I finally got DH talked into building me a coop

[KellyandKatie]

What do I want now? I finally got DH talked into building me a coop. I am thinking I want it big enough for 12 birds, and I would love it to be walk in.
He is asking me for plans.... but I when I clicked on the plans page and started comparing them, his eyes glazed over, and he just wants me to tell him my final choice...
so... you guys can brainstorm with me, right?
we have a lot of raccoons in our area- so really predator proof is number one
I think a one day project would make him the happiest, nothing that will take too many days to do, his to do list around the house before he deploys again is pretty long
waterproof-it rains all the time here
easy to clean and nice and spacey. I have pet birds, I am happy if I get some eggs, but if I don't no biggy. Right now I have 4 ducks, but I want to get 4 chickens too- yes, they will live together
I want a fenced in yard attached with standing height and covered so if we needed to go away for the weekend, they would have enough space ( normally they get free range during the day while we are home)
and my hubby wants it to look nice since we are urban and he has a stigma about me having chickens to begin with
if I had to buy him a power tool or two to do the job, I think it would further motivate him

The only reason I even got him here is I found one on craigslist that someone is making and selling for $400 and I saved up to buy that, now he says I can hire him to do the job. He really has no interest in the birds and does not really want to brainstorm this- but he will make me what I ask for this time

anyway, I am babbling(poor DH, I can see why he is sick of hearing about it)- any suggestions?

I am thinking this one- https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=3548
any guesses on how much that would cost in materials and time?

 

[fldiver97]

the one you picked looks good....if you put the pop door on the side you can attach the covered run to it and keep the people door in the front..... I would go with a good sized window or two smaller ones, after I added windows to my old wooden shed (converted into chikcen coop now) I realized that I really should have added more or bigger windows. I prefer as much natural light as possible as I don't have electricity in the coop and want to avaid running a cord out there other than for the heated waterer in the roofed pen in the winter...As far as cost goes, if you can find free or recycled wood you can cut the cost a lot We have Habitat ReStore here, Craigslist is a source, construction sites and even Lowe's and Home Depot have lumber, windows, doors etc that are not in perfect condition but usable and functional...Paint can cover a lot... Just my two cents....Oh, and try to go a bit bigger than you think you need...if the weather is bad it's nice to have extra indoor space....Good luck!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I agree that's a nice looking choice . . . but I think it's going to take more than a day to build!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I like how easy this guys looks, it might be to small for you but I really liked his instructions, thought you might check it out.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=259888&p=1

 

[deanna&rich]

You know, why don't you just learn to build it yourself?? I built mine, my dear hubby has way too much to do for his own business and projects. If my sweetie was going to deploy, I'd spend all our time cuddling and sweet-talking, and do the chores after he left. You'll feel really proud of yourself if you learn to build that little coop, in the last post, it's not a difficult project.

 

[KellyandKatie]

Thank you!
I am trying to talk him into making it with a floor, he wants to do a chicken wire bottom
I am thinking to keep things dry, predator proof and tidy I want a floor

 

[Hippie Chickie]

With all of the rain you really need a floor!! Our girls would be swimming in a mud puddle with a wire bottom! Do you want to come over and take a look at our setup? We have 12 girls and one awesome roo. So the size comparison would be the same and all. Send me a pm and let me know. My DH built it so he can tell you all about it. It is probably also a good idea to have some of the run covered. That is one of the next projects.

 

[Hippie Chickie]

I just looked at the coop that you were thinking of. It's very similiar to mine. Our's is 4x8 and was made with almost all repurposed materials so I have no idea on the cost. We had industial pallets that my DH used. One was the floor and then he broke up about six or eight more for the sides. We had the window in the shed when we moved in and one of our friends had corrugated tin roofing that he gave us. We had to buy a few sheets of plywood, two by fours, screws and some other hardware. We also bought another window for more light. My DH also put a brooder in the coop and a really neat nesting box. I need to put up a BYC coop page I suppose. The DH just installed a timer for more light, so we are getting about 10 eggs a day. I just haven't seen the chickens in almost a week. It's dark when I leave for work and dark when I get home.

 

[SC_Hugh]

I don't have the skills yet to build from scratch, so I converted our kids playhouse (4'x7') that my dad and I built back in 1992 and now I have my eye on converting my tool shed (7'x8') with a huge door for a future coop! Simple enough to cut out some windows and a pop door, a few more slots for ventilation and then attach a big chicken run...

My playhouse coop is tall enough to stand up in but I don't go inside very often, I just reach in (from the upper dutch door) to open and close the pop door and collect the eggs.

6'x8' would be a good minimum size for your 12 chickens, maybe just go for 8'x8'?

Good luck,

--Hughster

 

[alycoop]

Kellyand Katie, That's a nice coop and similar to mine. Mine is only 4 x 4 feet and about 6' tall at highest point. I only have 5 hens.
Mine is functional but if doing it again I'd make it larger. A retired friend built ours out of recycled wood and materials. It did take more than a day but he built each section as 'panels' that were moved to the site then screwed together. We have a fully enclosed small run attached to the coop.

Think about how easy it will be for you to go inside to collect eggs and clean.
You may want to have access to nest boxes from the outside.
Also make sure you get some vinyl remnants and line floor and maybe even lower walls with the vinyl. Makes clean up much, much easier!
When we make our next one it will be larger and I will paint the inner walls white before the walls are put up.

Anyway, take some time and read other people's mistakes.