Here we go! new build

[kpastier]

Hello everyone!
My name is KP, I’m about to start my coop build (my wife and I are also starting the construction of our home!) so I have a lot going on right now. With the house build time is limited (I also have a 3 year old son) our property contains a barn and sits on about 3 acres with a portion of that field and woods.
We are all very excited to bring some farm back to the property and we are starting with chickens!
I have never built a coop before though I am confident I can make it happen. I’m going to try and document the build here and hopefully show off my success!
I’ll be buying materials tonight and will be starting bright and early Saturday morning. I’ll try and update this post when I can, I’m sure I’ll have questions and hope y’all can help me out if needed!
Anyway here are the drawings I have made for the coop, were hoping to start off with 4-6, from what I read on here we will get more as time goes on so I wanted to build the coop large enough to expand the flock. I’m planning to let the girls run free when we are home so the run isn’t going to be huge, I figured I could expand that if needed easily.
So check out my plans hoping for some good feedback since this is about to start tomorrow!
Thanks
KP

 

[Percheron chick]

If it were me, I'd just figure out a way to identify part of the barn and make a quick conversion for the short term. A 6x6x6 wire dog kennel with a roost bar and 2 nesting boxes will be enough to get started with 4-6 hens. Yeah you can get a nice chicken coop built in a weekend but you are going to have a ton of scraps from the house that will be perfect for a coop (and free) You might not like where you build it or how it blends with the house once the house is finished.

Your design looks good but if I had a 3 year old boy, I'd go a little overboard. A hobbit house, a chicken fort to look like his play fort, a chicken spaceship...

 

[kpastier]

trust me I tried to talk my wife into waiting for building scraps to save some money on the build but I lost that battle.

so far I am on budget, I have most of it framed and need to get the foundation set up, most of my family works in construction and can provide most of the remaining materials I'll need for free! I'm glad I reached out to them.

we had toyed with the idea of building the coop into the barn but most of the area is tied up with storage and garages.

I'll try and get some pictures to post up in the next few days.

 

[Percheron chick]

That puts you in the driver seat when you need to build a second coop for the broilers.

 

[kpastier]

Well I have some progress to show!
I've been tied up with all kinds of stuff that held be back from making any real progress on the coop. I took a half day off work this past Friday and was able to get all the framing set up. I also was able to score some extra concrete from the foundation pour of my house to fill the cores of the CMU I used for the coop foundation.

I didn't take too many photos as I was pressed for time, but here is the frame work all screwed down and together.

 

[kpastier]

I got up early and went for a 10 mile hike. Then spent the afternoon making some more progress and checking out the house.

some updated photos

 

[kpastier]

So its been quite some time but we now have our hens, I got 6 bluff breed hens from my brother in laws store and so far so good. Attached is a photo of our first egg!


I have a question about roosting, I have a large roost across the coop about 16" off the floor. The girls do not seem to want to use it. At night they head in but all bunch up at the door, I end up having to go out and push them into the coop. Once I close the pop door they all huddle around the door and in the morning I look in the back and it looks like they never move. They seem to be sleeping in a huddle on the floor by the door. I tried placing them on the roost but they either refuse or hop off once I go for a second bird. I'm not sure if this is a problem or even how to go about addressing it. I really want them on the roost so clean up is easier.

Any ideas on how to get them to go on the roost?

 

[TalkALittle]

Maybe they don't like the roost. What is your roost material? Birds the size of yours do best on the wide side of a 2x4.

 

[kpastier]

I had a smaller ~2" dia. rod at first, thinking it may be too narrow I went to the woods and got a large straight branch about 2.5-3" dia. and replaced the smaller ones. They still don't seem to want to use it. I'll try a 2X4 this weekend and see if anything changes.

 

[TalkALittle]

One other thing. Chickens have pretty poor eyesight in the dark. Since they aren't going into the coop on their own anyway, try shooing them in a bit before dark so there is still light enough for them to see their way up to the roost. Or turn a little flashlight on inside the coop before dusk--just bright enough for a night light. It may encourage them to go in on their own. Once inside they'll be very likely to find the roost on their own. Once going in and roosting becomes habit, you won't need the light.