First Coop design....

[Mike_g]

Hello all,

I’m looking for input into the design of our first chicken coop. It should be a good family project. We are looking to build ourselves. I’ve done interior remodeling (stud framing, wiring, drywall) a few times, and a little roofing, so I think the carpentry should be OK to tackle. First, a little background and design constraints:

We live on a rural acreage in NE South Dakota with not much wind protection. It can be minus 20 to minus 35 degrees F here, and often have winds around 40 mph during winter. Not uncommon to have 0 degrees F and 20-40 mph winds during January blizzards. Summers can be warm, with 90 plus degree heat, up to a bit over 100 occasionally.​

We have a neutered male Great Pyrenees, about 2-3 YO. He is pretty mild mannered, except when the neighbor dogs are out and running on our yard – he barks a lot in those instances. Our thought is to introduce the dog to the chicks early on, with the goal of the chicken coop being housed inside of the dog kennel. We’d plan to make his house part of the coop if possible.​

We’d probably have dog’s house sealed off from the rest of the coop, so as to keep drafts down (great pyrenees need big door opening).​

Not sure how many chickens we’d want. I suspect around a dozen initially, and possibly more later. I’ve heard it’s better to build the coop a little too big, to allow for growing number of chickens.​

Our yard has areas which are wet from snowmelt runoff in the spring, and areas which collect more snow, etc. We’d like to be able to move it seasonally, further in the backyard in spring & summer, and closer up to the house in the fall. We’d probably tow with a pickup truck, or roll on PVC pipes when moving, so would probably need 4x4 or 4x6 treated wood skids.​

If we grow tired of the chickens (not likely IMO) we’d like a shed which could be reused as a garden shed, and not a building whose future function is limited to chicken coop due to sidewall height, etc.​

We’ve been browsing this site, soaking up details about coop designs, ventilation needs, etc, and have generally settled on 3 different types listed in order of preference:

1. An 8x12 shed roof type coop, built on skids. Here is one with limited construction details: Angie B's Fowl Play This is similar to a shed I saw at Lowe’s: 8x12 Heartland These should have adequate space, and probably still movable.

2. An 8x8 or so sized shed with 4x8 porch, for the dog to lay on: Mike Clayton Chicken Mansion This one would have a bit more construction complexity, and probably expense than the first option, I’d suspect.

3. A quaker-style coop or other saltbox style shed: Chicken Housing Authority These are nice, and I've seen many similar designs. It looks good for chickens, but not much for future shed purposes.

Thoughts/Recommendations?

 

[Mike_g]

Very slow in building, but we're almost there.

Need to shingle, add trim, cut out the window on the high wall, add a door, and add nesting box doors. (and nesting boxes).

A few questions :

1. The nesting boxes will be internal to the coop, built to the left of the window on the big (south) side. The boxes will have flip up doors to access from the outside. I'm thinking the doors only need to be about 6" high or so, for hand access. Seem reasonable?

2. For a door, we saved the Masonite cutout, and will likely frame 1x material around it, like a shed door. Any tips or walk thru on this?

3. The south wall is 8x8. The window on the right side will be about 22"x44“,saved from an old wooden screen door. Above this and the nesting box doors, we have flirted with the idea of transom windows, just a few inches below the eave vents, probably 4ft to 6 ft wide, by about 14 inches high. The idea is for lots of light, and better appearance. Does this seem like a good idea?

 

[aart]

On the woods design, has anyone insulated theirs? Also, is the only ventilation provided by the windows up front (intake and exhaust)?

Does anyone have a rough plan of a woods (Tolman) style 6x10 house?

No need to insulate a Woods coop.
If built in the proper proportions,
and operated in winter with all openings closed but the big front one,
it creates an air cushion that eliminates strong drafts but allows for copious ventilation.
That's the whole point of the Woods.

@jthornton has a nice clean PDF of the Woods book.
@Howard E may have plans for a 6x10, I think he built one.

 

[jthornton]

And as if by magic I appear with the link to the Modern Fresh Air Poultry House.

JT

 

[Howard E]

I have the hard copy paper book, and the Tolman house mentioned on pages 66-69 is NOT the same as the Woods house many of us have built. It is similar, but different. Tolman house does not have a monitor. The Tolman house is also 10' x 17'. No plans or descriptions for a smaller Tolman house. At least none I'm aware of.

There are plans for a 6' x 10' Woods house, plus plans for other houses he said worked well. Haywood-Curtis house (an A frame type) was 8 x 8 or 10 x 10.

Some of us have built an 8' x 12' Woods house. Mine works well for up to 24 birds.

 

[aart]

I’ve heard it’s better to build the coop a little too big, to allow for growing number of chickens.

Absolutely!
Think also about a temporary partition wall, handy for integrating new chicks.

Dog housed in coop, but physically separated from birds, sounds good.
Open door could be a problem, unless covered with split/striped curtain entrance maybe?

1. Looks pretty good....I like the big roof overhangs, but should have open soffits for ventilation.
2. Good too, but yes, more complex.
3. No, stay away....too small.

Lots to consider.
Some good links in my signature, let me know if you cannot see or open them.
Sketching it all out on graph paper cannot be underestimated for planning and exploring options. Cheaper and easier to fix oopsies on paper than in lumber.

Oh, and...Welcome to BYC! @Mike_g
Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[aart]

What about insulation? Is it of any real value? Maybe insulate walls, and underside of roof sheathing (1"or so foam under roof)?

Good ventilation makes insulation rather moot....plus it can harbor rodents and insects.
If you do use it, it must be protected from the birds access, they will tear it up and eat it.

 

[Mike_g]

Thanks @jthornton ! That is a good reference. By the sketch in the book, it looks like 6-7" roof overhangs, front and back. Is this adequate, or should it be 12"? Id probably make it 12" on all sides, at first glance.

Also, the monitor windows look to be awning style. I'm assuming these get opened in hot days of summer? Same with the side window?

 

[jthornton]

I like big overhangs myself. Helps keep the rain out. Make sure it's tall enough inside for you...

JT

 

[Mike_g]

JT,

Thanks for the thoughts. I was thinking of making the nest box doors left of the window on the big wall (south wall) to make it more symmetrical in appearance due to the window on the right side of the wall.

I'm thinking the high transom windows would add more light, I've heard that laying hens need more light, especially in the winter. In my theory, the large overhang would limit direct sunlight in the summer, yet allow more sunlight in the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky.

I like the idea of the sloped nest box floor, that sounds like it would work well.