First chicken coop build

[bsepple]

As my wife and I are new to having chickens and due to the shear amount of them I will end up with (see introduction past for story), the "small" prebuilt coop just wont cut it so I am in the process of building a much larger coop from scratch. I have plenty of building experience but wanted to get your thoughts and opinions. It is going to be a dirt floor 16'x16' coop with a 16'x50' covered run.

 

[bsepple]

I am planning on a metal roof with a 6" welded wire at the top of the walls for ventilation. We are installing a cinder block wall between the posts (one below dirt level and one above) for extra predator proofing. It is going to have at least 4 windows (one on each side).

 

[Intuit]

Sounds like a great coop plan. You're off to a good start. Hope you show pics of the finished product

 

[bsepple]

Day 3 of my build. I added the metal roofing, some lateral bracing and my wife dug out and added the cinder block for the start of predator protection.

 

[bsepple]

Day 4 was a less productive day but I was able to get 2 sheets of hardie board siding up to make sure my ventilation idea is going to work (which I think it looks awesome and is going to work great)

 

[WildNectarine]

As my wife and I are new to having chickens and due to the shear amount of them I will end up with (see introduction past for story), the "small" prebuilt coop just wont cut it so I am in the process of building a much larger coop from scratch. I have plenty of building experience but wanted to get your thoughts and opinions. It is going to be a dirt floor 16'x16' coop with a 16'x50' covered run.

16’x50’ covered run? Oh, that’s just plain beautiful. Bravo.

 

[bsepple]

16’x50’ covered run? Oh, that’s just plain beautiful. Bravo.

Yup, also a covered 16'x50' run

 

[bsepple]

Took a few days off to visit our daughter in TN but was back at it come Sunday. Started installing the hardie exterior wall panels and started the poop shelf on the inside. Once the panels are all installed, my wife will paint before I start adding the trim.