DIY Starter Coop

[Ladyquitachicks]

Having a hard time settling on a henhouse. Getting ready to build my own. Currently I only have 4 chicks (2) confirmed Roos and (2) I believe to be hens. Living within city limits, I know I won’t be adding too many more, maybe 4 at the most. I’m thinking of creating the henhouse itself at 3 ft wide, 4 ft long, 3 ft tall. Does that sound like enough room for 4 maybe 6 hens? (The roosters will be housed separately since it’s 2)

Note: They’ll only use it at night. In the day time they have a 6x10 covered fence area as their run while I’m at work. They get supervised free-range when I get off work. At some point I’ll build a 6ft tall walk-in enclosure around the henhouse to have their coop & run all in one.

 

[nuthatched]

Hmm, your coop will barely hold 3 full grown hens. Rule of thumb is:
4 sq feet in the coop, 14 inches of roost space, and 8 square feet of run per bird. And 1 nest box per 3 hens. Will you have to remove your cockerels since you live in the city limits?

 

[swamphiker]

Hi! There is quite a lot to keep in mind when thinking about building a coop, here is a great article to start with: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

There are lots of other articles, a few of which might be helpful as you think about your coop build in this section: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/housing-feeding-your-flock.23/

Best of luck and have fun with your new flock!

 

[Ladyquitachicks]

Hmm, your coop will barely hold 3 full grown hens. Rule of thumb is:
4 sq feet in the coop, 14 inches of roost space, and 8 square feet of run per bird. And 1 nest box per 3 hens. Will you have to remove your cockerels since you live in the city limits?

Well good thing I couldn’t get my wood cut at Home Depot earlier I gotta rethink my size. I don’t have to get rid of the cockerels. I just know I won’t have the proper hen ratio.

 

[Ladyquitachicks]

Hi! There is quite a lot to keep in mind when thinking about building a coop, here is a great article to start with: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

There are lots of other articles, a few of which might be helpful as you think about your coop build in this section: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/housing-feeding-your-flock.23/

Best of luck and have fun with your new flock!

Thank you so much for the links. Definitely need it

 

[nuthatched]

Well good thing I couldn’t get my wood cut at Home Depot earlier I gotta rethink my size. I don’t have to get rid of the cockerels. I just know I won’t have the proper hen ratio.

There's a coop articles section that has lots of good designs. For six hens you could do any variation of 5x5, 5x6, 6x6 or 4 x6. if plywood is still high in your area, you can get slab doors pretty cheap at thrift stores and habitat for humanity, I paid $15-$20 each for mine.

 

[3KillerBs]

Here are the usual guidelines for chickens' space needs.

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.

6 hens

• 24 square feet in the coop. 4'x6' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber. If you can't walk into it, put the access door in the middle of the long side to make sure you can reach all areas of the coop because a stubborn chicken WILL press itself into/lay an egg in the back corner where you can't reach.
• 6 feet of roost
• 60 square feet in the run. 6'x10' or 8'x8'.
• 6 square feet of ventilation.
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

8 hens

• 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
• 8 feet of roost
• 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
• 8 square feet of ventilation.
• 2-3 nest boxes.

The quickest, easiest build is a cattle-panel hoop coop. Here are some links:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-tractor.69336/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-coop-brooder-with-roll-up-sides.75720/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-biddie-bordello-a-hoop-coop-run-combo.72189/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/permanent-hoop-coop-guide.47818/

If you're skilled at DIY or have skilled help, this coop, my first, could be easily expanded to 4x6 if you move the access door to the wall opposite the nests and run the roost the long way. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

 

[Ladyquitachicks]

There's a coop articles section that has lots of good designs. For six hens you could do any variation of 5x5, 5x6, 6x6 or 4 x6. if plywood is still high in your area, you can get slab doors pretty cheap at thrift stores and habitat for humanity, I paid $15-$20 each for mine.

Thanks for those measurements cause the sq ft per chicken be having me lost

 

[Ladyquitachicks]

Here are the usual guidelines for chickens' space needs.

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.

6 hens

• 24 square feet in the coop. 4'x6' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber. If you can't walk into it, put the access door in the middle of the long side to make sure you can reach all areas of the coop because a stubborn chicken WILL press itself into/lay an egg in the back corner where you can't reach.
• 6 feet of roost
• 60 square feet in the run. 6'x10' or 8'x8'.
• 6 square feet of ventilation.
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

8 hens

• 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
• 8 feet of roost
• 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
• 8 square feet of ventilation.
• 2-3 nest boxes.

The quickest, easiest build is a cattle-panel hoop coop. Here are some links:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-tractor.69336/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-coop-brooder-with-roll-up-sides.75720/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-biddie-bordello-a-hoop-coop-run-combo.72189/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/permanent-hoop-coop-guide.47818/

If you're skilled at DIY or have skilled help, this coop, my first, could be easily expanded to 4x6 if you move the access door to the wall opposite the nests and run the roost the long way. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

Love this! On the long side I’m thinking of doing a double door for cleaning but having an additional cutout on one for the chicks to go in & out. On the short end I’m thinking a flap for access to nest boxes.

 

[3KillerBs]

Love this! On the long side I’m thinking of doing a double door for cleaning but having an additional cutout on one for the chicks to go in & out. On the short end I’m thinking a flap for access to nest boxes.

Time to get out your graph paper and start sketching.

To me that's one of the most fun parts of a build.