First stab at a coop design..

[Al Capon]

Using ideas I've gather from here and a few other places, I gave designing one a go..

Outside dimensions are 4' x 12' x roughly 6'. Coop will be for 6-7 chickens at night. Planning on letting the chickens roam during the day. Nest boxes are roughly 13"x13", give or take. Have a side door to allow for cleaning/sweeping. A couple vents at the top of both ends.

Floor will be entirely covered by a wired metal panel and then be covered in sand. All open areas will be covered with 1/2" hardware cloth. Didn't show the perches because I got tired of drawing..

I kept it 4' wide so I could put it in the back of a truck if I ever need to move it, in a pinch.

Adequate for roosting?

Thoughts? Criticisms? Things that need additional attention?

 

[azygous]

It's a cute design. However, your concern about adequate room for roosting is a point that you need to think further on. My coop is four feet wide by twelve long, but the chickens don't have adequate "dismount" space.

I've watched when an individual flies down from the thirty inch high perch only to smash into the opposite wall. Chickens need running room as they come down from a perch.

I understand your wanting to keep it to dimensions so it's portable, but you may hate yourself for making it too narrow. I know I regret my coop design every day.

One way to mitigate the narrowness is to place the perch at a low enough height that the chickens only need to hop straight down or step off. Maybe you've already planned on that.

 

[21hens-incharge]

It is cute but......

Dismount space is important. The run is only 48sq feet. That will be mighty tight for 7 birds.

Maybe some clever run extensions that can be removed if putting it in the back of a truck.

 

[Al Capon]

I've watched when an individual flies down from the thirty inch high perch only to smash into the opposite wall. Chickens need running room as they come down from a perch.

That's something I hadn't thought about, never really watched a chicken drop down from a perch.

If there are multiple perches at varying heights, will chickens use them like stairs, or do they enjoy free-fall?

The run is only 48sq feet.

Isn't that enough to pen them up at night? During the day they will have free run of many acres in any direction.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Ah, that wasn't in your post. It may be just fine then.

When the predators find them you may need to confine them for stretches of time. I would plan for that day in advance.


Edited..... My bad it was in the post. I just missed it.

 

[lazy gardener]

Al, if you put the perch low enough so that the birds can simply hop up/down, that will help. Plan on 1 l.f. of perch per bird. They will scrunch into less space once on the perch, but they need that room to jostle themselves around during roost time. Every night, it's a squabble regarding who sleeps beside who.

Your building does not have enough ventilation. Gable vents are great, but I'd add soffit vents, and 2 windows, both hinged at the top. Good overhang is a necessity to shed snow/rain away from venting.

If I were designing a coop that I wanted to be portable, I'd design a 4 x 8 shed structure, with solid floor. The only reason to have the floor be solid is to provide building stability. This would be mounted on skids. Then, I'd build a detachable run section following the "Woods" style format, perhaps extending it beyond the length of the building.

 

[azygous]

No, chickens normally go for a flight straight down from a perch. They do not use the perches below as steps. It's not how chickens operate. They have wings and they instinctively use them to break their decent as they come down from wherever they have perched.

Make the perches as LG mentioned so they can just hop straight down without needing to use their wings, which requires running room.

 

[Al Capon]

Your building does not have enough ventilation. Gable vents are great, but I'd add soffit vents, and 2 windows, both hinged at the top. Good overhang is a necessity to shed snow/rain away from venting.

I'll fix that. Meant to show it in my model, but my drawing wits were at an end that night and I stopped. The real deal will have vents both high and low.

Does having window/light interfere with hens laying? Most other cavity nesters don't care much for light getting in when they're doing their business.

Good info, good info...

Keep it coming...

 

[lissalischicks]

I agree with azygous. If redoing my coop was an option I would have more room in the coop for them to jump down. I have even tried to rearrange the perches to see if the would go down but they tend to try to jump straight down. They use them to go up though....

Don't know if other people agree but the ramp down appears to end right up against the fencing. I had something like that but it caused a traffic jam in the mornings. I ended up making a L shaped ramp down to more open space and it's funny because now the march straight down in a line.

 

[lazy gardener]

I'll fix that. Meant to show it in my model, but my drawing wits were at an end that night and I stopped. The real deal will have vents both high and low.

Does having window/light interfere with hens laying? Most other cavity nesters don't care much for light getting in when they're doing their business.

Good info, good info...

Keep it coming...

No. My girls love their natural lighting. I have 3 windows and full size people door glass, all thermopane. One of the windows is actually framed so that the bottom of the window shines directly into 3 nest boxes. (the boxes at the top are open to the window, with a hinged roof over the boxes. The top of the hinged nest cover bisects the window.) The girls love those nice bright nest boxes!

Chickens are ground nesters, not cavity nesters. Quite a difference.