes in handy. Such as below when I talk about your climate.

I've seen a few prefab coops that are suitable for four hens but I can't remember which ones they are or where to find them. They are rare. Most prefab coops are not designed for chickens, hold about half of what they are advertised holding, use poor materials, and are poorly made. If you see one you like put it on here and give us a chance to critique it. When critiquing it knowing your climate and something about how you plan to manage your hens could be helpful. Things like do you plan to free range them or will you ever add more chickens. In some climates a coop that isn't that good can be made to work if you build a larger run around them. But sometimes even those need modifications like raising the roosts or adding ventilation.

I appreciate your being unhandy. That generally means you don't have the tools you'd need, you don't know the techniques you need, and are unsure of your ability to actually do it. Time can be an issue too, it takes time out of your schedule to do something like this. If you build a coop you probably need to build a run also.

What are some of your options? You could get a shed from a big box store or online and pay someone to put it together for you. You'd still need to add nests, roosts, ventilation, and probably a pop door. Nests don't have to be hard. Get two milk crates, put bedding and a fake egg in them, and set them on the coop floor. A roost may be a bit more challenging but how to do that would depend on what type of shed you get. Ventilation could easily be your biggest challenge. If you can lock your human door open so it doesn't close you could skip a pop door.

If you need plans you can probably find something in the Coops section above. This link takes you there. Maybe you could hire a handyman to build it for you.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/

If you are in the USA you might find a coop or shed on Craigslist, though you would probably need to move it yourself or tear it down and rebuild it. Or maybe pay someone to do that. If you are in another country maybe you have local buy, sell, trade online option.

You could go to the Buy, Sell, Trade section of this forum and put an ad there with your location in the title of your thread. It is unlikely but you may find a neighbor that can help. Maybe at this link.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forums/everything-else.19/

Paying somebody to build this for you can be expensive and it can be very frustrating. Even finding someone willing to take your money to build or modify it can be a challenge. A hoop coop is probably the easiest way to do this if it is suitable for your climate.

Good luck with it and once again to the forum.

 

[Strong Bad]

Please tell us your climate/location, as that will impact the options.

I’m in Rhode Island. Definitely gets chilly in the winter.

 

[Strong Bad]

More things to consider.

First and foremost, check your local laws and ordinances. It may impact how many chickens you can have, if you can have roosters, where a coop may or may not stand on your property.

Your location will make a big difference on the type of coop that will work best for you. The best coop for the hot humid south east is different than the mid-west or near artic conditions or the southwest desert.

Try and determine your chicken plans. Are you raising meat birds exclusively? Their needs are different than egg laying hens. Do you intend to raise chickens for show? Again, they have some special considerations. Do you expect to let some hens raise chicks? Again, that will impact space and next box designs.

How many chickens do you intend to keep at any one time? Many people with smaller flocks like raised coops. But, if you get over 5-6 chickens, that gets very impractical and you'll need something you can walk into.

Assuming you're interested in eggs ... their production slows down over the years. Do you plan to cull and replace? or, will you support older hens in their 'retirement.' Many people will add a percentage of their total target size to start and increase that gradually over the years so that they always have a group of younger better producing hens. Existing hens can be shockingly mean to newcomers if you haven't yet experienced that. The biggest solution for that is extra space. If you plan to add chickens over time, you'll need even more space than bare minimums to accommodate that integration process.

What is your waste management plan? Lots of people around here go for poop boards. Others go for deep bedding. Lots of users of wood chips in the run. Some do sand. But, your location often dictates what can and cannot work where you are. Your waste management plan can drive what features you will want to include in your coop.

Finally, ask questions about any and all of these things as your ponder them. Lots of people here are glad to help.

Such good stuff!

I will have 4 Orpingtons.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC!

I’m in Rhode Island. Definitely gets chilly in the winter.

Such good stuff!

I will have 4 Orpingtons.

Here is some basic information for you:

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

4 hens

• 16 square feet in the coop. 4'x4' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber.
• 4 feet of roost
• 40 square feet in the run. 4'x10' or 5'x8'. 6'x6' is a bit too small, 6'x8' is more generous and easier to build than 5'x8'.
• 4 square feet of ventilation. A 2'x2' window is theoretically enough, but in practice doesn't create any air FLOW so better to spread the venting around (and even better to exceed the minimums, especially in warm climates).
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

This coop was specifically designed to meet all the minimums for 4 hens: The Little, Monitor Coop

Originally I had an attached, half-high run on it. If I ever put a run on it again I will make it tall enough to walk into because it was a PAIN to clean in there.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'll also add that it's VERY easy to overthink this stuff. You have just had the info flood gates open on you.

Pick something bigger than you think you'll need.
Do your best to predator proof.
Give them feed and water.
Bam.

You can always make changes if things don't work well the first time around.

 

[3KillerBs]

This coop was specifically designed to meet all the minimums for 4 hens: The Little, Monitor Coop

I had to cut short my post because I was on my lunch at work and had to clock back in.

I believe that these plans are good enough that any reasonably-competent handyman could duplicate the structure without much trouble.

I think it would be better to find a plan you like and hire someone to build that specifically than to let the handyman -- who may or may not know much about chickens -- build what he thinks a chicken coop should be like.

P.S. The monitor roof on this coop is particularly well-suited to severe-winter areas because it is not easily blocked by snow. When I lived in Massachusetts and DH's job took him (and sometimes the entire family), all over New England we often saw both monitors and functional cupolas on old barns.

 

[horsekeeper]

A calf hutch attached to a floor of 2x4x8s. A power drill and some bolts to attach hardware cloth over the openings. The bonus is that you can staple clear plastic over the openings in the winter and they still have good light during the day.

 

[Jenni Hen]

I got two Eglus because I was in a fix and it was the easiest solution. They have a lot of pros and cons.

In your case, the biggest con would be that an Orpington would barely get in! The door and internal space would be too small, the roosting bars would be too narrow and if you raised the coop off the ground, the entry would be treacherous for a large bird because there's a smooth plastic slope at the door. (I put a shallow ramp into the doorway, so no-one slips on the plastic threshold.)

The Eglu can be tempting because the marketing is so slick but the suggestions in this forum would be better.

 

[Aunt Angus]

A calf hutch attached to a floor of 2x4x8s. A power drill and some bolts to attach hardware cloth over the openings. The bonus is that you can staple clear plastic over the openings in the winter and they still have good light during the day.
View attachment 3404198

I am looking for a calf hutch for another purpose. Those things are sure useful!