Drawn idea of coop, etc WOOhoo…

[Saltlifexo95]

GO EASY ON ME!! lmao

You’ve heard it all.. “I’m new, yatta yatta.” Well, I reckon you gotta start somewhere. All help/suggestions welcome.

Soooo I know it’s probably bland & simple.. but we all ball on a budget at some point in our lives! Our main concern is safe, happy, & healthy chickens. This is what we came up with so far.

If you like to read, well today is your lucky day. Sometimes I like to write stuff down instead of typing, I guess it makes me feel more organized in the long run… anywho! These are answers to some of the questions I’ve come across on here quite a bit, I’m probably forgetting something but that’s ok. Don’t mind my chicken scratch.. hardy har har.

The real deal

Might I add.. I picked up this book from Tractor Supply last year, it’s been pretty helpful. I’m going to have to read it over to freshen up my memory on some things. Right now we know Orpingtons are at the top of our list, and we are unsure about having a rooster. Thank you for your time!

 

[Jenessa_096]

Looks awesome! Glad your planning ahead it’s always a good idea to have a plan!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Re: ventilation - I see 4 "vents" marked on the coop but not sure if you had additional ventilation planned, and what the overall sq ft of it will be. In your climate having more than the recommended 1 sq ft per bird would be advisable - even better, go with an open air design, have 1 wall as wire mesh to maximize ventilation during the hottest parts of the year. A lot of examples and links to examples here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wanted-open-air-coop-pics.1489579/

Swings are cute but realistically few chickens are willing to use them, so better to put in more clutter which the birds will use. Right now your run is mostly a big open square, a bit more clutter can break up the space to help diffuse aggression and just to give the birds something to do: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[DobieLover]

I saw "heater" on your list of supplies. You will never need that in GA.

The windows need to be fully functional so you can open them for lots of summer time ventilation in your hot weather.

I would consider making the wind shielded side of your coop open air with just 1/2" hardware cloth for the wall. If you need to cover most of that side in the winter you could attach a clear shower curtain or reinforced poly sheeting to block the wind.

You do not need to bury the HC apron. Just secure it to the bottom support of the kennel and lay it out over the ground, pin the far side with HD landscape pins and let the grass grow through it. It's the gaps between the kennel door that you will need to worry about.

I would run 1/2" HC around the bottom 2' of the kennel walls.

I did not use linoleum for my coop floor. I just painted it with 2 coats of Behr Porch and Floor paint and it's holding up just fine. I use hemp and/or pine shavings for bedding and clean out once a year.

You will also want litter in the run and if there is any way you can get a roof over it, that would help immensely. I like wood chips. Will the entire setup be in the shade? Also make sure you build on high ground all the way around. You don't want water pooling in the run at all.

I wouldn't waste money on the chicken toys and swings. Put some branches in the run for them to perch on and lots of litter to scratch through. I pick up wood stools or chair and put them in the chickens pen. They love to perch on the seat, back and leg rungs of them.

 

[jreardon1918]

This looks good. I second the notion that you may need a heater, but the chickens will not, .

The nest box, I have a minor suggestion. Ours has a top lift to access the eggs. The top is heavy. We had to add struts to hold them up. I recommend side access doors. This also would help with little ones helping to get the eggs. Here is a post we did on the subject a while ago.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/gas-struts-for-nesting-box-lid.1494041/post-24923319 A picture from that post.

 

[3KillerBs]

from Central NC.

You've gotten great advice so far.

I agree that there is no way that any part of Georgia will ever need heat in the coop. Chickens are able to handle temperatures down to and even below 0F easily because they have built-in down parkas. It's out steamy, southeastern HEAT that causes problems.

Do consider an Open Air design -- a wire box with a 3-sided shelter at the windward end.

This is my build thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/large-open-air-coop-in-central-nc.1443812/

And here are some links for other open air designs:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-positive-local-action-coop.72804/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/california-living.68130/

Also,

I noticed that your design was 5x10. Since lumber comes in multiples of 4 feet, it's better to design in those dimensions so that you don't have to make so many cuts and have so much waste.

 

[KyCoop]

Looks great so far. One thing I would do is move the pop door (chicken door) and ramp away from the outside run wall. If something gets after them, their line of escape to the safety of the coop will be "cut off". If you can't do that, put up a solid color panel so whatever is after them can't see them running up the ramp.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Great advice above - front open egg access, not a top hinge. Easier for you, much lighter, less prone to leaks.

You are on a budget. SKIP THE WINDOWS. Instead, extend the overhangs, and open up ventilation along the whole of the top, under the roofline. Sure, its less attractive, but its ultimately more effective, and certainly cheaper.

You are in hot and humid. Check your prevailing winds, then consider making the side that opens into the run wide open - no point in adding $100 - $150 in plywood if there's no severe weather to shelter the birds from.

Go with the ground as your floor and deep litter method (make sure to adjust the geography of your yard so that rainwater folw away from the coop and run, not towards it.

I don't see any discussion of roof - but your building size is "odd" for off the shelf solutions. Since you are on a budget, I suggest metal roofing - its cheapest per sq ft right now, and easiest for a novice to install correctly. If you want passive light inside the coop (assuming you don't delete one wall as an open air design) you can sub in one or two panels of polycarbonate in place of metal to let light thru from above.

I would give a lot of consideration to "turning" your building 90 degrees so its the width of the kennel, and altering its dimensions to something that will require fewer cuts - then use the savings on the deleted floor and "front" wall to make it 6' deep, and use 8' roofing panels to ensure a good overhang.

 

[Saltlifexo95]

Looks awesome! Glad your planning ahead it’s always a good idea to have a plan!

Thank you!!

 

[Saltlifexo95]

Re: ventilation - I see 4 "vents" marked on the coop but not sure if you had additional ventilation planned, and what the overall sq ft of it will be. In your climate having more than the recommended 1 sq ft per bird would be advisable - even better, go with an open air design, have 1 wall as wire mesh to maximize ventilation during the hottest parts of the year. A lot of examples and links to examples here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/wanted-open-air-coop-pics.1489579/

Swings are cute but realistically few chickens are willing to use them, so better to put in more clutter which the birds will use. Right now your run is mostly a big open square, a bit more clutter can break up the space to help diffuse aggression and just to give the birds something to do: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

So with open air design, I reckon you would just wrap it in the colder months?? & I know it looks plain, I just kept the open space for suggestions. We plan to spoil them a bit.