Do Hens hang out in the hen house???

[Frankiegirl]

Hi all! I am in the process of finally building my girls permanent coop! I currently have 5 hens, but plan to build the coop/run to expand to 15 if I catch chicken math fever! We have settled on an 8x12 shed style coop with the hen house portion being 8x8, and the remaining 4x8 of the inside partitioned off for storage. I am grappling with whether or not to keep the hen house portion open to the floor with steps up to the roosting bars inside the coop or raise the floor to waist height like a raised coop and also keep that space below for more storage through a drawer system underneath. We would then have the chicken plank outside leading up to the coop.

So my real question is, do hens ever just hang out in the hen house or am I totally overthinking this? One part of me would like to walk into the coop and allow them the massive head space of a floor to ceiling but the other side argues that chickens don’t lounge in the coop. My builder thinks im a cook by this point but I am still so new at this that I can’t seem to make a decision and stick with it.

If you would kindly weigh in on the pros and cons based on experience, it would be greatly appreciated. I have sifted through countless coop plans and ideas and am simply stuck. Thanks and cheers!

 

[DobieLover]

Hi all! I am in the process of finally building my girls permanent coop! I currently have 5 hens, but plan to build the coop/run to expand to 15 if I catch chicken math fever! We have settled on an 8x12 shed style coop with the hen house portion being 8x8, and the remaining 4x8 of the inside partitioned off for storage. I am grappling with whether or not to keep the hen house portion open to the floor with steps up to the roosting bars inside the coop or raise the floor to waist height like a raised coop and also keep that space below for more storage through a drawer system underneath. We would then have the chicken plank outside leading up to the coop.

So my real question is, do hens ever just hang out in the hen house or am I totally overthinking this? One part of me would like to walk into the coop and allow them the massive head space of a floor to ceiling but the other side argues that chickens don’t lounge in the coop. My builder thinks im a cook by this point but I am still so new at this that I can’t seem to make a decision and stick with it.

If you would kindly weigh in on the pros and cons based on experience, it would be greatly appreciated. I have sifted through countless coop plans and ideas and am simply stuck. Thanks and cheers!

I would never again go with a non-walk in style coop. Yes, during the bitter cold days of winter, the chickens will loiter around in the deep bedding of the coop to stay warm.

 

[neo71665]

Were you are at up north I'd say yes they will spend a good amount of time in there in the winter.

As for walk in, It's all I would suggest. My buddy had one of those things you had to climb in and bump your head on everything. After a year he scrapped that piece and built a full sized coop.

 

[Frankiegirl]

Thanks! I am in western Michigan and it gets a bit cold up here and a lot of snow. That was my initial plan...will move forward on that!

 

[K0k0shka]

I agree with everybody - walk-in is the best for your sake, and yes, chickens do occasionally like to hang out in there when they don't want to go out. Mine love their run and it hasn't gotten that cold yet, but I see them in the morning when it gets chilly, huddling in the coop or preening themselves for a bit before going out. I think they wake up before it's light enough to really see well outside, so they're too timid to go straight out in the semi-dark, so they hang out inside the coop for a while.

 

[aart]

One part of me would like to walk into the coop and allow them the massive head space of a floor to ceiling.

Go with this, you'll be glad you did!
The height is excellent for ventilation up high...deep(12-18") roof overhangs and open soffits.

So my real question is, do hens ever just hang out in the hen house or am I totally overthinking this?

Unless you have a huge weather proof run....
.... yes, they can spend days inside the coop during our lake effect storms.

 

[RainbowHen]

My girls go in and out of the henhouse all day. They are confined to an attached covered run (no free ranging) so they go and scratch about the run for a while, then go hangout and scratch around the coop for a while. Rinse and repeat alllll day.

 

[neo71665]

My girls go in and out of the henhouse all day. They are confined to an attached covered run (no free ranging) so they go and scratch about the run for a while, then go hangout and scratch around the coop for a while. Rinse and repeat alllll day.

Mine are the same, I never lock the coop up. My run is has chain link on the top under a tin roof.

 

[Ridgerunner]

With that size definitely walk-in. Good decision. You need to be able to reach everywhere inside for many different reasons. You need to be comfortable when you are working inside so make it tall enough you can do that. You need enough room so you can be flexible when dealing with issues. This is mostly for your benefit but the chickens will benefit too.

When you mentioned storage shelves underneath my first thought was "What a great place for Mommy Mouse to raise her babies". Mice will be attracted to your coop by the feed and shelter. Don't help them out any ore than you have to.

Mine never hang out in the coop but I have weather and enough shelter outside so they can stay outside all day every day. In Michigan you are not going to have that so don't pack them too rightly in the coop section or provide them a place outside protected from snow and especially a cold wind.

 

[Frankiegirl]

With that size definitely walk-in. Good decision. You need to be able to reach everywhere inside for many different reasons. You need to be comfortable when you are working inside so make it tall enough you can do that. You need enough room so you can be flexible when dealing with issues. This is mostly for your benefit but the chickens will benefit too.

When you mentioned storage shelves underneath my first thought was "What a great place for Mommy Mouse to raise her babies". Mice will be attracted to your coop by the feed and shelter. Don't help them out any ore than you have to.

Mine never hang out in the coop but I have weather and enough shelter outside so they can stay outside all day every day. In Michigan you are not going to have that so don't pack them too rightly in the coop section or provide them a place outside protected from snow and especially a cold wind.

Good point regarding rodents! All of my storage buckets are sealed and sure enough one made an effort, but no success. Thanks....coop will go on concrete slab that was just poured and 8x20’ run will be covered and wired at the base. No free ranging until i have an idea of what critters we are sharing the land with. Perhaps there will be phase 2...or phase (insert #) of what this will look like eventually.

I purchased a heated rain barrel system and a metal feeder w foot lever to open which will be kept in the run. I currently remove their food every night in the run to reduce the chance of rodents/pests. That’s getting old!!! Rather safe than sorry.