First time raising chickens...Need some advise on this Coop

[manwayvan]

Thanks for taking the time to stop and look. I am in the process of building a coop and run on the backside of our yard, on the opposite side of our fence. Actually one side of the fence is going to be used for the run fence. However, I have never constructed a coop before and was wondering if my thinking is right(my wife has her own theories on this subject).

I was in the process of constructing one of the Coop/Run setups and decided why make the hen's so cramped. Now I have turned the whole thing into the hen house and working on a top part to have plenty of roosting height. I wasn't sure how much space was needed for each chick during roosting but Im not sure they will go upstairs to roost either.Im wanting to start with around 6-10 hens 1/2 layers and 1/2 fryers.

My design is ~39" wide x 87" long. The front 2 section part is sloped for the roof to drain once I get that finished and it is 28.5" high in the front and 25" in the back. The smaller section is going to be the nesting area.

So is this even going to work? lol Is it safe to say that chickens will find their way upstairs to the second roosting area? Got any pointers here? Sorry for the rambling, I have 2 kids and its nap-time.



Oh I am going to put a bottom in as well to help keep them out of the weather more.

 

[duckinnut]

Do you plan to free range them? Might be a bit small for 6 birds kept penned all day. Pen area is said to be on average is 10sq.ft. per bird. 3sq inside.

 

[manwayvan]

Thanks for the response.Yes, they will be free ranged. This was one main reason for changing from a coop/run to a coop only. The section the coop is in will be fenced off and I have a back gate which I can open to allow them into my main yard.

 

[manwayvan]

Hope this explains it a little more. The yellow 2x2 going between the two roost areas can come out and I can make this into a decent roost area for 6 chickens I think. Wayya think