Do these plans look workable?

[Dancing]

We are starting off with 12 hens.

This is the coop we have started to build and hope to have done (or mostly so) this weekend IF the rain will just stop.

Please take a look at the "blue prints" and give me some feed back. Good or bad...

You may have to go to full screen size to see all the details.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...coop plans/coopfloorplantoplookingdownin2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v...s/chicken coop plans/chickencoopfrontview.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v210/DancingwatersDesigns/chicken coop plans/coopandyardlayout.jpg

Our plans are to build the coop (which we've already started) and yard this weekend and the shed next weekend (weather permitting).

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Nicely thought out. Suggestions that come to mind?

- Get the feed trough off the floor, to the height of the chickens back. Where's the waterer, outside? I prefer hanging fixtures, which help to eliminate waste and mess.

- Add a removable dropping board beneath the roosts.

- Half as many nests will do for 12. The nests need a perching rail 3" from their entrance.

- Put a 45 degree sloped top on the nests to keep the birds off.

- The roosts dont really need to be staggered. Move them both to the same plane, 12" apart, 12" from the wall.

Nests and roost are adequate at 24" off the floor. Higher can cause leg problems for birds jumping out.

Colorful plans! I like

 

[Dancing]

thanks...

We do plan on a hanging waterer for inside but also outside water.

The drop pan...knew I was forgetting something! Suggestions/pictures of how to build it? If not, I'm sure I can figure it out.

The food trough will be raised up so that the litter doesn't get into it.

And there will be electric run to the coop and the shed.

Already figured on the sloped roof on the nests and walk ledges coming out from them.

 

[Gazinga]

niiiiice

 

[Cheep a'lil Talk a'lil]

Well thought out, good job.
I do have some thoughts. But I'm a newbie and still building my own coop.

*You could move the feed trough to the left of the nesting boxes. Then you would be able to move the boxes down to help the ladies with their legs and still have access to the trough from the shed.

Just a thought. Have fun building it!

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Not really any pics, as this is about the simplest addition one can make and is highly adaptable to whatever materials are at hand.
If you are at all handy, a description should suffice. In its simplest form the dropping board is just what it sounds like - a plank beneath the roost where droppings collect.

Since chickens defecate even when asleep and they spend the entire night dozing on the roost, the dropping board takes on obvious significance as a coop fixture. In fact, if chickens are outside during the day as they should be, then the roost can be the prime collecting point for manure in the coop. If your coop can be arranged so to serve as only a sleeping and nesting quarters, then you can cut down on some of the litter maintenance often associated with "coop chores." Dropping boards are an immense help in this regard

Traditionally, a dropping is a 12" x 1" plank, finished smoothly so as to be scraped off easily. Glossy oil paint is likely best, as it prevents the board from absorbing moisture from the droppings and laoows the poo to scrape off easily. In the small coop, it is normally affixed on runners or slides, so it can be drawn out of the coop and cleaned outside. In your case, it might be good to make it slide out through a slot in the side of the coop.

Another innovation is the idea of a wet pit beneath the roost. This is a water tight tray or cut drum hung beneath the roost - and partly filled with water. Thus the name, "wet pit."
The droppings fall in the water where they dilute and immediately go into solution. This has the advantage of keeping down the flies that are otherwise attracted to them and retains more of the nitrogen in the droppings.

Normally, manure degrades in the presence of oxygen, as it "drys out." This degradation causes the nitrogen in the manure to evaporate out as ammonia nitrate gas. Witha wet pit design, this "drying out" is halted and so the droppings retain more of their potency

The "chicken tea" that comes from the wet pit is then drained off once a week or so, through a valve and hose and the collector refilled. The manure tea is then ready to be diluted further, as needed, and used to water garden plants. This makes the nutrients in the manure readily available to the plants without the "burning" and subsequent composting normally associated with chicken manure.

Any dropping collection system, board or wet, should be no more than 2-3 inches from the bottom of the roost - and the roost bottoms themselves covered with wire mesh. This allows the droppings to fall beneath the roost, but keeps the chickens out of them.

I hope this helps.

 

[Davaroo]

Cheep a'lil Talk a'lil :

Well thought out, good job.
I do have some thoughts. But I'm a newbie and still building my own coop.

*You could move the feed trough to the left of the nesting boxes. Then you would be able to move the boxes down to help the ladies with their legs and still have access to the trough from the shed.

Just a thought. Have fun building it!

And you can always build a gang ramp to let them get up to the roosts and nests. If you place the roosts in front of the nests and on the same plane, then all the "business" a chicken really needs to do in the coop is situated in one compact location, thus saving space.​

 

[emilyweck]

Quote:
Not really any pics, as this is about the simplest addition one can make and is highly adaptable to whatever materials are at hand.
If you are at all handy, a description should suffice. In its simplest form the dropping board is just what it sounds like - a plank beneath the roost where droppings collect.

Since chickens defecate even when asleep and they spend the entire night dozing on the roost, the dropping board takes on obvious significance as a coop fixture. In fact, if chickens are outside during the day as they should be, then the roost can be the prime collecting point for manure in the coop. If your coop can be arranged so to serve as only a sleeping and nesting quarters, then you can cut down on some of the litter maintenance often associated with "coop chores." Dropping boards are an immense help in this regard

Traditionally, a dropping is a 12" x 1" plank, finished smoothly so as to be scraped off easily. Glossy oil paint is likely best, as it prevents the board from absorbing moisture from the droppings and laoows the poo to scrape off easily. In the small coop, it is normally affixed on runners or slides, so it can be drawn out of the coop and cleaned outside. In your case, it might be good to make it slide out through a slot in the side of the coop.

Another innovation is the idea of a wet pit beneath the roost. This is a water tight tray or cut drum hung beneath the roost - and partly filled with water. Thus the name, "wet pit."
The droppings fall in the water where they dilute and immediately go into solution. This has the advantage of keeping down the flies that are otherwise attracted to them and retains more of the nitrogen in the droppings.

Normally, manure degrades in the presence of oxygen, as it "drys out." This degradation causes the nitrogen in the manure to evaporate out as ammonia nitrate gas. Witha wet pit design, this "drying out" is halted and so the droppings retain more of their potency

The "chicken tea" that comes from the wet pit is then drained off once a week or so, through a valve and hose and the collector refilled. The manure tea is then ready to be diluted further, as needed, and used to water garden plants. This makes the nutrients in the manure readily available to the plants without the "burning" and subsequent composting normally associated with chicken manure.

Any dropping collection system, board or wet, should be no more than 2-3 inches from the bottom of the roost - and the roost bottoms themselves covered with wire mesh. This allows the droppings to fall beneath the roost, but keeps the chickens out of them.

I hope this helps.

Fabulous plan!! Thank you!

 

[Dancing]

Most excellent post and great info. Even my hubby who grew up with chickens found it extremely helpful. (he's a master carpenter so we can build about anything!) Not sure which he wants to give a try but he likes the wet pan idea. Since the chickens need out of my house asap, will probably go with just a board for now and then change it over to the wet pan.

Wall one is framed and sided, wall two is framed. I so can't wait to get it finished.

Off to work for me!

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Do plan on at least two inches of water - I would recommend a cut drum or barrel.