Have the chickens, now I need a coop. Please help!!!

[FunClucks]

Super interesting, thank you!

 

[FunClucks]

I started out with 6 chicks. I found this plan online so I'm going to share it with you. My husband made that same chicken coop and the chicken run for me.

I now hav3e 22 chickens and my husband converted a medium size shed for the additonal chickens. He also installed more nesting boxes, roosts for all of them. They are very secure from outside skunks, and hawks.

So far so good. This may work for you if not you'll have to get something that will work for you.

Take care,
Christy

Thank you!

 

[guyvstewart]

I used a shed kit and 2x4s to build my coop. The coop is 7x8 with an attached run that is 7x16. 1/4 inch hardware cloth for the run, and 4' up around the coop. 1/2 inch hardware cloth buried around run and coop. Tin roof on coop and run.

 

[Gypsi]

I think I would consider a gravel base if the area accumulates water. Also look on this site, on coop design, for a hoop coop - I ended up not doing one, but if I were to move and have to do an emergency coop I might, do a big hoop and throw a small coop inside, the hoop would become the run roof.

 

[Patriot1776]

I've built several coops for our chickens here in Virginia, the latest was 8'x8'x8' using 2x4's and 5V metal siding/roofing. I set 24"wide 1/4" rat (machinists) wire around the base and placed 2x4's so that 18 " or so was on the surface. Secured the wire with fabric pins (6") pounded into ground. Base frame had 18" rebar rods pounded through hole in wood base into ground with 2" or so visible above wood. Coop is very secure from winds and predators. If you want more info I have progress photos plus the finished product. I used sand on the floor because its easier on them and you. Either side of the door was a full length "window" with rat wire inside and outside (Top to Bottom). The bottom half of the "window" had metal siding attached for additional protection from predators. It wasn't difficult...I did it alone.

 

[chickencoop57]

I think using one of those pre-fab metal/aluminum buildings is more trouble than it's worth! My coop is just 4'w x 8'L x 7'H and is built out of pre-treated 2' x 4' and wood paneling. It has 3/4" wood floor and OSB, tar paper and sheet metal for the roof. Plus, it sits on blocks about 1' off the ground. I have 2- 2' x 2' windows with small fans, that I bought from Walmart, in them. One blows in and the other out.
The coop roost, which are 2' x 4', wide side up, will fit 20+ chickens on it. It's a simple lean-to coop and even with hot and humid temps here in South Texas I've had no problems with termites or anything. It does have a trap door that I raise every morning and close in the evening, once they're on the roost. In other words, it's not rocket science folks, but how I do love to read everyone's ideas! That's my 2 cents on the subject!

 

[CDitzel]

I have 8 baby chicks, maybe a week or two old (got them from Rural King right after birth). I had a pre-fab coop with run picked out, and was planning on adding another big run to give me 80 ft of ground space, but reading on here realized that there wouldn't be enough space in the coop area for 8 chickens to roost. I am needing suggestions on what kind of coop to build/modify/cobble together. I'm a totally new chicken owner, and sort of good with building things, but it usually takes much more time than I have available while managing small children, hence the attempt to purchase a pre-fab coop. The rejected coop: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/precision-xl-superior-construction-annex-coop-37077d

Would you recommend I try to convert a metal shed? Maybe this one?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Arrow-N...yQqEnNl8mMhL1QkcTcxoCL_0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I am in north Alabama, where it is super humid almost all year, maybe we get a few low humidity months in the spring and fall, land of tornadoes, maybe 3 days of snow a year, but usually a month or two of below freezing temperatures. We barely have enough cold time to grow apples. I have about 1/2 acre semi-wooded fenced back yard (chain link), with a stream about 20 feet outside my fence line and vertically down 6 ft. Almost all the trees are 40-50 yr old sweet gum, with one black walnut right next to where I plan to put the coop and run. Issues with poison ivy, issues with ticks and fleas, red hawks, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, neighborhood cats, opossum, water snakes (water moccasin, cottonmounth, rattlers), king snakes, squirrels, song birds, mosquitoes. The proposed coop area gets moderate to heavy shade most of the year (when the leaves are on the trees), and on the worst months the yard is very hot and humid, and the air doesn't move much. We have mainly weeds, violets, and rye grass in the yard at the moment, due to the shade, and lots of tree roots. Heavy clay soil that dries like concrete, and some type of sad grass that looks sorta like Bermuda. Termites are bad here, and there's lots of rotting wood on the other side of my fence and stumps on my property.

For the coop I'm worried about ventilation, poop smell, and keeping the birds safe from predators, as well as having enough space for them and for me to clean it out. There will probably be a number of days they have to stay in their coop instead of their run, for various reasons (weather, etc), and I expect I won't be around during the day most days to check on them when I let them out - they'll get a morning and an evening check. I plan to possibly free range them with supervision, but may not if the run is large enough due to the constant presence of hawks.

The area I have to build the coop and run in is 24' x 48', but I I'd like to enclose 80-100 square feet, and locate a number of pallet hot compost piles nearby. I was hoping to do the deep bedding method, but not sure how successful that would be at keeping smell down in humid alabama.

For the run, should I attempt to build something with 2"x4" and 1/2" hardware cloth, or purchase one of these the chicken runs on Amazon, etc. and cover it with hardware cloth?

I have access to free pallets, but I haven't found anything else I can repurpose, so would have to buy new. Untreated wood, unsealed wood, and unpainted wood is a very bad idea here, so I'd have to do something to every wood surface, if I go that direction.

Any and all suggestions would be welcome.

That is the one I have, but I put it inside a 10×10 dog kennel. Large cement bricks below the ground. I protected the wood with Thompsons water seal. I used 4 ft 1/4 hardware cloth around the kennel. This was good for the first year. Now this year I have added a 12 x 10 fenced area attached to the door area of the kennel.

 

[Doctor L]

I have 8 baby chicks, maybe a week or two old (got them from Rural King right after birth). I had a pre-fab coop with run picked out, and was planning on adding another big run to give me 80 ft of ground space, but reading on here realized that there wouldn't be enough space in the coop area for 8 chickens to roost. I am needing suggestions on what kind of coop to build/modify/cobble together. I'm a totally new chicken owner, and sort of good with building things, but it usually takes much more time than I have available while managing small children, hence the attempt to purchase a pre-fab coop. The rejected coop: https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/precision-xl-superior-construction-annex-coop-37077d

Would you recommend I try to convert a metal shed? Maybe this one?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Arrow-N...yQqEnNl8mMhL1QkcTcxoCL_0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I am in north Alabama, where it is super humid almost all year, maybe we get a few low humidity months in the spring and fall, land of tornadoes, maybe 3 days of snow a year, but usually a month or two of below freezing temperatures. We barely have enough cold time to grow apples. I have about 1/2 acre semi-wooded fenced back yard (chain link), with a stream about 20 feet outside my fence line and vertically down 6 ft. Almost all the trees are 40-50 yr old sweet gum, with one black walnut right next to where I plan to put the coop and run. Issues with poison ivy, issues with ticks and fleas, red hawks, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, neighborhood cats, opossum, water snakes (water moccasin, cottonmounth, rattlers), king snakes, squirrels, song birds, mosquitoes. The proposed coop area gets moderate to heavy shade most of the year (when the leaves are on the trees), and on the worst months the yard is very hot and humid, and the air doesn't move much. We have mainly weeds, violets, and rye grass in the yard at the moment, due to the shade, and lots of tree roots. Heavy clay soil that dries like concrete, and some type of sad grass that looks sorta like Bermuda. Termites are bad here, and there's lots of rotting wood on the other side of my fence and stumps on my property.

For the coop I'm worried about ventilation, poop smell, and keeping the birds safe from predators, as well as having enough space for them and for me to clean it out. There will probably be a number of days they have to stay in their coop instead of their run, for various reasons (weather, etc), and I expect I won't be around during the day most days to check on them when I let them out - they'll get a morning and an evening check. I plan to possibly free range them with supervision, but may not if the run is large enough due to the constant presence of hawks.

The area I have to build the coop and run in is 24' x 48', but I I'd like to enclose 80-100 square feet, and locate a number of pallet hot compost piles nearby. I was hoping to do the deep bedding method, but not sure how successful that would be at keeping smell down in humid alabama.

For the run, should I attempt to build something with 2"x4" and 1/2" hardware cloth, or purchase one of these the chicken runs on Amazon, etc. and cover it with hardware cloth?

I have access to free pallets, but I haven't found anything else I can repurpose, so would have to buy new. Untreated wood, unsealed wood, and unpainted wood is a very bad idea here, so I'd have to do something to every wood surface, if I go that direction.

Any and all suggestions would be welcome.

$600.00..? WOW..! I could build a Chicken Palace for that… You seem to have the knowledge and skill-set to build your own coop… and in the end, you’ll be a lot happier with the result. Do the research, make a list, plan out what you’re going to do, BEFORE you cut the first board… and, check your local code for size (where I am, anything over 8x10 foot, you need a permit, so mine is 8x8 foot, which I figure has the least amount of waste)… And next time, don’t buy the chicks before you have the coop, Lol…)
Good Luck,
+Blessings

 

[silkielover64]

Thank you!

The First one is way to small. My wife and I purchased one that an actual human or two can fit in it. At the time I crossed it about 800 dollars. But it was also safe from animals from the outside coming in. It had a windows in it and it had a ramp to go walk up but we also had a fence that when we didn't want to let them out that the offensive area that they were going to. I've seen people putting chickens in these small little areas and they pack on each other and also it's not really nice you know if you're going to have chickens you need to have room for them otherwise it's not worth having them and it's unfair to them. My chickens became part of our family not just a chicken or just a pet it was like part of us

 

[EliteTempleton]

I haven't started a thread in a long time. How does an OP change the subject line? He's decided on the top of page 5 what he's doing but this thread still keeps on going with new advice. This is due to the subject with many responses not relevant to him as he says early on he needs to avoid wood due to termites in his area. I'm still hanging out waiting to see how it turns out.