Hi!, new to chikens looking for advice on coop style

[Chicks-A-Hoy]

Hi all,

I am new to Back Yard Chickens and looking for advice on my coop design.

I am just purchasing my property in the upcoming weeks and I'm going to be keeping egg layers. probably around 4-6

I'm looking for a design that would be movable like a tractor, however, once winter hits it would need to be suitable to stay in place and keep the birds warm, my thoughts are maybe a big A-Frame or is there a design out there I am just unaware of.

I am in Novascotia Canada winters here are mild to moderate

Thanks

 

[DobieLover]

Welcome to BYC!

How married are you to the tractor idea? How much land do you have? What existing structures are already on the property?

keep the birds warm

The only thing coops should do to keep birds warm in the vast majority of environments is to be dry, provide copious amounts of ventilation and draft free roosting. That enables the birds to keep themselves warm by fluffing their feathers and sitting on their own feet.

big A-Frame

A-frames are notorious for having inadequate roost space and floor space for when the birds cannot use the rest of the coop during inclement weather.

I live is zone 5b and occasionally get temp into the -20s F during winter. I have no insulation and don't provide supplemental heat in the winter and the birds do fine. I just converted an old shed that was on the property we purchased into my coop, built a large predator proof run with a solid roof on it for winters when we have too much snow for the birds to wander out of their run:

and erected a poultry netting fence around it and the surrounding area to provide the flock with about 1/3 acre for foraging. The fence is powered with a 10,000 volt charger and keeps everything from Fischer cats to black bears away. I've never had a ground predator loss in the pen. And the pen always has green grass:

 

[Chicks-A-Hoy]

No, I'm not married to the idea of the tractor was just thinking about it, no structures on the property so I'd have to build from scratch

the area I'm thinking of putting them in is 8m(26feet)*20m(65feet) for the run and the coop area(including the coop structure would be in a triangle with 27square meters (88 feet)

 

[DobieLover]

build from scratch

Have you considered reaching out to shed sellers? Oftentimes they remove old sheds before placing new ones for customers. You could ask if you could have an old one and you could convert that. You might be able to get something for cheap.

 

[Chicks-A-Hoy]

Hi BYC community,

Little update on my project, I was at the new property today for the home inspection and the shed I thought was the neighbor's is actually ours, see pictures, I'm planning on trimming back the overgrowth on the left side and fencing in the area for a run, Is this a decent plan to convert this shed?

 

[nuthatched]

Hi BYC community,

Little update on my project, I was at the new property today for the home inspection and the shed I thought was the neighbor's is actually ours, see pictures, I'm planning on trimming back the overgrowth on the left side and fencing in the area for a run, Is this a decent plan to convert this shed?









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That yould make an excellent coop if you're willing to lose it as a shed.

 

[aart]

Looks like it needs new shingles(wet spots on floor and roof sheathing), which is actually good because then you can build some ventilation into the gambrel roof.

Gambrel roofs are hard to ventilate for chickens due to the low walls and lack of eaves....here's a solution to that issue:

 

[avjudge]

That would make an excellent coop if you're willing to lose it as a shed.

I agree. (And good point @aart.)

A nice thing about converting a shed, especially for such a small number of hens, is that either you can divide the shed and continue to use part of it for storage (realizing that the hens will kick up a lot of dust, but at the very least covered bins for their food etc. will solve that storage problem) or the hens will have enough space that in bad weather – or nice weather with snow on the ground which at least my hands hate – they have enough space to spend the day in.

 

[Chicks-A-Hoy]

I agree. (And good point @aart.)

A nice thing about converting a shed, especially for such a small number of hens, is that either you can divide the shed and continue to use part of it for storage (realizing that the hens will kick up a lot of dust, but at the very least covered bins for their food etc. will solve that storage problem) or the hens will have enough space that in bad weather – or nice weather with snow on the ground which at least my hands hate – they have enough space to spend the day in.

How would you divide it? like Left half right half or front and back?

 

[Ted Brown]

You have a very fortunate starting point!

When you clear the overgrowth be ruthless around the shed. Chickens love sunlight and you will too.

Follow @arrt 's advice for ventilation and fix any leaks (water kills buildings fast!) as your first priorities; I would be adding windows or fresh air openings with shutters in both the human & flock spaces.

What are the building dimensions?

Visually it seems dividing to make two rooms front and back makes more sense; perhaps a wall to contain dust?

I smiled when I saw your pictures; this should be a great project/build.