help with coop design

[hollyclyff]

We are in the process of converting our daughter's old wooden swing set into a chicken coop. The plan has been to close in the platformed slide area with the upper part (5 ft x 3 ft) being closed in all the way around with a wood floor and underneath (8 ft x 3 ft) closed in on three sides with a dirt floor. Of course the slide has been removed. The rest of the A-frame we will screen for an outdoor pen area. All of it will have wire sunk into the ground around the perimeter and maybe paver blocks as well. I had originally planned to put the nest boxes and roosts up top and hang the feed and water underneath. Now I'm wondering if I can put the nest boxes underneath as well to allow more room for roosting. But with only three sides enclosed - would that work?

 

[Poison Ivy]

have any pictures to post so we can see what it looks like?

 

[hollyclyff]

I don't have a photo, but it looks something like this currently. The upper portion of the right side would be closed in completely and the lower portion would be closed on all sides except the front (the side facing where the pen will be on the left). It will look like some of the A-frame chicken tractors I've seen only bigger and not moveable. I just don't know if I can put nest boxes in the more open area underneath or if they have to be in the closed in portion. The whole thing will be closed in with hardware cloth after we add some more framework to attach it to.

 

[Poison Ivy]

looks like you could have room for nest boxes under the platform & still have room for feeders. Make the nest boxes where you can move them if needed. I made two seperate boxes and sat them on top of each other. Just in case I wanted to move them or take them out all together later on. I used the nest box plans from BYC. As you can see one still perfers the floor and the others like the large open nest next to the boxes.

 

[hollyclyff]

OK, thanks. There's definitely enough room underneath, I just wasn't sure if it was OK to put them there since the area won't be totally enclosed. They won't really be moveable though because I want to make an access door from the outside to get eggs so we don't have to go through the pen and crawl under the platform to get to them. I've never had chickens before and I just didn't know if they needed their nest boxes inside near the roosts or if it didn't matter. They'll be sheltered underneath , but not as much as they would be up top.

 

[Poison Ivy]

My first chickens I had lived in a 3 sided coop and I used a couple of dresser drawers as nest boxes. It had one roost that ran a cross. It was truely a sorry site but it worked for 2 years. It looked like a hobo shack. lol I'm glad I was able to upgrade them to the one they have know. They probably think its the hilton.