How tall should my coop be?

[GSPx2]

I'm trying to design my first coop. It will be a small coop with a run. The plan was for a 8x4x4 run with a 4x2x2 coop 2 feet off the ground. This will only be for about 3 chickens. My question is, will 2 feet tall for the inside be ok for the coop or should I make it 3 feet? Keep in mind I will be adding nesting boxes as well. Thank you!

 

[Whittni]

2 feet is plenty but don't forget you have to add a window for ventilation so three feet would give you more room to work with. Good luck!

 

[thomasboyle]

If you have the room, money etc, make it 3 feet. The place where the height matters the most is above the roosts. If you want the roost high enough that the chickens can easily walk under them, they should be 12-18 inches off the floor, and then they need another 12-18 inches of headroom. Two feet would work for minimums, but if you can do three, I would. Chickens will be happier the more room they have. It will also make it easier for you to clean etc whenever you have to reach in.

 

[chfite]

Here is a good design to start from. http://poultry.purinamills.com/NUTRITIONMANAGEMENT/HenHouseHutchDesign/

How high the coop is from the ground and how tall the coop is work together to create a good or bad situation for you. If the coop is off the ground 2 feet and the coop is 3 feet tall, do you have to bend or stoop to open and clean the coop? If you have to bend or stoop, that will become quite uncomfortable soon.

My coops are 2 feet off the ground and 4 feet tall. I am 6-4 and would hate to have to bend to clean the coop. With this combination of doors the height of the entire side, I am comfortable working in the coop. When I open the door, the entire side is open.

Standard material sizes are in multiples of 2 or 4 feet. 4 feet is a more common size. Making something 3 feet will waste material in construction.

If I were to make a coop 2 feet tall, I would place it 4 feet off the ground.

The chickens will be happier in a tall coop.

Chris

 

[azygous]

I can't resist chiming in. Six years ago, I began with two adopted adult hens. I built a small coop, 4'X4'x 3' tall, two feet off the ground with a small four by eight foot run four feet high. It was adequate at the time, and was still adequate when a few months later I acquired three month old chicks.

Six years later, my coop and runs have grown to 1700 square feet with 21 chickens. That's the result of adding on four or five times over those years, tearing down runs and building them higher and larger and adding onto the coop and building a second one.

The biggest mistake I made was not to make my coops large and tall enough for me to walk upright into. I thought the large access doors would make it easy to reach inside to clean, but I still need to get inside to do stuff, and am always bumping my head. Also, it was hell, adding onto existing coops, as they never square up, and it's really hard to do.

So my advice is, as long as you can afford it, to build it tall, and build it big enough to surpass what you eventually dream of having in the way of your ultimate flock.