Help with bantam coop

[BaldMonkey]

I am new here and new to chickens. I have 10 acres and an old horse stall, 4 to be exact, but no horses. I was wanting to enclose one of the stalls for a bantam coop? It has cinderblock sides about 2 rows up sides and back. The front has 1 row up. Then it goes wood from there. I can insulate it. It has a dirt floor. Should I make it concrete, or leave it dirt? I am going to have 10 bantams total. The stall is about5 foot by 8ft deep and10ft tall. That said, I ama 4th gen woodworker so I can build about anything. I would like to know what size nesting boxes have to be for bantams and how many and how far off the ground. 9 hens and one rooster. How far should the perches be of the ground? I live right along the NC border in the central part of VA. It does get cold here, around mid to low 30s at night sometimes we have had it get a low as 17. but very rarely. If anyone could help I could use it. I want them to have a nice place to live Thanks

 

[patandchickens]

Dirt floor is generally okay as long as it stays dry (i.e. is not where all the water from the paddock or the barn roof runs when you have a great big rain). In view of the expense of concrete I'd stick with the dirt unless you run into insurmountable problems when using the coop (like, rodents or other predators burrowing into the coop that way).

If this is an old horse stall the ground is likely to be rather unlevel with a 'pee hole' in the middle and possibly potholes near the door. If it were me I would get some stonedust or clay, dampen it, and tamp it in really really hard to level the floor, *before* putting chickens in, because it will make it ever so much easier for you when it comes time to clean the coop. You could get by with a lumpy pockety floor, of course, but flat is much easier.

Your horse stall should make a nice coop. Make sure that areas that open for ventilation are covered by 1/2" hardware cloth (could be a larger-mesh HEAVY wire mesh if it's in a location that the birds will never be directly next to). And make sure you can keep it from getting drafty in the winter (although downwind ventilation will probably ought to remain open).

Someone else will answer your bantam roost and nest box dimension questions, or you can use the very good 'search' function for past threads on the subject (look up towards the top of the page, in one of those blue bars that goes across with words in it).

Have fun!

Pat

 

[bossynbella]

I just got a book yesterday and it says nest box size for bantams is 12x12x12. We have one box that is that size and its the favorite of all our chickens bantam and full size as well as our Runner Duck. Perch size it says bantams need 8" per bird. Though ours crowd together on one side of the perch in the winter.

Hope this helps.

 

[muddler6]

My nest boxes that I made out of wood are made from standard 1x12's (so 11 1/2 inches deep, I made them 12 wide and 11 1/2 tall. I added a 1x2 across the front to keep the bedding from coming out. There are plans all over this site and on different websites too for basic styles for elevated ones with perches and such. I also made one out of a cat litter bucket that you can see on my page if you click on the blue link below. Chickens aren't too picky I have found. that one the opening is about 9x9 if I remember right on the cat litter bucket. Make a couple different sizes if you want and see what they pick, that is part of the fun.