In need of some advice on building a coop.

[Fe1od1or]

Hello all. I'm new to chicken raising and am planning on building my own coop. Before proceeding onto building, I'd like to get some information:

Is 1m by 1m (plus a 1m by .5m nesting area) ok for 4 chickens?
Is 1m too high for the "living room" area?
Can I insulate the coop by making the walls a sandwich of plywood, insulation, and more plywood?

Thanks in advance. Any comments, related or non-related tips, and general advice are greatly appreciated.

 

[bj taylor]

i don't know metric so not much help there right off the bat. in my case, i have quite a few more chickens than typical space is called for. my chickens free range so the coop is strictly for sleeping & laying eggs. the more room you can provide the better. there will always be bullies & fearful ones.

you can definitely 'sandwich' to provide insulation. the trick is to make the coop proof from rodents & snakes. in my case, i essentially wrapped the spaces w/ hardware cloth to make it rodent & snake proof. i live in Texas, so my environment is probably not the same as yours.

i find that chickens take the cold MUCH better than the heat. if they are draft free, they'll do well generally. of course, i'm not dealing w/extreme cold. it's a balance. you need ventilation without draft. if you get extreme cold, make your roosts flat enough they can "sit" on their feet to keep them from freezing.

pick breeds w/smaller combs if you get extreme cold. the big combs freeze & get frostbite.

of course that comes from reading a book. we don't have much frostbite in Texas.

 

[Bear Foot Farm]

You need about 0.37 Sq M per bird, so your 1 X 1 needs to be at least 50% larger

4 X 0.37 = 1.48 Sq M MINIMUM
Your nest boxes only need to be about 10 CM larger than the birds in all directions

 

[Primo]

Unless you live in Siberia, you don't need to insulate the coop. Just make sure it is draft free and you will be fine. As a kid in Massachusetts I remember it getting down to -15 one time. My grandfathers coups were never insulated and he never had problems. (though I do think he cut their combs)

 

[Fe1od1or]

Thanks for all the great advice. I will modify my blueprints (sketches on a paper towel) to proper dimensions.
Have a great day.
And no, I don't live in Siberia.

 

[Folly's place]

If these are fullsized dual purpose chickens, and have to spend time locked in because of weather, one square meter PER BIRD is much more realistic. My coop is 10' by 16', and I overwinter 12 to 14 bantams and 18 to 20 full sized birds at the most. They have access to a run and free range daily, but hate the snow and sleet so are sometimes in all day. Mary

 

[Fe1od1or]

Folly: They are not yet grown, so I cannot determine their size. I'll Probably make it 2m by 2m just in case it is too cold for their liking.