Finished first coop & Run

[venom87m]

This is my first. Took close to 3 months to pretty much finish. Needless to say I already know what I should have done differently. Had too many setbacks and waiting on extra material from a house build delayed me too. Saved me some money though. I was trying to build simple and minimal and for the most part I did with the coop itself. Here it is

It's about 4' x 8' x 4' coop. Run is about 10' x 8' x 5' 7".

Inside, 2 x 4 roost (looking through door)

Back side view of access door & nest box

Interior view

Bad picture of nest box lol (in a hurry)

Another view from outside run

And figured I'd throw in a picture of our "Lilly" lol




Been a member here for a few weeks just never posted. Love the site and read a lot. I usually don't "show off" things it's just not me but I know (like myself) many of you like seeing peoples' different work.

Many eggs to you all!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Wow that is a nice coop and run! Looks easy to maintain! I hope you ended up giving them the space under the coop too (I see it wasn't finished being fenced in the pic) for shade/rain cover.

 

[venom87m]

Actually there is nylon coated dark green chicken wire across that bottom you just cant see it. I was going to leave it acccessible for them but decided not to. Dont want to ever lose any eggs under there in the back. My luck I'd have one hen doing it all the time lol but I'm going to do something else in that corner next to the ramp for shade. Still have predator proofing to do yet too. Thanks for compliments on it and suggestions!

 

[Crooked-Creek]

Nice coop and run!!! Looks Good!!! Is there any windows or ventilation for inside the coop? I couldn't see any on the pictures. It gets pretty hot here in Texas so ventilation inside the coop is a must this time of year. Thank for sharing pic's of your coop. I love seeing how everybody builds their coops.

 

[venom87m]

The two ends of the coop have an open gap where the 2x4's slope to the back. Hardware cloth on inside of those. About 3 inches down to 1/4". No windows. I live in West Virginia. Mostly our highest heat is mid 90s then we have great fall temps and winter if I had to guess an average it's probably about 30 degrees. I have a few vents ready to go if I need them.

 

[Crooked-Creek]

Good Deal !!! Today it was 102 where i live and we are running fans to help keep our birds cool. Ventilation is simply on my mind. Great job on your coop!!!

 

[SobbaChickens]

Great job!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Actually there is nylon coated dark green chicken wire across that bottom you just cant see it. I was going to leave it acccessible for them but decided not to. Dont want to ever lose any eggs under there in the back. My luck I'd have one hen doing it all the time lol but I'm going to do something else in that corner next to the ramp for shade. Still have predator proofing to do yet too. Thanks for compliments on it and suggestions!

I understand about the egg retrieval LOL. And they would lay under there, no doubt!

Just so you know, chicken wire can be torn apart by raccoon "hands" as if it isn't even there. Only 1/2 inch hardware cloth will keep out weasels and rats (and the raccoons), which kill chickens, as well. So you may want to go over (with hardware cloth) around the base of the coop to protect the green chicken wire from coons. Just a thought.

If you apron out some hardware cloth it will deter digging predators like dogs- here is one example (you can even cover your lower section of welded wire fencing with hardware cloth):

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/permanent-hoop-coop-guide
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/nickandryans-chicken-coop

in the second link you can see the hardware cloth over the welded wire along the bottom if you scroll down

I hope this helps...my chicken coop is never done and that is the way it is with a lot of folks LOL...always making changes. These are just suggestions and things I have seen over the years on BYC.

My chicken run is just welded wire fencing...I close them up at night in the coop...if you will be leaving your pop door open at night is when you have to go haywire with the hardware cloth- it can be very expensive to buy! I like to just use my automatic coop door opener and it is on a timer. That may be what you want to do instead of making the run into a Fort Knox run.

I hope this helps!

 

[aart]

The two ends of the coop have an open gap where the 2x4's slope to the back. Hardware cloth on inside of those. About 3 inches down to 1/4". No windows. I live in West Virginia. Mostly our highest heat is mid 90s then we have great fall temps and winter if I had to guess an average it's probably about 30 degrees. I have a few vents ready to go if I need them.

Still might want more ventilation than that. A operable window(s) with hardware cloth will give them some light for winter laying efficiency as well as some air movement for ammonia removal.
Great article here and some threads that would be worth perusing..... advanced search>titles only> ventilation aprons

 

[JanetS]

I agree, you need more ventilation and maybe a window or two. We have hardware cloth under our chicken coop and our chickens have never laid an egg under there. That's their favorite place to go when it rains. Good luck and I can see from the pictures that you have very happy chickens.