I want to build a coop, but I've never built anything. Need advice!

[21hens-incharge]

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Here it is!

It's got these flimsy latches on it that I'm going to replace with more predator proof ones. There's also ample ventilation that's under the slanted board on the coop part. The lid of the coop is quite heavy, though. I'm going to paint the two wood panels on the roof of the coop at either end for decorative reasons and to seal them. DB is mowing tomorrow, so he had me put it on one of the more sparse parts of the yard so he doesn't have to move it. Can you see the patch where the Eglu used to be? And yes, I did pick up their waterer after they spilled it

One thing I would change right away is the wire underfoot. It's hard on the feet and prevents scratching or dust bathing.

For the heavy lid it would be very easy while its off to make it a split lid.

Think like this perhaps....It's not the best pic but each side of my brooder lid is separate.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Oh and having the wheels on the house end makes for much easier moving.

 

[topochico225]

One thing I would change right away is the wire underfoot. It's hard on the feet and prevents scratching or dust bathing.

For the heavy lid it would be very easy while its off to make it a split lid.

Think like this perhaps....It's not the best pic but each side of my brooder lid is separate.

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Forgot to mention they'll be in a separate run when weather allows!

 

[topochico225]

That’s quite small?

It's for 2 bantams.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Forgot to mention they'll be in a separate run when weather allows!

I would still get that wire out from under foot. Maybe reuse it to make an anti dig apron.

 

[CKfarm22]

It's for 2 bantams.

It’s still pretty small. Doesn’t look like they gave that much room.

 

[NatJ]

It’s still pretty small. Doesn’t look like they gave that much room.

The sale listing said it's 2 feet wide, 2 feet high, and 12 feet long.

So the solid-sided coop area is probably 2 feet by 2 feet, which gives 4 square feet of space, which is enough for 2 bantams (since they only need half as much space as large chickens.)

And the wire mesh area would be 2 feet wide and 10 feet long, which makes 20 square feet, or 10 square feet per chicken. That's the recommended run size for standard sized chickens, so it certainly ought to be adequate for bantams.

More space is always better, but this is definitely large enough for 2 bantams according to the most common guidelines I see cited on this site.

 

[Krugerrand]

If it ends up looking like they need more coop space, you could cover some of the run and grab space from that.

 

[KGandE]

Hey y'all,

As the title suggests, I need a new coop. I have my 2 15 week Mille Fleur d'Uccles in a dog crate in a pretty wide HC run, but it's just not working out. It's predator proof, but we had to put a tarp over the back to give some shade and now the ground in that area is wet, dead, and sad. It's also very inconvenient to reach into; the run is about 3 feet off the ground, and while I'm only 5'4", it's a struggle to refill the feeder, open/close the coop, etc. My other 3 standard hens (2 Red Stars and a RIR) have an Omlet Eglu mk 2 with a 12 foot run and free range all day anyway. I splurged on their coop, not planning to add any more birds to my flock, but chicken math struck, and now I am not able to do that again for these two. I would attempt to integrate them with the big girls and house everyone in the Eglu, but it seems full enough as it is with the hens, and every time I introduce the two groups outside of a hardware cloth barrier the big girls attack the little ones.

Anyway, I'd like to try my hand at building these babies a coop from scratch. I've looked at prefab coops, but they're either too expensive or too flimsy. I'd love to do a design of curved PVC with HC over it- think reinforced cattle panel hoop coop, but scaled down to use HC and PVC. I was looking at this set of designs, which would be great, but all of them have no actual enclosed coop part with nesting boxes like I would need for these chicks. We do have quite a lot of nighttime predators (raccoons, possums, coyotes) where I live, so they definitely need to be enclosed in something. I'd like to have the nesting box accessible from the outside, if possible. It's very hard, if not impossible for me to have a wood-based coop because my climate is so warm and damp. Wood coops start rotting in about a year, which is not ideal, seeing as how these chicks are very young and I plan to keep them for their full lives.

If I was to get very ambitious and have lots of free time and unlimited helpers (which I don't), I'd build a walk-in PVC run with a smaller coop inside. If there's any simple, easy way to do this, I'm all ears.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Treat me like an idiot that has never set foot in a Home Depot. (That's a lie. I buy plants there.) But seriously, if you start going on about joists and whatnot I will be over here like

Please be kind, I regret not having any experience, but you gotta start somewhere.

TIA!

My advice, based on my own experience, is that if you want your girls to be safe, you should buy a sturdy coop that's been made by a professional. I'm not trying to discourage you, but in my opinion, building a coop that will actually keep out predators is hard. Since you say you want your girls to be pets for their whole lives, like our hens, I think buying a good one is safer than building - at least it was for us, although we do like to build things, we failed at this.

 

[LeePitts]

Start hammering, it’ll come to you