six feet is not near tall enough.
after you add layers of straw/bedding on the floor,
your headroom decreases accordingly.
I suggest you pour a concrete slab. make at least one row
of concrete blocks all around the edge of the slab, then build
your wood walls on top of the concrete blocks. You will never
have any problems with predators tunneling under the wall
and coming up through a wooden floor..
If you live in snow country, make the people door swing inward,
make a 4" to 6" threshold under the door so that when
you swing the door open, you are not plowing bedding and poop
with the door when you open it.
make the door wide enough to get a real wheelbarrow
through it.
suspend the nests from the wall. do not have any legs
holding them up. also suspend the roosts from wall to wall
with no legs holding them up, too..
put the lowest roost one foot from the floor and one foot
from the wall. make all additional roosts one foot higher
and one more foot from the wall.
When, not IF, you ever have to catch a chicken, you will
appreciate the freedom of the open spaces..
If you can, put a window on the south wall. Place the
roosts along this wall. In the winter sometim es the sun
will shine on the roosting chickens and they will appreciate it.
do not put the people door where the water will drip
off of the roof . Not pleasant to walk under a shower to
get into the coop.
use steel ribbed roofing at least 5/12 pitch. the snow
will slide off much easier..
after you add layers of straw/bedding on the floor,
your headroom decreases accordingly.
I suggest you pour a concrete slab. make at least one row
of concrete blocks all around the edge of the slab, then build
your wood walls on top of the concrete blocks. You will never
have any problems with predators tunneling under the wall
and coming up through a wooden floor..
If you live in snow country, make the people door swing inward,
make a 4" to 6" threshold under the door so that when
you swing the door open, you are not plowing bedding and poop
with the door when you open it.
make the door wide enough to get a real wheelbarrow
through it.
suspend the nests from the wall. do not have any legs
holding them up. also suspend the roosts from wall to wall
with no legs holding them up, too..
put the lowest roost one foot from the floor and one foot
from the wall. make all additional roosts one foot higher
and one more foot from the wall.
When, not IF, you ever have to catch a chicken, you will
appreciate the freedom of the open spaces..
If you can, put a window on the south wall. Place the
roosts along this wall. In the winter sometim es the sun
will shine on the roosting chickens and they will appreciate it.
do not put the people door where the water will drip
off of the roof . Not pleasant to walk under a shower to
get into the coop.
use steel ribbed roofing at least 5/12 pitch. the snow
will slide off much easier..