I am trying to decide between a 6 x 20 and a 6 x 16 shed style coop. one wall will be 7 foot and other will be 8 foot. there will be a 6 x 18 fenced run on the ourside of it. the reason i am going 6 foot wide is due to i can use 2 x 4 x 8 rafters and the cost of them is drastically lower. I am spacing the rafter on 16" oc for added support. I am placing the nest boxes on the 8 foot wall and they will be 12" x 12" so I can access them from the outside, which will give more room on the inside of the coop. reducing the coop to a 16' will save 100.00 on the cost and I am asking is the extra 4 foot is worth the 100.00. I am looking to keep about 30 chicks and no more. the way it is being built, I could add on easily in the future. Thanks for all your advice Ken
Work it out on a cost per square foot basis...total cost divide by square footage...that might help you out
I always say bigger is better. If you are already thinking that you could easily add on later, that $100 savings now for could wind up costing $200 down the road with the cost of lumber going up. If I could afford it, I would build as large as I could. We tend to underestimate the amount of room needed for full grown birds. Happy building.
double check your specs to your material list. things like a 20' length end up costing you more because it's not divisible by 4' which is a standard siding panel width. 8 X 16 works better on that premise. check with your lumber yard on dimensional sizes available. we don't sell 8" 2X4's in anything other than treated. studs for an 8" wall are 93". you could cut 16's in half but longer lumber is more expensive on a per foot basis. also check for the availability of "gray" or weathered lumber at a discount.
Uh, 20 divides just fine by 4 I think only you can decide whether the extra 6x4 space is worth a hundred bucks. (You're *sure* that's the right number, though? It sounds rather low to me, unless you have scrounged some stuff for cheap or free). I think for most people it would be. I mean, even if you never get more chickens and never decide you want to give the ones you've got a little more space... how many people ever say "man, I've got too much empty storage space around, I just don't know how to fill it!" Cuz you can always partition it off and use for tools, yard stuff, storage of stuff being squirreled away for future projects, etc. (e.t.a. - if you are using 2x4s for rafters, I'd at least make real sure to CAREFULLY hand-pick them [meaning, you may not be able to use the cheapest stud-type ones] because it doesn't take all that much of a knot or other flaw to seriously jeopardize their strength when used in that fashion...) Good luck, have fun, Pat
