Help needed with chicken math

[aart]

I’m curious why a walk in coop would be better than an elevated coop that’s 5 ft tall? Everything I read about is based off floor space / roost space.

Mostly easier for the keeper to be able to reach everything as needed, including the birds off the roost at night for exams. A taller coop is good for keeping ventilation way above their heads, more important for extreme temperature climates.
Here's some other tips on heights:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-stuff-works-well.73427/

We’re actually in Oregon, but have very temperate weather in our valley.

Can you add it to your profile as I described above?

 

[Sequel]

Thanks for the thoughtful answer. We’re actually in Oregon, but have very temperate weather in our valley. I see what you mean about the length of night. I didn’t think about that.

I’m curious why a walk in coop would be better than an elevated coop that’s 5 ft tall? Everything I read about is based off floor space / roost space.

People find them more convenient for themselves. You are part of the equation, lol!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, mainly for my convenience. I have more issues with my elevated grow-out coop than the main coop or another "shelter" I sometimes use that are on the ground. Sometimes ramps or steps seem to confuse them at the start, though they eventually figure it out.

 

[Mrs. K]

Don't know why I thought Georgia

Maybe it is because I teach math, but it bothers me too, that people only talk about the floor of a coop because space IS three dimensional. And I think the vertical space is important.

I have had three coops. One I had to duck, and stand a little hunched over (1st coop) it was doable.

The second was an elevated coop. The chickens were only a 18 inches off that floor when roosted. and the roof was not a great distance above them. Because they were so close to the poop, I thought the air quality was worse, it might have been my imagination, but I didn't like it. It was a nightmare to clean out, and it was impossible to get ahold of a bird without crawling in on the poop to get one. Sometimes chickens get notional and will create a hidden nest and it was in the farthest corner, on my hands and knees. I hated that coop.

And now my dream coop, I can easily walk in, my birds roost well above the floor, better air flow. I still use the first coop, we literally tore the elevated coop apart when I had coons hiding underneath it. Coons are my nemesis. I still use my first coop as a grow out coop or another temporary coop.

Mrs K

 

[NatJ]

Not all coops need solid walls, depending on the climate.
I like this one, that a friend of mine built years ago in Texas:
https://www.shedworking.co.uk/2007/10/poultrenon.html

But you should plan that the chickens have at least 4 square feet of space each in the smallest space they are ever confined, along with food and water.

If something happens-- like you get food poisoning and cannot open the pop door one morning-- they still need their 4 square feet each, and access to food and water.

Or if there's a hurricane, or a snowstorm, or a new hawk flies into town, they still need that much space. So what some people call a "covered run" may actually serve the purpose of a "coop" sometimes: the space that is always available, at all times, in all weather. But it depends a lot on the climate, and on how secure the space is.

Access to a larger run during the daytime, and free range sometimes, are good to have: but there will be times when this is not an option, and the chickens need enough space even then.

 

[Ryooki]

I was looking at my current covered run this afternoon and had the same thought, actually. I was looking around to see if I could put a coop into that space like Ridgerunner suggested. I began to wonder if I even need permanently covered walls. I looked into open air coops, and I saw chickens in snowy Maine with an open wall or two. If chickens can handle that, they for sure can handle my weather. All my chickens would need to make my current run into an open air coop would be nesting boxes, really. Now I’m debating if I even want a fully enclosed coop in my new coop / run. I was planning on leaving the pop door open to the run all the time already.