'I wish I'd known...'?

[stargirl]

What things do you wish you had known or thought of before building your chicken coop? Or what was the best advice you got?

What do you love about it, and what would you change?

I'm about to embark on my own little project, so thought I would try and benefit from the collected wisdom here!

 

[Hawkeye95]

Ooooh, this is exactly the kind of question I have!! I'm a newbie, too! I'm going to start on a coop too, but I'm so indecisive because I read so many things and it would be nice to have a list of pros and cons! I hope this thread gets a lot of hits!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I wish I would have made the run bigger and that I designed it to be easier to clean.

 

[postalprincess]

me too..the run. our run does not have a door to get in. i have to crawl throught the chicken door. if i turn just right my head and shoulders go through with a problem but my hips always seem to get stuck. one of these days i can see myself screaming for the neighbors to come pull me out.

 

[Chickiemom25]

I wish I had better carpentry skills and made a larger coop.. I can already see that I am going to have to make a larger coop.. Maybe straight up and down walls rather than an A frame for more room. Also multiple access points for cleaning.,., I can only clean from one side now and want to move the coop which will prevent access for cleaning if I do.

Things I have learned.. scrap the chicken wire.. The rats can chew right through it.. Invest in the building fabric stuff.

 

[bullyforme]

I wish I'd known what a pain it would be to not have the run/coop tall enough for me to walk in. It's a converted (huge! - but only about 4' tall) rabbit hutch and it's perfect except for that. However, being without the funds or skills to build a new one, I'm glad I didn't foresee that because I'd still be without my chickens.

 

[CarolJ]

I've only had my coop for two weeks - and my pullets for one week . . . But there are still things I'd do differently. You want a coop that's easy to clean - one that provides easy access to the chickens.

More than likely, once you get your first chickens, you'll soon decide you want more - you might want to try hatching eggs - or getting baby chicks. So make the coop bigger than you think you'll need.

 

[terrilhb]

Wish I had known about this site when I got my 1st chickens last July. Than maybe they would all be alive.

But thanks to knowing know I can keep them as safe as humanly possible.

 

[Jerseycoop]

Hi I'm in the process of building my coop and I have to say my there is a wonderful coop on here in the coop designs under small coop. It's on the the first page and it's called the "Wichita cabin coop". He really did a great job and thought of just about everything. Scroll through his pictures. This was the single inspiration for my coop. Good luck hope this helps

 

[BlueBetween]

I would have made my run bigger as well, and I would have made more of an overhang at the run door so I wouldn't get rained on when I'm cleaning up out there. (It rains a lot here.) Also, If I'd been thinking, I'd have designed my coop part around the size of available boot trays.