If you could build your ultimate coop, what what would you build?

[saysfaa]

I looked up the woods coop and ran across these. Figured since we were now all dreaming of coops, I'd share, because it is fun ♡ and awesome..View attachment 3587697View attachment 3587698
Lots to love about these set ups- photos wise.

It is beautiful but not the "Woods coop" we are talking about. We mean the kind Prince T Woods wrote about a century ago or so.

He says, "The open-front fresh-air poulty house is really a very simple affair and the simpler the construction the better, as a rule. The essentials are an open-front that always stays open, protected by wire screen and overhanging eaves from driving storms of rain or snow, ample floor space, opportunity for sunlight to reach most parts of the house during some part of the day, tight roof, sides, and back, comfortable roosts, simple furnishings and a good floor. The house should have good depth so that the roosts are well back from the open front."

He talks about what makes good sites and such as well.

 

[TropicalBabies]

It is beautiful but not the "Woods coop" we are talking about. We mean the kind Prince T Woods wrote about a century ago or so.

He says, "The open-front fresh-air poulty house is really a very simple affair and the simpler the construction the better, as a rule. The essentials are an open-front that always stays open, protected by wire screen and overhanging eaves from driving storms of rain or snow, ample floor space, opportunity for sunlight to reach most parts of the house during some part of the day, tight roof, sides, and back, comfortable roosts, simple furnishings and a good floor. The house should have good depth so that the roosts are well back from the open front."

He talks about what makes good sites and such as well.

Yes, just sharing beautiful and creative coops. Understand these are not the woods style coop. Thank you.
OP is not set, just looking for info and inspiration to my understanding.
Not a cold weather dweller myself and would not have the knowledge or experience to advise ♡
Just having BYC fun right?

 

[Pipica]

Yes, just sharing beautiful and creative coops. Understand these are not the woods style coop. Thank you.
OP is not set, just looking for info and inspiration to my understanding.
Not a cold weather dweller myself and would not have the knowledge or experience to advise ♡
Just having BYC fun right?

You are right, I’m look’ing for info inspiration and advise for I have until beginning of October to have my plans in order. I’m very grateful to each and every one of you for every bit and every picture you provide. If we can have fun while at it, even better.

 

[Pipica]

It is extensively tested and proven to work well.
The book was written about a century ago, so it is a little hard to read.
Prince T Woods wrote it. He edited a popular poultry magazine, among other things, so had the advantage of the experiences of many people rather than with his own flock.

There are also MANY people who have built this kind recently. I don't know of any who have built one and not liked it (and I've looked for such reports for about ten years now).

Excerpts from the book
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924003138272&view=1up&seq=12

"...Not the least among the benefits of open-air housing of poultry is that the operator does not need to worry about ventilation, opening and shutting slides, shutters, curtains, windows, and doors almost continuously, in an effort to make adjustments to suit weather conditions.

There is less dampness in the open-front house, the air is dryer and there is greater opportunity for dust to escape.

Fowls enjoy better health, are far more comfortable, are less affected by weather changes. The egg yield is generally better and more uniform. Better health and lessening liability to disease result in better fertility and better hatches of strong chicks.
...
The hen carries a much higher normal temperature than human beings and breathes much more rapidly. She requires for her well-being an abundance of oxygen in fresh air. She needs fresh air at night even more than by day. The open-front house supplies this need safely and conveniently.
...
Fowls have no sweat glands so that very little moisture is evaporated from the external surface of the body. Very little heat is lost thru the skin because of the efficient insulation afforded by the feathers. Also the body is unusually well protected from cold and weather. The kidneys excrete only a very small quantity of water. Nearly all the moisture with escapes from the fowl’s body is passed off thru the respiratory apparatus.

…They live fast, have a very active respiratory apparatus, breath rapidly, require much oxygen for the blood to maintain the normal high temperature, and exhale large quantities of carbonic acid and moisture.

…

Damp, stale air, lacking in oxygen and carrying an excessive amount of carbonic acid, is a common starting point of poultry diseases in closed houses.

The open-front fresh- air building is a practically dry house as it permits free escape of excess moisture, unless roof boards are too close to roosts…The open-front house gives a full and abundant supply of fresh air, with its contained oxygen, all the time....

"
[Extracts from a lecture given to a poultry association} by Joseph Tolman, successful [poultry proprietor], “the first eight years of my work in the poultry business were with the closed type of house, and I met with very poor results…I am convinced that most of the trouble was due to closed-housing my breeding stock.

My first open-front or fresh-air houses were used during that severe cold winter of 1904 and 1905, and remarkably good results were obtained…During the spring of 1903, Dr. Prince T. Woods, the well known writer and authority on poultry diseases, visited a number of poultry plants in our section of the country, where at the time very unsatisfactory results were being obtained. Post-mortem examinations made on a great many birds of various ages led him to believe that an abundance of fresh air in the poultry houses was practically all that was needed to check the disease and put the stock in better condition. Acting on his advice, I took the windows out of my poultry houses at once and kept them out… seeing a marked change in the health and vigor of my birds, and knowing of the remarkable results being obtained in many sections of the country…I felt I needed to keep the windows wide open all winter… I did not have a single bird catch cold or experience any other setback..”

[Tolman’s fresh-air houses] …are always dry… The air is alive and fresh, not dead and foul.."

There are similar quotes from other people, including people from university research stations, poultry associations, large commercial flocks, well-known (at the time) fanciers with flocks for shows. They talk of large flocks and small flocks.

Than you so much for taking time and providing so much information . It’s greatly appreciated!

 

[TropicalBabies]

You are right, I’m look’ing for info inspiration and advise for I have until beginning of October to have my plans in order. I’m very grateful to each and every one of you for every bit and every picture you provide. If we can have fun while at it, even better.

I should have first said congratulations to you. A new dream coop for 30 chickens on more space than they need, quite fabulous. I hope once you decide on what you want, you share your build with us.

When I bought my first 5 chickens, I squeeked out 350sq for coop and run. My husband giving me grief for every inch and dollar spent for chickens. I'm a recycler by nature and loved the challenge, plus warm weather... I did very well. I expanded as I needed and now house, today, 34 feathered souls pretty comfortably.

The last few years we, me and the chickens, have been staying the worst of our summers up in Kauai's rain forest to stay cool, starting with a July 4th getaway. Not completly knowing how we would like the adventure to start, I repurposed an old horse trailer for their sleeping quarters and made due bringing up and using my old mini coop for nest boxes and medical stay if needed.

3 summers later my dh was prepared for us to build a new coop for the chickens. We hauled and gaveaway the old. I drew up my plan and bought my materials. I thought I would be excited and inspired to build a dream coop, but I found I was mostly humdrum, more concerned about imperfections and compromise. I was almost going to skip our summer retreat because of my indifference to the project. Well, seems I am a recycle gal at heart and my heart was into repurposing the old, barely used shack that we have on property. Lucky me, my dh finally saw the wisdom in it. We will use the materials elsewhere.

I'm happy to say our little converted shack suits us fine. A few days to clean out and revamp and it is as charming as can be. Chickens have been breaking it since July 4th. No mistakes or regrets.

This is my 5th coop and the hardest on my head. I think it is easy to overthink these things. I hope your project stays fun and exciting for you and that you get exactly what you know works for you and your flock. Much Aloha, L.

 

[Pipica]

I should have first said congratulations to you. A new dream coop for 30 chickens on more space than they need, quite fabulous. I hope once you decide on what you want, you share your build with us.

When I bought my first 5 chickens, I squeeked out 350sq for coop and run. My husband giving me grief for every inch and dollar spent for chickens. I'm a recycler by nature and loved the challenge, plus warm weather... I did very well. I expanded as I needed and now house, today, 34 feathered souls pretty comfortably.

The last few years we, me and the chickens, have been staying the worst of our summers up in Kauai's rain forest to stay cool, starting with a July 4th getaway. Not completly knowing how we would like the adventure to start, I repurposed an old horse trailer for their sleeping quarters and made due bringing up and using my old mini coop for nest boxes and medical stay if needed.

3 summers later my dh was prepared for us to build a new coop for the chickens. We hauled and gaveaway the old. I drew up my plan and bought my materials. I thought I would be excited and inspired to build a dream coop, but I found I was mostly humdrum, more concerned about imperfections and compromise. I was almost going to skip our summer retreat because of my indifference to the project. Well, seems I am a recycle gal at heart and my heart was into repurposing the old, barely used shack that we have on property. Lucky me, my dh finally saw the wisdom in it. We will use the materials elsewhere.

I'm happy to say our little converted shack suits us fine. A few days to clean out and revamp and it is as charming as can be. Chickens have been breaking it since July 4th. No mistakes or regrets.

This is my 5th coop and the hardest on my head. I think it is easy to overthink these things. I hope your project stays fun and exciting for you and that you get exactly what you know works for you and your flock. Much Aloha, L.

Thank you. This is not my first rodeo either it will be my 4th coop.Right now I have 2 4x8 coops in the large run and I’m quite satisfied with it. We are under contract for another much larger property (18 acres) and no structures that I can start with. That purchase came from nowhere and I’m kind of scrambling to get everything in order. Besides of doing coop I’m preparing for some home remodeling .To many major decisions in a couple of months. The barn was never used as a barn but very clean storage space so that will be project for itself later . My main thing is to do really good coop that will never (my lifetime) need any major changes. I don’t want to overlook anything since I’m blessed not to be limited with space or means.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Thank you. This is not my first rodeo either it will be my 4th coop.Right now I have 2 4x8 coops in the large run and I’m quite satisfied with it. We are under contract for another much larger property (18 acres) and no structures that I can start with. That purchase came from nowhere and I’m kind of scrambling to get everything in order. Besides of doing coop I’m preparing for some home remodeling .To many major decisions in a couple of months. The barn was never used as a barn but very clean storage space so that will be project for itself later . My main thing is to do really good coop that will never (my lifetime) need any major changes. I don’t want to overlook anything since I’m blessed not to be limited with space or means.

Wow! That sounds so exciting... and overwhelming in the best possible way. Lots and lots to do. Will you be hiring out a lot of the work or taking it on yourself. Still stressful either way.

 

[Pipica]

Wow! That sounds so exciting... and overwhelming in the best possible way. Lots and lots to do. Will you be hiring out a lot of the work or taking it on yourself. Still stressful either way.

We own construction and design companies and that is the reason I can run freely with my ideas And materials. It’s still going to be overwhelming because I still have to do my “work “ projects.

 

[Shadrach]

Given how we are dreaming...
This may not be a practical option given where you live but for me the ultimate coop is no coop at all.
Give me an acre or two of land with trees (magnolia trees work well) which I can fence with an eight foot weldmesh fence with anti dig skirt and anti climb crank at the top of the fence, within which I could locate nest boxes and shelters.
I've seen this done in climates that don't have temperature much below freezing for long during the winter months.

 

[saysfaa]

Given how we are dreaming...
This may not be a practical option given where you live but for me the ultimate coop is no coop at all.
Give me an acre or two of land with trees (magnolia trees work well) which I can fence with an eight foot weldmesh fence with anti dig skirt and anti climb crank at the top of the fence, within which I could locate nest boxes and shelters.
I've seen this done in climates that don't have temperature much below freezing for long during the winter months.

It is Prince T Woods' ultimate coop also - even in Massachusetts - except pine trees instead of magnolias. He talks of flocks in that area that did well that way; the biggest downside being "two legged predators", the second biggest downside being four legged predators. Although those two have undoubtably switched places since the 1920's.