If I could go back in time and build my coop and run all over again I would change....

[AngieDawn]

Just curious what others found that they wish they had after they already had their coop and run finished.
I think I would say that I wished I had built it so that I could easily separate chicks that needed to be integrated or separated

What would you change if you could do it all over again?

 

[Crestcrazy]

We use a shed that was already on the property so I don't get to make a choice

 

[AngieDawn]

We use a shed that was already on the property so I don't get to make a choice

Ok. Mine was part of a kids playground that I converted. But if you could change just one thing what would it be.

 

[Crestcrazy]

Ok. Mine was part of a kids playground that I converted. But if you could change just one thing what would it be. View attachment 2156822

Honestly there isn't much I'd change about it , I'd paint it blue and have solar powered lights in it .
Nice lookin coop by the way

 

[BGcoop]

I'd paint it blue and have solar powered lights in it .

solar powered lights sound like a great idea!
i really like my set up, but I guess I would make it a couple feet wider as my birds are too stubborn to use their ladders to get on and off the roosts resulting in the occasional bumble foot caused by hard landings. Unfortunately that wasn’t a possibility due to how it was built attached to an existing shed.

 

[3KillerBs]

Full height run.

With deep litter you don't have to clean much, but when I did it was torturous to bend over in the 4-foot run.

Also deeper overhangs on the roof and a front drop-down opening on the nestbox instead of the roof lift.

I do get to fix these things because we're in the process of moving to country property and I'm getting chickens again after I repair the coop.

Then we get to start over completely with a new and larger coop with my repaired small coop to be used as a brooder/broody facility/grow-out facility.

 

[CatsandCrops]

Running underground power to the coop - we had an opportunity to do it and choose not to due to time/costs but thinking about it more, I wish we would have for our cold winters. We have an external plug on the garage and can run an extension cord, but we should have just done it

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's not what I would change so much as what I find most useful. A lot of these are specific to my goals, yours are probably quite different. For example, I hatch and raise mine for meat. That influences a lot of this. And I let broody hens hatch and raise chicks with the flock.

1. Make it big enough that you have flexibility. Forget the idea of making it tiny and shoehorning chickens in as tightly as you can. Give yourself enough room to work and enough room to add things if you need to. You and the chickens will both benefit from having it bigger than the bare minimum.

2. I built a brooder in my coop. I hatch chicks in an incubator or get them from hatcheries a couple of times a year. Raising them in the coop makes integration a snap. The top acts as a droppings board. It makes a good place to isolate an injured chicken if I need that. I made a wire floor so it is really easy to keep clean and dry when it's used for a brooder, plus I can use it for a broody buster if I need to (and often do).

3. I integrate young chicks a lot. I put a juvenile roost lower than the main roosts, horizontally separated from the main roosts, and obviously higher than my nests to give the juveniles a safe place to go that is not my nests. Since I added this my juveniles do not sleep in the nests. The top two nests are add-ons. This is something I would change. The top of the nests act as droppings boards. If I were doing this again I'd put one droppings board across at the same level. This one has too many nooks and crannies to make scraping it easy. I'll mention my coop was big enough that I could add more nests and a roost.

4. I made the two lower nests so I could gather eggs from outside. To me that was a total waste. I'm going inside to feed and water and lock the pop door anyway. I much prefer to collect eggs from inside. That's personal preference, many people like to collect from outside. If you have one of those little elevated coops collecting form outside is pretty much a requirement.

5. I made the two lower nests so I could lock a chicken in them if I wanted to. That has come in handy for several different things.

6. I built a grow-out shelter at the far end of my main run and sectioned my main run so I could give them some run space where the adults can see them. I actually repurposed something I had. As I said, I integrate a lot. It has a wire floor so it is easy to keep clean and dry and can also be used as a broody buster. I can isolate an injured chicken here if the brooder in the coop is in use.

7. My main coop is on the ground and has a dirt floor. I built a berm and swale on the uphill side to keep rainwater run-off out and hauled in enough dirt to raise the floor level a few inches. It stays really dry.

8. I considered my comfort and convenience in what I built. I can stand up to do things. I have room to do things. I consider me important.

That's it off the top of my head. Several of these are more to do with my goals than others. My main suggestions are to give yourself room to be flexible and make it so you are comfortable taking care of your chickens. You will enjoy it a lot more and the chickens will benefit for that too.