help with hen house

[keystonepaul]

here's what I got- existing building that is 12 x16, 7.5 feet high on the side walls, 11 foot high at the peak (inside actual height). planning on 20-30 chickens. Will have a fenced in run. Ideally how big a run is needed for 30 chickens.

How much of the building do I need to devote the the actually coop or hen house so to speak. It will be 12 feet wide. How long should it be. Should I close off the eaves flat across the top? I will insulate. Should the partion or wall to get it to its length if I don't use the whole building go solid wall top to bottom or up to my chest or so with wire to the top?? should the top if I make the ceilng flat be solid or wire. and does a flate ceiling or angled ceiling matter? Any other thoughts or direction would be appreciated. What would you do? What would you not do. Looking for folks to share thier experience for sure. Thanks much, Keystonepaul There's plenty examples, reading material, etc on roosts, etc but if something really worked for you, didn't work for you, if you prefer one thing over another, etc I'd love for you to share it. Thanks much, Keystonepaul

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
If you had 30 chickens and used the entire building for coop space, that would give you a smidge over 6 sq ft per chicken. Myself I would not go any less.

OTOH, most people around here <shrug> run at more like 3-4 sq ft per chicken in the coop, and if you did 4 sq ft per chicken that would mean using only 10' of the length of the building (12x10 coop).

Will have a fenced in run. Ideally how big a run is needed for 30 chickens.

Most people around here would go 6-10 sq ft per chicken, which would mean 12x15 to 12x25 (or equivalents). I'm much more comfortable at (or beyond) the upper part of that range, myself. It kind of depends how much room you want your chickens to have, and how much you want to flirt with crowding-related problems.

Should I close off the eaves flat across the top? I will insulate. Should the partion or wall to get it to its length if I don't use the whole building go solid wall top to bottom or up to my chest or so with wire to the top?? should the top if I make the ceilng flat be solid or wire. and does a flate ceiling or angled ceiling matter?

What climate are you in - I don't know whether the 'keystone' part of your name means you are in PA or something else altogether ;P

If you're somewhere that retaining the chickens' body heat during winter is an issue (and I guess maybe you are since you're talking about insulating) then it would be worth putting in a flat 'drop ceiling' to keep more heat down at chicken level. Would not necessarily have to be a constructed ceiling, could be bubblewrap or whatever, depending how serious you are and how much heat-retention you need. I would make any subdividing wall either entirely mesh, or with very large closeable panels for wintertime (mesh openings for summer).

The big thing is to ensure lots of ventilation. You can't really have 'too much' ventilation -- you can always close it off so you're not using it, but it is good to have it *available*. Specially in weather like lots of us are getting this weekend

You will need good ventilation in wintertime as well, so make at least some of yoru ventilation high up on all 4 walls, with closeable panels.

Have fun,

Pat​