FREE chicken coop plan (nice one too) on the Purina Mills Website

[jykmoy]

Am trying to figure out the dimensions for the various parts on the Purina Plan. Am directing these questions to people who have followed the plan. I wonder if you've come across any problems on the plan. Are the dimensions accurate? Are there mistakes? Errors? If so, how did you solve them. Are the errors and mistakes grave errors? Correctable without too much difficulty? I am a novice when it comes to carpentry. Will appreciate diagrams and photos and illustrations galore! One picture IS worth a thousand words!

Will appreciate any help anyone can offer me. My chicks are about two, three weeks old now and are beginning to jump out of their brooder box! So please hurry! I like the Purina Plan after studying dozens of plans. So am determined to build it.

James.

 

[RonC]

The distance between the two rafter that sit either side of the top of the coop itself are a tight fit. I widened mine because my siding was a little thicker than the plans but not sure how well the specified siding would fit. Might be a tight fit. As in my earlier post I don't like where the nest boxes are. I basically followed the plans with a few changes but always measured everything after I got the basic structure together. I have read where other people didn't think it was correct but didn't have any problems myself.

 

[7acres]

The wire is stapled with long poultry staples. The hinges do not interfere with the closing of the back. The bottom panel on the right side is on a hinge to allow entrance. The door has two eye bolts and a rod that is made from the slide rails from a crib with one end cut off. The bolts are adjusted to give some pressure and is long to keep animals from removing. it has a chain hook on the end to prevent it from being removed. The door is operated by ropes from the outside. one rope closes the door and another opens it, you don't have to enter the pen. Waterer was made with bucket,pvc and chicken nipples. Cutting the hole in the bucket is easier with a step drill bit. The black pipe over the back keeps you from bumping your head on the edge of the tin. If you use tin, bend each corner back to avoid getting stuck.

 

[nazredhens]

Thanks for posting the pictures!! The visual helps me quite a bit!!

 

[nazredhens]

This is in response to jykmoy,

See page 9 of this thread to see my conversation last year about this. Not sure if the plans have been corrected since this was a year ago. Good luck and happy building. This coop was my first ever carpentry attempt and I built the whole thing without my husbands help, so this thing is pretty simple to build. Yep, I'm I'm still pretty proud of it.

 

[RonC]

Didn't catch that on the list of materials nazredhens, it is still incorrect. It is correct on the diagram though. I couldn't read it because it's too small. Had to use a magnifying glass and got cross eyed trying. At least it's not a I cut it twice and it's still too short!

 

[7acres]

Thanks for posting the pictures!! The visual helps me quite a bit!!

You are very welcome. I learned some new things in the process of taking and sending them, so we both prospered.

 

[marbles]

We've built this coop and come to the conclusion that is is okay for up to 8 hens IF they have a good size run outside. It's 4x4 sq ft + the egg box area which, being on the outside of the structure give you additional space. We're going to two level poles across (4ft) which are enough for 8 birds. It is also pretty high, so has a roomy feel and great circulation, unlike some of the very low coop I have seen. Our hen will have over 600 sqft of outdoor run, so have tonnes of space, and likely to be only sleeping in the coop. With this combo, I think they will have a happy life.

My research shows a minimum of 2ft per bird inside IF they the have space outside (and 1 linear foot per bird onthe roosting bar. Otherwise, I believe the 4ft per bird rule applies if they are just confined to the coop, and possibly the underside outside. Personally I think as much room as possible is the best way to go in the long run, so we might go down to 6 within time.

I guess time will tell...

One tip for fitting the roosting bar - pick up a couple of "clost rod supports" (also called "pole socket sets") from your local hardward store (small cups - one full circle, the other semi-circle. You can then secure the poles easily, and remove them if you need to clean or move things in and out. They look like this:
http://www.homehardware.ca/products/300/25441071.jpg

You'll need to make sure the roost bar is a good fit so it doesn't move around once in place, otherwise the chicks will be running on the pole all night long!
On the nesting box, does everyone latch the lid, and has anyone had the chicken get out of the coop if the lid is unsecured? I have three bundled into 1 nest box at the moment and wondered if they start to fuss, they might lift up the lid and realise they can get out that way! (We have just got our birds - another tip for newbies like us... keep them inside the coop for a few days at least. We were up at 11.20pm trying to get the birds who were nesting in nearby pine trees (yes, our fences are too low!)

 

[jasonmerritt]

Thanks for sharing.

 

[Wytransplant]

I cant not tell you how awesome reading these boards have been for the past several weeks for the planning and execution of our chicken coop, I kept forgetting to become a member so I could comment, but I wanted to show you our finished coop.