I can't find the answer to this (Question about INSIDE coop)

[KentuckyChick]

I've been trying to search through old threads, but haven't been successful. It seems like the inside of everyone's coops are different.

I've designed the exterior of my coop. Plenty of ventilation, aesthetically pleasing, etc. My question is, other than adequate space for my babies to roost, and their nesting box, is there anything that's a must have inside my coop?

 

[33yardbirds]

I have a hanging feeder and a water set on a patio block. But I don't think it is a must have, just conveinent for them. water on free range and they have access to the open coop all day. I just don't like feed readily available to birds and squirels.

 

[Omran]

Quote:
if it is all possible I would get electric to the coop, just incase temp goes way down in winter and you have to use an electric water bowl. or to have light to see what you are doing if it get real dark.

 

[KentuckyChick]

Quote:
I was actually just talking to my husband about this a few minutes ago! We sold our above ground pool. Actually, that's how I got my husband to agree to let me get chickens, and there's already electric run back to the area where we're putting my coop. I definitely wanted it for those reasons! I'm in central Kentucky and our winters are generally not bad, but last winter it snowed a lot and we had teen and single digit temps some of the time. I figured if all else fails, I could hook the heating lamp and water heater to a timer like I use for my Christmas lights!

 

[elmo]

If you do use a heat lamp this winter, please be sure to read up on safety issues. People have had coops burn down from the use of heat lamps, and sometimes birds burn themselves on the bulb if it's accessible to them.

Most chicken breeds actually do very well even in cold weather without heat lamps as long as they have a good, draft free but well ventilated shelter. I have very small, Serama cross breeds, and I was very worried last winter (unnecessarily as it turns out) about them. I babied them by bringing them into our attached garage on freezing nights. We had several days where it was below freezing even during the daytime, and since I didn't want to keep them in dog crates in the garage all day, I let them out in their run. I watched...and was amazed. The cold didn't bother them one bit. They simply went about their usual chicken business.

Now, when it snowed...that was a different matter. Their run is roofed, so there was no snow in there, but the appearance of the snow all around them outside their run completely freaked them out, because it was different visually from what they were used to.

 

[Cattitude]

Also, experts on egg production say that a chicken should be exposed to 14 hours of light daily to do her best at laying eggs. If you have an outlet where you can plug in a lamp and a timer, you should get more eggs this winter.

 

[JustOneMore]

I think that sealed, easy to clean surfaces are important.

We took pics of our coop while under construction, including the inside. Then I painted it (in and out). The white paint on all of the interior surfaces makes the coop so much brighter! Plus it's easy to clean when poo gets on roosts or the wall.

Good luck with your new chicken castle!

 

[oldchickenlady]

I am making my coop 8x8, so if/when any of my hens have chicks I will have enough room to separate them from the rest of the flock for the first few days. Maybe a storage place for extra chicken supplies?

 

[JustOneMore]

I also put a shelf under our roost(s) which sort of adds a second "story" to our coop. The food/water is under the shelf so that droppings don't get in there. I generously heap shavings on the shelf and every week we clean it off into a wheelbarrow. All of their night-time waste is up there so the floor shavings stay much cleaner and don't need to be changed as often. Since the girls are out in the yard most of the day the floor is nearly poo free! It's the same concept as the pull out litter drawers.

 

[flowerchild59]

So far like all the ideas. Keep them coming!!!
We are in the process of building my dream coop and I am adding a small storage area for feed, DE, Masks, papertowels, apple cider vinegar, a place to store newspapers that I will line the droppings boards.
I am also putting things on the walls to hold the shovels, rakes, etc that I will need to maintain the coop.
We will also add this fall a solar or electric light of some sort so we might get some eggs this winter. The coop is close to electrical so it won't be an issue if we wanted to have a timer on it.