Hello!
I'm brand new to the forum, though I've been reading and taking notes for a bit. Our family is (finally) building a chicken coop this year with plans to get some laying hens.
We dismantled and took home an older shed we found for free on Kijiji this spring and we're reassembling it with some modifications to turn it from shed into coop. It's an 8x10 shed and we've framed in a man-door on the front as well as a small sliding window on the back wall. The man door is currently a solid door, but I have plans to add a screen door to the frame for summer when we'll need good ventilation. We'll have a sliding pop door on the right side of the coop that will lead out to a covered run. We'll have nesting boxes on the left side (maybe 8-10?) and a few roosts.
This is the progress from Saturday. We framed in the window and door yesterday. We'll be insulating the walls (and covering with some of the older wood) so the ladies don't freeze in our Canadian winters. We'll run power out to it for lights and maybe a heat lamp. I haven't researched the heating side of things yet.
We're undecided on what breed(s) of chicken we're getting. My teenager has a book on heritage breeds and has found a few that he thinks will be good. The kids are pushing hard for us to get a rooster but I'm personally leaning towards hens only. I'm thinking of getting 15-20 hens.
That's our plan in a nutshell! I'm all ears if anyone has any insights or suggestions on the coop or chickens. I'm especially wanting to make sure that I don't get too many birds, especially for when they're stuck inside in the winter, but I want to include as many as is workable.
I'm brand new to the forum, though I've been reading and taking notes for a bit. Our family is (finally) building a chicken coop this year with plans to get some laying hens.
We dismantled and took home an older shed we found for free on Kijiji this spring and we're reassembling it with some modifications to turn it from shed into coop. It's an 8x10 shed and we've framed in a man-door on the front as well as a small sliding window on the back wall. The man door is currently a solid door, but I have plans to add a screen door to the frame for summer when we'll need good ventilation. We'll have a sliding pop door on the right side of the coop that will lead out to a covered run. We'll have nesting boxes on the left side (maybe 8-10?) and a few roosts.
This is the progress from Saturday. We framed in the window and door yesterday. We'll be insulating the walls (and covering with some of the older wood) so the ladies don't freeze in our Canadian winters. We'll run power out to it for lights and maybe a heat lamp. I haven't researched the heating side of things yet.
We're undecided on what breed(s) of chicken we're getting. My teenager has a book on heritage breeds and has found a few that he thinks will be good. The kids are pushing hard for us to get a rooster but I'm personally leaning towards hens only. I'm thinking of getting 15-20 hens.
That's our plan in a nutshell! I'm all ears if anyone has any insights or suggestions on the coop or chickens. I'm especially wanting to make sure that I don't get too many birds, especially for when they're stuck inside in the winter, but I want to include as many as is workable.
and Welcome To BYC! Looks like a nice start to the coop, good luck with the rest of the build! Not sure if you have seen it, but there is a really nice article in the Learning Center on figuring out how much room you need for the chickens you want 
)
