For those with a raised coop and attached run......

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
I believe you are talking about you entering under the coop to check for eggs or to retrieve a chicken.

Maybe. Depends on your size and how big the coop is as to whether you could. My real question is, why would you want to build your coop that low? Imagine a wet rainy day. The run is pretty muddy. There is chicken poop all over the run and under the coop. You have a need to crawl under the coop. Do I need to go further?

If your luck is like mine, that would be a natural place for a chicken to lay. It actually meets most of their preferences for nesting, a safe secure area where they feel safe from predators.

I would either give them no access or raise it so I could get under there without getting lower to the ground than I'd want to in a muddy run. And I'd be hesitant to enclose it. That sets up a nice comfortable place for mice or rats to set up housekeeping.

Your choice, but you have my vote.

 

[will hunt for food]

I meant high enough for the chickens to get under. The coop is going to be 4x8, with external nest boxes. I really have no intentions of going under the coop. Figuring a rake or hoe will pull out what I need to get out. Your comments and ideas are very much appreciated. Thank you.

I do want the coop raised to add to the run space and to keep rodents from setting up house under there. I thought I would keep the coop as low as possible while having the benifits of a raised coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Sorry. I misunderstood the question. 12-1/2" is plenty for the chickens to get under.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
What people are trying to tell you is that it doesn't matter what your intentions are, there WILL come times when you need to go under there yourself. Like to retrieve a sick chicken. This happens to everyone, honest, and is well worth planning for

Also, the lower it is under there, the muddier and stinkier it will be. More clearance to the underside of the coop equals airier equals drier and all the many benefits that come along with drier.

Do what you want, obviously, but I pretty much guarantee you will regret it sooner or later if you only have 12" clearance under your floor joists

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[bigmike&nan]

Quote:
What people are trying to tell you is that it doesn't matter what your intentions are, there WILL come times when you need to go under there yourself. Like to retrieve a sick chicken. This happens to everyone, honest, and is well worth planning for

Also, the lower it is under there, the muddier and stinkier it will be. More clearance to the underside of the coop equals airier equals drier and all the many benefits that come along with drier.

Do what you want, obviously, but I pretty much guarantee you will regret it sooner or later if you only have 12" clearance under your floor joists

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

YUP, and YUP again to what Pat said. Go back and look at my coop pic I added to my first post, that's 2 feet. And believe me raking that out, retrieving the occasional egg or sick bird and all you are wearing goes in the sanitize cycle of the wash. More headroom equals happier birds on those parts of the year they are stuck in the covered part of the run.

We learned our next coop we had to be able to walk into and our run had to be tall, our new run will be 6 ft tall by 6 ft wide by 12 ft long...

 

[will hunt for food]

Thanks for the experienced comments! I am making the coop with a people door, so I will be able to enter. I may rethink the height above ground though.

 

[greenmulberry]

You know I have had a raised coop for a few years, if a hen lays an egg under there, I slide shovel under it to pick it up. This has only happened twice.

I LOVE the raised coop. Since it is so low to the ground, they have a snow free area in winter that the drifting snow does not encroach upon. It is also very cool in the summer.

If I had to get a chicken out, I would just take a long stick and chase them out. If I had a dead hen, I would use a shovel. If the hen was ill and could not move, I would take a piece of plywood or thick cardboard and slide it under. How often do you guys have sick hens anyway?

I think the benefits of a low raised coop outweigh the remote possibility that you need to remove an immobile hen.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

I measured the area I have under my raised coop; it's close to 30" high. It's only enclosed on one side, and is covered in heavy 1"hex chickenwire on the other two sides. The fourth side is open to the run.

Works perfectly for me here in southern California; I'd build another coop set up like this.

Carla

 

[jonesgirl]

I have about a 2 foot tall area under my coop.. The chickens like going under there in the summer because it is cool..

I had my rooster slink under there and die this winter, but he was easy to get out because it is not so deep that I can't touch the back fence...

Here is the oustide of the coop where we get the eggs, you can see the area underneath...

Here in the background you can see the area underneath... We put our plastic bins under there and cut dog doors so they can go inside them. There is also enough room for them to get on top of the bins...
Thay have only laid thier eggs in there a couple of times, but they are easy to get out when they do...

Good Luck!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Um, good luck. When and if that day comes for you, I think you will discover it's not actually very practical, and at the very least would be hard on the hen.

How often do you guys have sick hens anyway?

Well, if you look around, you will notice that most people who don't just stew the whole flock at age 2-3 will lose hens to 'natural causes' typically sometime between the ages of 2 and maybe 6-8... certainly chickens *can* live longer but it doesn't seem like they often *do*.

And most of their deaths seem to involve a period of doing poorly, rather than just suddenly falling off the perch one day. What do hens do when they are doin' poorly? Quite commonly, they find somewhere cool and dark and protected to huddle down. A nestbox, or behind things in the yard, or *under the coop*.

Consequently it is a pretty common thing to have happen at some point during any chicken's lifetime. How often this will happen to you depends of course on how many chickens you have.

I think the benefits of a low raised coop outweigh the remote possibility that you need to remove an immobile hen.

I don't think anyone is arguing against having space available under the coop (it has many benefits) -- only that there is a whole lot to be said for having 2-3' free and clear under there, as opposed to twelve inches. You know?

Pat​