First chicken coop design! How's it look?

[cheryl98117]

So your discription of your location... I'm interpreting it as, there is concrete with a path of a few inches of dirt that runs the length of the concrete? Is there any way you could post a photo of your location? Ive got this idea in my head, but it wouldn't work if the dirt doesnt run the length of the concrete that your coop and run will cover...

Anyways... "IF" the dirt strip runs the length of the concrete. You could always dig the dirt out 6 inches or so, to creat a trench. "make sure the drainage trench is longer than your run, to move the water away." Fill the trench with gravle, lay a strip of landscaping fabric over the gravle, "to keep sand out of gravle." and then layer in your sand. The trench filled with gravle would give excess water a place to drain, thus minimising any standing water in your run. It would be a basic curtain drain.

I live in NW Washington, so I understand what you mean by rain. This basic set up is what I use around my buildings, yards, and in my horses padocks to reduce any mud, or standing water. And it has worked well for me.

I don't know if I typed this in a manner than anyone but myself can understand. lol But it reads clear to me!

 

[Chickens in the Grove]

Quote:
Lol sorry, I tried to make it clear, but it's a funny location. But, here are pictures!

The gate there is our width problem. I actually re-measured it when I took the pictures and we can go up to 4'x12' instead of 3'x10'. So, we can make the coop 4'x4' and the run 4'x8'! Which works perfectly. We were going to leave a foot to the gate, but we can go right up against it.

There's about a 14" gap that runs between the slabs of concrete.

While I'm at it, here are the vents. There are two of them. They're 18.5"x18.5" at the edges, which makes for about 17"x17" for the actual screen part.

 

[cheryl98117]

You might be able to dig out that dirt strip. But after looking at your chosen location, I don't see a way to allow the water to run out. Unless you wanted to break some concrete. Oh well it was worth mentioning. lol

I would leave the slab for the gate there as well, it will help keep whatever material you choose in the run.

 

[Chickens in the Grove]

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I don't know where we'd get the water to drain, but we might be able to. We broke up some of the concrete to see if it was possible, so we could break up a little trench and have the water drain out somewhere in the middle of the run instead of the far end. We do use that path that runs from the gate down the length of the shed (large green building on the right). So, our biggest problem design-wise is not interfering with that path.

But that's a really good idea! I hadn't thought of that. Since the concrete isn't that even, water really does puddle in certain areas. Giving it somewhere to go would be great.

 

[Chickens in the Grove]

Alright, I talked to my boyfriend and he vetoed the extra length on the run. He thought that it interfered with the path too much. So, we're going to make the coop 4'x3', the run 4'x7', but we're going to let them under the coop, so they're really going to have 4'x10' for the run!

He doesn't want the run to be any higher than it is because he's worried about moving large things through that space (like a couch or something), so, unless someone can convince him that the chickens need more than 3' of head room, we'll probably go with that.

If the run is 3' tall, then we do need the top of it to hinge open because, if it didn't, we'd have to crawl into the coop to clean it. This way, we can just hinge open the top, hop over the fence, and rake it from inside the coop.

 

[cheryl98117]

Quote:
I don't know where we'd get the water to drain, but we might be able to. We broke up some of the concrete to see if it was possible, so we could break up a little trench and have the water drain out somewhere in the middle of the run instead of the far end. We do use that path that runs from the gate down the length of the shed (large green building on the right). So, our biggest problem design-wise is not interfering with that path.

But that's a really good idea! I hadn't thought of that. Since the concrete isn't that even, water really does puddle in certain areas. Giving it somewhere to go would be great.

Well if you don't mind breaking up some concrete, just go to the hardware store and pick up a length of pvc pipe, "long enough for two pieces that will reach from one side of the path and stick out into the gravle on the other side of the path." Also buy a bag of quik crete. Cut the pvc pipe into two lengths, drill some holes all around the sidewalls on the end that will sit in the gravle. "for the water to enter the pipe." Place the pipes where you broke the concrete, put in some sort of frame on each side of the path, "to hold the concrete in place" mix and pour your bag of quik crete, let it set, remove framework, back fill trench with rock, add landscaping fabric over rock, then add sand!


I think I re-read that about 4 times before it sounded right. lol