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

[SanK]

I’m fortunate enough to be in position to finally build whatever I want coop. In order to do forever coop I would ask for ideas and guidance from you fine people. Many heads together are better than one. I have access to pretty much any material and space is not a problem. I have general idea on what I like but i need help with a details.
We live in New Jersey US (to insulate or not) and i have 30ish chickens.
I’m leaning towards 8x16 or 10x16 coop and 12x 25 or 20x20 run. i don’t need storage area in the coop since it will be next to the barn where supplies will be located. All that space is for my girls. One side 4x8 or 4x10 will be two stories , bruooder (on top) and the chick grow area ( floor level) electric and water will be in the coop. Poop boards is a must and lots of light. Galvanized 1/2wire run floor included and the actual coop will be on a concrete slab. I spend many nights on this site studying others people ideas dos And donts and I’m still not sure what to do. I would like it to be an ultimate coop that will last me for the rest of my life and I would love to love it and not have those should of could of didn’t think of it . Please, everyone is more tha welcome to chip in and put their experience ideas and ahas moments … I would greatly appreciate it.

I’m personally impressed by this Christian fellow that raises poultry/ waterfowl and builds this amazing tractor that saves me time and money with fertilizer and wood shaving.
http://www.ranch-coop.com/Chicken-coop-with-cedar-roof.html
I did a lot of research before finding his link, he’s definitely not paying extra for advertising on searching tab because I’ve been trying to find a perfect way to have our birds safe but yet not breaking my back cleaning. Chicken poop is tough and sticks and stain anything, except their own feathers
I also considered hiring someone to get a A frame predator safe tractor, but good quality cedar is outrageously expensive.
I hope it helps you to find your own chicken place.

 

[Pojojuniper]

A bit extravagant, but if I could build the coop/run of my dreams it would look a little something like this.

 

[SanK]

A bit extravagant, but if I could build the coop/run of my dreams it would look a little something like this.

I would move into that!

 

[QODTMWTD]

I’m fortunate enough to be in position to finally build whatever I want coop. In order to do forever coop I would ask for ideas and guidance from you fine people. Many heads together are better than one. I have access to pretty much any material and space is not a problem. I have general idea on what I like but i need help with a details.
We live in New Jersey US (to insulate or not) and i have 30ish chickens.
I’m leaning towards 8x16 or 10x16 coop and 12x 25 or 20x20 run. i don’t need storage area in the coop since it will be next to the barn where supplies will be located. All that space is for my girls. One side 4x8 or 4x10 will be two stories , bruooder (on top) and the chick grow area ( floor level) electric and water will be in the coop. Poop boards is a must and lots of light. Galvanized 1/2wire run floor included and the actual coop will be on a concrete slab. I spend many nights on this site studying others people ideas dos And donts and I’m still not sure what to do. I would like it to be an ultimate coop that will last me for the rest of my life and I would love to love it and not have those should of could of didn’t think of it . Please, everyone is more tha welcome to chip in and put their experience ideas and ahas moments … I would greatly appreciate it.

We love the little barn with a concrete foundation that we inherited when we bought this acreage: a 27' x 27' metal building with a solid partition that makes a 27' x 9' coop area. The coop side is accessible from inside the barn through a man door and we installed an overhead door (about 5' x 8') for access to the run. We built a 16' x 27' covered run outside the coop, and with 200' of poultry netting and some hawk netting made a safe yard outside that. They have tons of room. The barn is more than 25 years old and we're getting a new roof for it this summer, plus spray foam insulation to prevent condensation dripping inside. The run is getting a metal roof and gutters, too; right now it's just a heavy duty tarp. We had electrical power and plumbing added, so we have an old refrigerator, a new laundry tub, and an electric water heater on the barn side. We also have a backup portable generator because the barn isn't on the solar system. Having running water on site makes it easy to scrub out the drinkers every day, and the fridge keeps the chicken treats fresh and cool. This time of year I love having ice for their wading tub and drinkers, too. Inside the coop we hung two Kuhl nest boxes with 10 boxes each. For poop boards under the ladder roost and the far more popular tall bar roost we use foam playpen liners over a contained sand/DE mix. The liners are light, easy to remove, and hose off easily. During the day they hang to dry on the barn side, and at night we replace them under the roost bars. The chickens use the sand/DE mix under the bars for their dust baths, because they spend most of the day in the shade of the coop. They also seem to appreciate the floor fan that runs 24/7. We also installed a 2' square exhaust fan high on the wall that keeps air moving through the place.

If I were doing another chicken barn I'd do pretty much what we have now, but with a better configuration of sink and refrigerator and extra coop space for screening off new chicks when they're added; it was a little awkward trying to separate and then integrate 15 pullets with the 15 hens this past spring. You will probably never regret having a larger space. Clerestory openings on the coop side would help move hot air out, too; wish we had those. I'd also make it easier to shovel used shavings straight out the back of the barn, which would mean an additional door at one end of the coop. The former owner of the property poured the foundation himself and didn't make it high enough or grade the dirt to compensate, so some sections of the barn get seepage over the sill when it rains a lot. I'd pour a foundation at least 6" higher than the ground if we were building from scratch.

 

[GCrumb]

I'd stick with the little plastic snap-lock 'coops' I have, which are really just roosting-houses with nest-boxes. I'd get more.

I need mesh over the run because of hawks. The dream setup would be to make a really large meshed-over run, with internal fences dividing it into many sub-runs, with gates between. Some areas could be closed off and used as vegetable garden. The overhead mesh would protect the plants from our summer hailstorms. After harvest it would be opened up to the chickens to dig and fertilize. I could use one or two to grow clover and other good forage for chickens and let them at it when it gets mature enough.

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you for your input . Poop boards , for example. Would you have nesting areas build under poop boards? How high would be realistically ideal board hight? Ventilation, fans good or bad idea? Windows, I’m imagining almost sun room!!! Overkill???? I was pretty sure what I “needed “ in the coop until I got to do it. Now I’m second guessing my ideas scared that I will make a huge mistake. I did my research but now I’m second guessing everything. Funny thing, I have had chickens for decades …

Poop boards: If you look at that picture of the nests with that board running the length of them, it now has a 1"x2" on the outside edge. We have silkies that will either sit up on top of the nest boxes, in the nest boxes, or now, on that rail we put up. The "poop board" width is 4", so a 4" sheetrock scraper tool is what I use to scrape it all down to the end. I hold a bucket or dustpan at the outside edge and push it all in. I then sprinkle DE and/or horse pellets on that board as it's damp in spots so either help dry it out.

Ventilation: I wouldn't have known until I got chickens that Wisconsin's average humidity is 72%. Most of the time, especially in winter, the inside of the coop was more humid than outside, though. The horse bedding pellets and a 5-gallon nipple waterer keep the coop as dry as possible, but it wasn't enough. We put a small box fan in one window, but that was a weak attempt, so we purchased a heavier-duty, programmable one, and put a vent in the human door to pull dry air from the garden shed into the coop. In summer we shut that vent, and it pulls across from the other window. That window is couple of feet further to the right of the nest boxes so any draft is away from them. We can set this fan to come on by temperature or humidity. In summer, it's by temp, in winter by humidity. This is the one we bought. We've had it for a little over a year and are very happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T75SS7V/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think your coop is going to be great. You are putting a lot of thought into it but even if later if you smack your forehead because you wish you would have done something differently, it probably isn't that bad, can be fixed, or really, will the chickens care?

 

[Magoo1957]

I’m fortunate enough to be in position to finally build whatever I want coop. In order to do forever coop I would ask for ideas and guidance from you fine people. Many heads together are better than one. I have access to pretty much any material and space is not a problem. I have general idea on what I like but i need help with a details.
We live in New Jersey US (to insulate or not) and i have 30ish chickens.
I’m leaning towards 8x16 or 10x16 coop and 12x 25 or 20x20 run. i don’t need storage area in the coop since it will be next to the barn where supplies will be located. All that space is for my girls. One side 4x8 or 4x10 will be two stories , bruooder (on top) and the chick grow area ( floor level) electric and water will be in the coop. Poop boards is a must and lots of light. Galvanized 1/2wire run floor included and the actual coop will be on a concrete slab. I spend many nights on this site studying others people ideas dos And donts and I’m still not sure what to do. I would like it to be an ultimate coop that will last me for the rest of my life and I would love to love it and not have those should have could have didn’t think of it . Please, everyone is more tha welcome to chip in and put their experience ideas and ahas moments … I would greatly appreciate it.

Pipica…I’m kind of in the same boat…..retiring late this year and have found a 10x16 building that I want for a coop, will buy land and home later but am absorbing all types of info for MY perfect coop as well so I’m hyper focused on this site and all the info that these smart, wonderful folks Can offer me!