Designed a coop... will it stand up?

[tangerinedreams]

I've been really struggling with my coop design and worrying about whether it'll stand up. This is the space I've got to work with (approx 4m x 1.8m):



It's a rockery (a big pile of boulders, bricks, etc) so I can't dig into it to make a solid foundation. First I thought I'd use bricks, as pictured, but I dont feel it'll be solid enough. My new plan is to use some 90x60cm solid concrete paving slabs but to leave the middle open so they can still scratch about. Any idea if this will be solid enough?

Secondly, this is my coop plan (minus a roof and carcass timber). It's all made from 3x2inch beams... again do you think this will be strong enough to hold together?



I'm feeling a bit out of depth with all this, i don't to spend all my money and time building for it to collapse on my new chicks.

Thanks all

 

[junebuggena]

Is this a coop/run combination? How many birds do you plan on having, and what breeds?

 

[tangerinedreams]

Yeah sorry the drawing isn't too clear. The bit with horizontal bits will be the house with space underneath and the rest being a run.

I had bantams last time but might try something new this time!

 

[123RedBeard]

Looks fine to me ... Use screws instead of nails, they will hold much stronger!

Use welded wire or heavy duty hardware cloth 19 (gauge or better) for the screening. (No chicken/hen wire/mesh)

 

[sunflour]

We built a similar coop, used 6x6 treated wood lumber for the foundation. Corners cut to interlock and corners joined with some large "spikes" - look like very large nails, usually used in retainer wall building. Left side dug down somewhat and added cement blocking and fill dirt to the right side - tampered to level. The coop was attached to this foundation and is quite sturdy. I don't have pic of just the foundation in this PC, but think you can see the foundation in this one:



This coop is 5 by 10 feet. Those 6x6's are quite heavy.

 

[tangerinedreams]

Thanks guys that's great. I think I'm gonna go for it! I'm going maximum fox proof after the **** got my last bunch of girls.

 

[junebuggena]

Just keep in mind that medium sized breeds, like Leghorns, need about 10 sq ft of run space per bird. And larger, dual-purpose breeds need even more.

 

[tangerinedreams]

Will keep it in mind and research before any purchases. I've got about 70 sq ft of run space and will probably get 5 or 6 chicks. They'll be out scratching up my lawn most days anyway so should be okay.

 

[MeepBeep]

You might want to space it off the fence and other building enough for you to squeeze between so you can perform maintenance and upkeep, it will also all you to more easily ventilate it...

 

[tangerinedreams]

Hmm you're right about maintenance. Ventilation shouldn't be a problem I'm planning on building some vent slides into the coop. This is England so they'll be lucky for a non windy day anyway!