height of coop

[zoelovesmom]

I am thinking of getting a new coop, for a variety of reasons. One thing I'm curious about is the raised coops with space underneath for a covered run. Right now, one of the biggest problems with my coop is that I have to get down on hands and knees to clean the sand. This week I was out there doing this in freezing temps and blowing snow. Not fun. I would like a coop that is higher-up so I don't have to bend over so much to clean under it. How high is too high?

I was going to do DLM inside the coop, a droppings pit, and sand underneath.

Does having the coop up high make it colder? Would it be better not to have any space underneath at all, and have the whole thing be DLM?

Also, on the DLM, how do most people keep the shavings inside at the top of the ramp?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions about this.

 

[Nonny]

The only question I can answer is about the top of the ramp - you can nail in some strips of wood to make a "lip" around the hole, and that will stop *some* of the shavings etc falling through. Chooks being chooks though, they will still chuck it out there.

I like a raised coop for rodent proofing, ease of access for cleaning (my original coop is only raised a tiny bit and it's a pain to clean out and clean under. The one I'm building now is at waist height to me, so far easier to clean the inside, and also easy to reach a rake under it to clean the rest), and a heap of other reasons I can't remember right now, but I listed them somewhere in another thread.

 

[Nonny]

Found it! There's a thread on raised coops that might answer your other questions.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=592176

 

[mnabity]

My coop is raised 18 inches. The space underneath is covered on three sides then the front is open to the run. Its just high enough for the chickens to get under(infact they spend most of their inside time there instead of in the coop). I can easily reach under to clean it out with a rake. I have a very bad back and having the coop raised really makes tending to the chickees easier. Its also a good place to keep a feeder it stays out of the elements and the chickens can't get to the top to poo in it. As far as keeping the litter in, I have a 3 inch lip that keeps it from coming out much.

 

[zoelovesmom]

Thanks! I was thinking waist height would be good, but the guy I'm talking to about buying a new coop says he can only do 18" because he doesn't want it to be top heavy, and I guess that's also the width of the hardware cloth. That does make sense, but I wasn't sure 18" would be high enough for me to clean under easily. What kind of rake are you using? I'm using a cat litter scoop, and it's hard to reach up under my current coop.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Here is my raised coop. As you can see, it has a nice sized door which makes cleaning it out a breeze. You can't see the nest box in this pic, but it's external and on the side that is in the run. I have a thick layer of shavings for warmth and to cushion their jump down from the roost, since there is really no room for a ramp within the coop. There is a ramp to the pop door within the run.

(I wish it still looked this pristine!)

Edited to say that I don't really rake it. I add leaves to the floor of the run which they scratch through and decimate. They just keep turning their poop and the leaves into dirt. It never stinks. Once in a while I will sprinkle DE in the run to further dry things out and aid in dust bathing.

 

[mnabity]

I use a ground rake(the hard metal ones).

 

[KDK1]

Quote:
You can have a raised coop as high as you want, as long as it's anchored properly. Hardware cloth comes in many different widths... 18, 24, 30, 36, 48 and even 60 & 72 inches, all though the 5 & 6 ft is harder to find. The other widths are common. If you're paying him to do the job, have it built to your specs!

 

[MontanaChickenLady]

My husband built our coop and the floor of it is waist-high for me. I do need something with a long handle in order to get to the far corners to clean out pine shavings and poop but that's easy to do. The girls have a nice area under it to hang out. I hang their feed and water under it on large hooks which makes it easy for me to change things out plus it keeps the girls from pooping in their feed and water. Works great!!!