Having a hard time with Coop Dimensions... help?

[BYCforlife]

And keep the roosts away from the wall! You do NOT want to see a picture of my chicken coop wall.

 

[Snoogie]

Exit ladder on bottom of coop....I always wonder how those work long term.... they make it more difficult to keep bedding in the coop, eat up floor space...and just...huh... Never had one myself.

Enclosing the entire area now, would be more cost and more work up front, but it would sure make a lovely coop. Also, more secure space means that you can sleep in, they can safely run about, and their poop is spread over a larger area so less stink and less cleaning. . Also, a bigger area will make it easier for you to get in there and clean.

As to feeders... I use a PVC pipe feeder that goes into a trashcan. But I have a bunch of birds. You can put the PVC tube ends on a kitty litter box for a smaller feeder. That takes up more space than just a tube...but HOW do people fill those tube's without spilling???

As to water...horizontal nippels are easier to keep thawed verses vertical ones.

As to poop and perching. .. make sure the perch is WIDE. 3.5 inches (wide side of a 2x4) is what you want. Poop trays rock.

Did I answer all of the questions?

I may be able to elongate the run, but making it deeper just isn't an option, realistically. What I could more feasibly do is put up baler twine to try and keep out predacious birds and also give them a covered run which includes both the floorplan of the coop and maybe a few more feet of length. Would that be better suited for my 3 Brahmin?

For the feeder, I was thinking of just having a u joint at the base and have it gravity feed. I suppose I would need to check if that would work and not spill everywhere. I just assumed I'd use an automotive funnel.

How are the horizontal ones easier to keep thawed and by what method are they being kept that way?

Ok I was going to use a wide dowel rod and mount it with something like this so I could easily replace them if I needed to, but I suppose the 2x4 would be a heck of a lot easier.

You've been super helpful and informative. Thank you SO much. I was really starting to get completely freaked I wasn't going to be able to do this!

 

[Snoogie]

And keep the roosts away from the wall! You do NOT want to see a picture of my chicken coop wall.

I mean, I kind of do now...

 

[Alaskan]

I may be able to elongate the run, but making it deeper just isn't an option, realistically. What I could more feasibly do is put up baler twine to try and keep out predacious birds and also give them a covered run which includes both the floorplan of the coop and maybe a few more feet of length. Would that be better suited for my 3 Brahmin?

For the feeder, I was thinking of just having a u joint at the base and have it gravity feed. I suppose I would need to check if that would work and not spill everywhere. I just assumed I'd use an automotive funnel.

How are the horizontal ones easier to keep thawed and by what method are they being kept that way?

Ok I was going to use a wide dowel rod and mount it with something like this so I could easily replace them if I needed to, but I suppose the 2x4 would be a heck of a lot easier.

You've been super helpful and informative. Thank you SO much. I was really starting to get completely freaked I wasn't going to be able to do this!

Twine might keep out some birds, but not all. It will not keep out coons, or skunks, or possums, or ..... So, that would work for a daytime run, but the chickens would need to be locked up at night.

Horizontal nipples uh.... ask @aart what is the difference again? Between horizontal and vertical?

 

[Snoogie]

Twine might keep out some birds, but not all. It will not keep out coons, or skunks, or possums, or ..... So, that would work for a daytime run, but the chickens would need to be locked up at night.

Horizontal nipples uh.... ask @aart what is the difference again? Between horizontal and vertical?

The plan was to coop them at night. Is that not normal?

 

[Alaskan]

Cooping them up is standard.

I just hate getting up at a set time so I like having a completely secure run.

 

[aart]

How are the horizontal ones easier to keep thawed and by what method are they being kept that way?

Yep, they sure are, because:
HN's seal inside the vessel, with a spring loaded rubber ring that is bathed in heated water.
VN's seal outside the vessel, by gravity on a steel ball 'exposed' to the cold air.

This is what I use, good to -12F so far.

 

[aart]

Now that I've read the rest of the thread.....Welcome to BYC!

Your sketches are pretty good, good annotation, tho out of proportion.
But...well, yeah.... Paint.

The 30" width is gonna be tough, hard to fit in roosts a foot away from wall(and landing area below), feeders, etc..... I'd go 48" deep. The 30" height is tougher for ventilation too, after stacking up bedding and roost a foot higher than nests. The 60" length is good tho.

Saw something about a pop door in bottom of coop, huge waste of space...go out the side.

A pic of the area would help.

 

[Snoogie]

Now that I've read the rest of the thread.....Welcome to BYC!

Your sketches are pretty good, good annotation, tho out of proportion.
But...well, yeah.... Paint.

The 30" width is gonna be tough, hard to fit in roosts a foot away from wall(and landing area below), feeders, etc..... I'd go 48" deep. The 30" height is tougher for ventilation too, after stacking up bedding and roost a foot higher than nests. The 60" length is good tho.

Saw something about a pop door in bottom of coop, huge waste of space...go out the side.

A pic of the area would help.

Thanks, it's great to be here!

Space is kind of at a minimum in the side yard so I don't know I can go as deep as you're suggesting. Are you telling me that 30" deep wouldn't work?

So to make sure I'm understanding, the roosts need to be 12" away from all walls (aside from those it is mounted to?)

The 30" height is tougher for ventilation too, after stacking up bedding and roost a foot higher than nests.

I assume you mean that the roosts also need to be a foot higher than the nesting box? If not, I don't think I understood this comment

There is additional space that isn't shown on the diagram that will be additional non-chicken area space that will allow for ventilation.

I will send pics when I get home from work. Thanks for your input, it's super appreciated.

 

[aart]

Space is kind of at a minimum in the side yard so I don't know I can go as deep as you're suggesting. Are you telling me that 30" deep wouldn't work?

It might ....kinda 'work' but would be very tight quarters. Even 48" can get tight.

.....the roosts need to be 12" away from all walls (aside from those it is mounted to?)

Correct. Again, could be a few inches closer, but....poop on the wall and tight space to get up and down from roost.

I assume you mean that the roosts also need to be a foot higher than the nesting box?

Yes. So they don't sleep in the nests, they like to roost/sleep up higher, and you end up cleaning nests every day or gathering poopy eggs.

These are 'rules of thumb' that are not carved in stone but proven good guidelines from many people's long experience - some of them bad experiences.
Crowding can cause a lot of problems both behaviorally and health wise.

Here's great article by Ridgerunner about Space:
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need