if you could go back and change something about your coop design

[fiberart57]

Thanks to a lot of inventive people here on BYC, I'm actually pretty content with my coop. It's 4'x6' up on 2' legs and has a 6'x10' run. If we're dreaming, and some of us are, I'd wish it to be not in a backyard in the city but in a bit of land, about two acres so I could have made a bigger run for the girls.

Sigh. Mary

 

[TipsyDog]

I'd change EVERYTHING.

The ideal coop would have been my house. I can walk around in it, have seperate rooms, power and water. Let's not forget the TV, couch, fridge and phone. The girls would LOVE it.

I guess I shouldn't have built a coop. I should have built myself a new house!

 

[mlm1965]

I would have made one side of my small coop to open up completely, but I did not build it someone else did. Guess I should have described what I wanted better. It is a large dog house with nest boxes on the side that I can raise the top to gather the eggs.

I need to decide on a floor covering. I have some aluminum like for duct work. Would this be okay for flooring?

 

[DIMBY]

In about three weeks I'll be revamping my coop and adding about 10 square feet. Also, taller, it's onlly three feet high now, I'm going up to almost six feet so that I can get into the coop. I never realized how often I was going to have to do that, and for the various reasons -- cleaning, checking on them, replenishing old dirt for new dirt, etc.

I also had to add a door to my henhouse so that I could see inside. When my chickens were smaller, it drove me crazy, wondering if they were using the perch.

They weren't and when I added the door, found out why: it was too high, they could get up but getting down was a real headache, literally, for them. So, lowered the perch. I have discovered perches don't have to be that high. Mine is now only about 8 inches off the floor of the henhouse.

One of the best things I did, however - I built the henhouse elevated off of the ground about two feet. This did two things: I don't have to stoop to clear it out and it also provided some great shade for them - and instant protection from hail storms and such. They love "the basement."

One more thing, my neighbors like my chickens so much they got three of their own about two months ago. They modified my henhouse (and learned from my mistakes), and one thing I really liked, they hinged the piece of wood that holds the nesting boxes below the lids, so that they only have to pop the slider locks, it flips down and they can rake the straw/wood chips from the boxes. If this doesn't make sense, I can get pictures of how that works.

 

[DIMBY]

Aluminum? Might be interesting what other BYCers think, but two thoughts, too slick for their claws- they might have a hard time walking around; the noise they would make might be an issue; and finally - cold, don't know what part of the country you live in, but that might feeze their little feetsies off. Guess that's three thoughts. Why not good old fashioned wood?

 

[Shannon's Chix]

I would change just about everything...size of course (it's only 8x4) and we put the "people" doors on a short side so I have to heft my rather rotund bottom up into the coop to clean it properly (it's 2' off the ground).

So with it being off the ground, I put the chicken door on the bottom, where now the sand that I fill the coop with ends up in a big pile beneath the door.

I was very concerned about predators so I enclosed the bottom with hardware cloth dug a foot into the ground...then realized when I was done I had no access to the run...so out came the wire cutters.

Then I extended my run with very rusted old dog kennel panels which are unsightly and I had to put tons more money in it to make it as predator proof as possible.

Last but not least, there is lots of ventilation but the only place the girls can look out or I can see in is from a teeny tiny window.

Now I need to go back to work so I can pay for a bigger, better coop.

 

[Mahonri]

I would have wired it properly, insulated it and put in a better AC unit.

I would have made it bigger, I would have made the roof hang over, all the way around.

I would have put in a ceiling/roof fan.

I would have put a protector over my sky light. (A limb fell during our 4th of July monsoon last year and broke it)

 

[Mahonri]

OH... and I would have made my run bigger with WHITE SAND.