Here's My Coop Plan but a Few Questions

[Patinas]

Hi All,

I'm a new member on this site and new to chickens but have been doing my homework and have come up with the following plan for a coop. I currently have 21 chicks that will move into the new digs when it's built. Construction starts next week so would appreciate any input.

My main goal here is ease of maintenance as well has a happy/healthy/safe home for the chickens. With this many chickens there will be a lot of poop so I'm very maintenance orientated in my planning.

Structure Size: 12 x 8
Chicken Run Size: 12 x 20
Nest Boxes: 6

1. I've decided to pour concrete for the yard floor. Get a lot of rain here and can't handle the thought of a muddy/poopy chicken run. Run will be covered or at least half covered for shade and a dry area. I am planning to let them free range the property when we're home during the day but I want a big run to keep them in if I start losing too many to predators while they're out of the run. Run will be screened with 1/2" hardware cloth to keep out critters and predators. I have seen posts where people say concrete is too hard on their legs but I will put down straw/shaving over the concrete.

2. Nest boxes: I've seen ideas online to use plastic tubs in the nest boxes. I'm liking this idea for ease of cleaning them out. Any thoughts on this? I'm not keen on the idea of having wood bottoms in the nest boxes. Seems that would be hard to clean over time.

3. Roosts: I haven't seen a whole lot of ideas on this. I am planning to use 2 x 4's but am worried about mites and cleaning them. I read online that 2x4's can be painted with boiled linseed oil which will deter mites so I'm planning to do that. My only other issue is cleaning them. I know the poop can pile up fast so I'm thinking linseed oil would keep urine from soaking in and the only other issue would be scraping the poop off them as needed. Anyone ever treated their roosts with boiled linseed oil? Would paint be a good choice vs. the linseed oil?

4. Coop Floor: Using 3/4 inch marine grade plywood and then covering that with vinyl flooring and then putting shavings on top of the vinyl. The floor will be built on raised blocks. Should I also put hardware cloth on the bottom of the plywood before nailing it down to keep rodents from trying to chew through? Is that just overkill?

5. Coop Walls: Planning to insulate them and interior walls will be 1/2" plywood. I was thinking I would paint the inside walls and caulk all the seams where the plywood meets the vinyl flooring. I read that painting the interior can help with keeping the walls cleaner. I also read that running strips of remnant vinyl a couple feet up the walls helps too.

6. Coop/Run Roofing: I started out thinking I would use metal roofing but I read on here recently that someone had an issue with mice getting under the metal in the ridges. So now I'm going with asphalt shingles. Just seems that would be better at keeping the rodents at bay. Also probably quieter for the chickens than rain beating down on the metal.

7. Chicken Door: Using an automatic door.

8. Windows: I'm leaning towards using hardware cloth screening for the windows and covering them with wood shutter type doors that can be closed at night. Are glass windows the better way to go on this?

9. Poop Catchers: Under the roosts I am thinking of putting plastic deli trays that could easily be scraped/washed.

I think that's it for now. As you can tell I'm planning to build a resort hotel for my girls!! LOL I just want them to be safe and happy and keep it as easy as possible for me to clean it.

Any advice is appreciated since the plan is still flexible at this point. Thanks!

-Patinas

 

[Patinas]

Coop Build - Chicken Yard Complete!

I have completely lost track of the days we've worked on this over the last month. The good news is, the yard is complete and the girls are loving it!

All the lumber was stained with a water resistant stain and the entire yard is enclosed with 1/2 inch hardware cloth. The yard itself is 12' x 20'.

The concrete floor is covered with a bale of straw with a layer of pine shavings on top. Added a tub for dust bathing and couple of roost bars. Also added a second large feeder and waterer. The first day I let them into the yard, they seemed in awe of being outside. Even a gust of wind that came up freaked them out! But, didn't take them long to settle in and start enjoying all the extra space.

Here are some of them going into the coop. I'm using an automatic chicken door which is awesome!! I don't have to even think about it. It works perfectly!

At this point the girls are also free ranging during the day when I'm home to supervise. They free range almost every afternoon and they love it. It's been fun watching them wander and explore a little further from the coop area each day. They get excited every time they see me and line up at the gate of their yard hoping I'm coming to let them out. Also makes coop/yard maintenance so much easier when they aren't all in there.

So for now, I've put off anymore work on the coop and focused on planting our 3,500 sq ft. garden which is as much work as building a coop!

I still need to finish putting up the trim, painting and putting an apron around the bottom of the coop but I have all summer to get that done. I'll update pics when it's all painted.

 

[RichM]

It sounds like you've done some research. I've heard around here that vinyl floors don't really last that long in a coop, and a lot of people just use bare wood. Pouring concrete for the whole run sounds like a lot of work/expense, and I"m sure you'll still end up with poopy mud on top of the concrete, though I guess you could hose it down.

Don't trust the automatic door too much at night. Chickens occasionally doddle a bit about going to bed, (treats at dusk can be a source of this) and then end up stuck outside because they can't see in the dark. Do a head count at night.

Make sure to put complex locking mechanisms on everything openable. I lost my first flock when a raccoon carefully removed the egg door and killed all the chickens. They have hands! I didn't realize how clever they are and also how murderous!

 

[Patinas]

RichM,

Thanks for the input! I decided on concrete when a friend of mine recently had one of her chickens literally get stuck in the mud in the hen yard. She thinks it had been out overnight and she had to give it a bath to get all the mud off. That's when I decided to just do concrete because in theory, although it is more expense up front, I thought it would be easy just to hose it off when needed.

I also figured the vinyl is fairly cheap if you get remnants or one on closeout. I have one 10 x 12 that I got for $50. If it doesn't last, it shouldn't be a big deal to pull it up and just replace it.

Good advice on making sure all the latches are secure types. I have seen a couple raccoons on the edges of the property over the last few months. I'm sure once they know there are chickens to be had they'll be trying hard to figure out a way in. Also recently had a possum in the yard. Someone told me they will kill chickens just for the sake of killing them.

 

[21hens-incharge]

The benefit of actual windows for the coop is light. In the weather there can still be light without letting in wind, rain and snow.

I think you will find that the hens will gleefully target any and every flowerbed. You may find the need to contain them in the run to give the gardens a break. That being said I am against a concrete run. There is no way for them to do what they are designed to do.....dig. Can you imagine trying to dig a hole to cool off in finding only a very hard surface that destroys your nails? Or trying to eat small bits like scratch but banging your beak into concrete?

If your run gets muddy there are way to help the hens. Putting roosts in the run and laying pallets so they have non muddy places. Building in the high spot of the yard aids drainage. Roofing part or all of the run will not make your chickens mad at all. They would have dry dirt AND shade!

If you have to build in a low spot adding drainage around the run can help divert water away.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Making windows is not hard and can be done with 1/4 inch thick plexiglass.
I made mine and had some smoked lexan even.

A couple pics to perhaps give you ideas.

This shows how mine open. The pvc and eye bolts are very secure when I have them closed.

This shows the framing pretty well.

And the joy of dirt. This rescue hen spent at least 3 hours bathing when we got them home. The others took turns as well.
They had been living where dust bathing was not possible.

 

[ChickAsThieves]

I would post under this thread so we all can follow the progress as I am sure that a few of us have already subscribed to this thread.

Just my 2 Cents

Post the pics here, please! We're all already invested!

PS: Don't hate me for saying this... but since you're in Washington state, and it's always raining... are there any sexy vampires running around?

 

[Patinas]

Coop Build - March 31st - Day 3

Weather broke yesterday. Mostly cloudy with a couple sun breaks but no rain!

Glued down and stapled the edges of the vinyl for the platform and then framing began. I've never done framing so it was a bit intimidating getting started but once we got going it went pretty well. I was expecting to get one or two walls framed but we got 3 done which is great!



We decided to tackle the simplest wall first. This is the back wall and will have the raised nest boxes (6 of them) that will extend out the back. We spaced the boards 13" apart where the boxes will go and will build them out later. Found a video on YouTube of a guy adding boxes to his existing coop so we decided to follow his plan.




Second wall framed up with space for a 36 x 48 inch window. The two roost bars will be placed parallel to this window. I plan to put the window in backwards so I can open and close it from the outside. I decided this would be easier than going in the coop and having to reach over the roost bars to open and close it. We need to add extra boards to the right and left of the window space for more strength. Was an oversight (late in the day after the 3rd wall was up) to not do that before we raised the wall but nothing is completely nailed or screwed down so we can still do that.





Third wall up has the access door from outside. No window on this side because the door I'll be using is actually a storm door with windows and a screen on the top to let lots of light in. We went with a sloped roof so the front of the coop is 8' high and back wall is 7'.

The fourth wall, front of the coop, will be the most complicated. It will have another storm door entrance accessible from the run, the chicken door, 2 36 x 36 windows and a 6 foot long louvered vent near the roof line. There will eventually be ventilation along the top of the back wall also. Should be lots of natural light in the coop with 3 windows plus the windowed storm doors.

If the weather holds, we plan to start on the last wall tomorrow. Once they are all done, we can start squaring them all up and nailing them down and together.

 

[rodewarrior]

Got sun and warmth, working on coop.
Covered inside of North wall and set window

Then catastrophe sets in.....
Broke my dang foot.....

Clean off, snapped my bolts right off... lol

 

[Patinas]

Coop Build - Day 4 - April 3rd

Weather broke again allowing building to continue. Our son came up to help out and good thing because I came down with a bad sinus infection and wasn't much help. DH and our son got the fourth wall build and in place.



This is the wall that faces where the run will go. I planned for two windows but realized, if I put a window to the left of the door opening, that it would interfere with where the roosts will be so nixed that window and framed one to the right of the door. So this wall has a door, a window, the chicken door and will have venting along the roof line.

Next they started on the roof.



So here is close to what it looked like near the end of the day. They got all the roof sheeting up and tar papered it. I have been going back and fourth between metal vs. shingle roofing for the coop but at this point I think it will end up being metal. Founds some pretty rusty/red roofing that will match the trim color. Where the roof sticks out over the yard we will build a drop and then the roof of the chicken yard will keep going from that point. It looks a little funky at the moment but will make more sense when the roof frame for the chicken yard goes up.

Next steps are putting in windows, doors, building the nest boxes, vents, siding, putting on the metal roofing and laying the forms for the chicken yard. While I think we've made great progress on the days we've been able to work on it, there is still so much to do and the chicks just keep getting bigger!