Deep breath - totally new coop plans for 'Les Poules' after being here!

[PouleChick]

I think you guys are awesome - I have learnt huuuuge amounts from threads on here however you've made me have to redo all my coop plans!

I'd spent so many evenings a couple of years ago sorting out my coop plans. Luckily as it turns out I spent more time on here and didnt' ever get around to building it as I would have had a seriously %(&*)(*ed off husband a few months down the line when I would have told him that actually I have made a huge mistake and the coop we just spent however many euros and hours on was just totally too small and we'd have to start again as I'll totally need more than 6 chickens!

My original plans can be seen here (with descriptions ofr plan b which I thought would be enough ):
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...es-help-feedback-for-a-newbie-please.1094735/ and you can see those who have caused me all the extra work totally redoing my plans!

I'm thinking 12 chickens are a more realistic number and I'm building to fit 18 What do you think - it has been doing my head in how to make my concrete base bigger (2 x 2.2 m) and realised I can make a clever poop under roost drop with hardcloth off the edge of the existing concrete to add 1/3 extra space and eliminate the daily cleaning of a poop board which I'd been planning (as it will just drop out into an area underneath it which I can either layer other compost stuff (leaves / grass etc) and let it compost in place or dig it out when needed and move to the compost pile.

The other thing my new design allows is a hospital / brooder area within the coop and all of it now in a walk in coop which on reflection with my slightly dodgy back will I think be a godsend! I haven't got the different walls drawn up yet (with lots of ventilation!) but thought I'd run the floor plan by you guys at this point for some feedback.

 

[PouleChick]

Oh and you'll note although I'm totally allergic to the old fashioned feet thing I even went and translated all my metre measurements to feet so you guys who are in the states can understand my plans and sizes easily

 

[PouleChick]

Grrr can't work out how you can make it bigger to see the writing etc. Hmmph I need my bed. I hope you cna see what you need to!

 

[Folly's place]

It's hard to see your drawing/ dimensions, but 2m x 3m isn't really that large; I think way small for 18 birds. Most of us plan on a bit over 1m sq. per bird in the coop, and larger is better.
Also, chicken poo will NOT gently drift down through 1/2" (1 cm.) hardware cloth. It will stick on top and be miserable to clean off.
Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

For 12 birds, you will need a total of 48 sq. ft. You should have 12 linear feet of perch, and the perch(es ) should be 2 - 3' above the floor of the coop and at least 18" below the roof. The back perch should be at least 12" away from the back wall, and there should be plenty of room in front of the perches so the birds can jump down without doing a face plant. @aart has a nice article about maximizing your space by taking advantage of stackable vertical spacing. Lots of ventilation: = to 10% of your floor space or 1 s.f./bird is also important. Natural lighting is also a must! Welcome and happy planning.

 

[squirtsmomma]

I used hardware cloth in the bottom of the house, below a roost in a chicken tractor so poop would just fall through, and I constantly had to scrape and use the garden hose to clear it. Wish I never had put it in. Just a thought. Don't you love the excitement of planning? We all live and learn.

 

[aart]

@aart has a nice article about maximizing your space by taking advantage of stackable vertical spacing.

Not really maximizing per se...just some general guidelines for heights.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-should-stuff-be.73427/

It's hard to see your drawing/ dimensions, but 2m x 3m isn't really that large; I think way small for 18 birds.

2m x 3m is about 7' x 10'.....so, yeah, a bit tight for for 18 birds,
12 birds would be better.

Will have to look closer in the morning when more awake.

 

[imnukensc]

I use welded wire under my roost in the coop. It is 1/2 inch by 1 inch (1.27 cm x 2.54 cm) and it is not large enough to let the poop fall through. I use a deck brush to push it through. Not too hard to do, but this spring I'll be changing that to 1 inch by 2 inch (2.54 cm x 5.08 cm) welded wire. I'm sure I'll still have to brush it occasionally.

 

[PouleChick]

It's hard to see your drawing/ dimensions, but 2m x 3m isn't really that large; I think way small for 18 birds. Most of us plan on a bit over 1m sq. per bird in the coop, and larger is better.
Also, chicken poo will NOT gently drift down through 1/2" (1 cm.) hardware cloth. It will stick on top and be miserable to clean off.
Mary

Thanks Mary - I know it is not that large but I'm surprised that you say 1m2 per bird in the coop is what everyone uses to work it out - I thought it was 4 ft2 inside space and 1m2 is nearly 11ft2 which I understood is minimum for outdoor space not indoor. Really good point about the HC what a shame i thought it would be such a great idea!

For 12 birds, you will need a total of 48 sq. ft. You should have 12 linear feet of perch, and the perch(es ) should be 2 - 3' above the floor of the coop and at least 18" below the roof. The back perch should be at least 12" away from the back wall, and there should be plenty of room in front of the perches so the birds can jump down without doing a face plant.

I have 2.2x3m = 6.6m2 which I just converted and that is 71ft2 but then there are the nesting boxes hanging off the side which I'm guessing is included in the calculations which is another 6ft2 for a total of 77ft2 / 4ft2 per chicken = 19.25 chickens but even without the boxes it is still 71 / 4 = 17.75 chickens. So I thought that having a theoretical 12 chicken flock with the ability for it to grow to 18 would work with these dimensions. I will be having some silkies in my flock as well up to 4. The perches are 4.4m (14ft5") with the ability to add more if the flock did grow past 12. The perches are 45cm (18 inches) from the wall and each other.

I used hardware cloth in the bottom of the house, below a roost in a chicken tractor so poop would just fall through, and I constantly had to scrape and use the garden hose to clear it. Wish I never had put it in. Just a thought. Don't you love the excitement of planning? We all live and learn.

I'm so glad I ran my 'fantastic' idea past you guys before I did it! I have my thinking hat back on!

2m x 3m is about 7' x 10'.....so, yeah, a bit tight for for 18 birds,
12 birds would be better.

Will have to look closer in the morning when more awake.

Yep I've diligently read all of you great articles @aart and found them massively helpful , particularly the 'how much space do they need' one. In that you wrote

The 4 square feet recommendation assumes they will spend extended time in the coop and not be able to get in the run occasionally

Mine will never be spending extended time in the coop. I am building a run that will be very predator proofed, roofed and HC on the sides so I imagine that all they will be doing in the coop is sleeping - we have mild weather here - generally night time temps don't drop much below 0c (32f) and would very rarely get as low as 0f (which is -17c). The coldest I've ever seen it here is -12c overnight for about a week (10f) so can't see them needing to be shut in the coop for weather reasons. In fact I intend to leave the pop door open into the run 24/7 unless there is some issue with the run / a predator lurking (we dont' really have much here - maybe foxes although never seen one and a few dogs but lots of neighbours with free range chickens). We get pretty hot here in the summer so I'm thinking they may prefer sleeping in the run in the summer and will provide roosts out there as well. They will not have food in the coop (so no space requirements for that) - it will only be in the run - they will have some nipple waterers on pipes against the N wall (so again not taking up any space really), the nesting boxes (hanging off the side not internal) and the perches so I thought that 4ft2 per bird would be absolutely fine and I may never get to 18 anyway which would be the 4ft per bird but now everyone is scaring me that it is not big enough I want to build something that is comfortable but I can't afford to give them all 1m2 (10.7ft2) inside space each - building materials are significantly more expensive here than in the states even before I start! Is sticking with the 4ft2 (which I thought I'd done) going to cause behavioural issues etc???

I use welded wire under my roost in the coop. It is 1/2 inch by 1 inch (1.27 cm x 2.54 cm) and it is not large enough to let the poop fall through. I use a deck brush to push it through. Not too hard to do, but this spring I'll be changing that to 1 inch by 2 inch (2.54 cm x 5.08 cm) welded wire. I'm sure I'll still have to brush it occasionally.

How will the bigger stuff work if they try to walk on it (picturing broken legs!)? I'm wondering if I can do some sort of drop down solid board for that section on hinges that I just open like a slide and scrape off.

I'm looking forward to hearing what you guys think now that I've given more information.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

First off, the 4 square ft per bird rule only applies IMO if you are free ranging your chickens and they’ll be locked inside the henhouse when there’s bad weather. If your chickens are only going to sleep and lay in the henhouse and you have a covered attached run that they have daytime access to then you could do 2 square ft per chicken in the henhouse.