Interior design suggestions for 12'x12'x8.5' coop

[ailurophile23]

I'm so excited - we just bought a new house and land and my chickens will get a much larger home in the new barn!!! The new coop will be approximately 12'x12' with an 8.5' ceiling. The coop itself is basically one of the stall bays (we have horses) and it will have a run to the outside and under the barn wing (more space here too but I am not sure just how much yet). The coop will have two people doors - one into it from the interior barn aisle and one into the run from inside the coop. There will likely also be one into the run from the outside (pasture). The flooring will be crushed gravel (3-4 inches) topped with sand (3-6 inches) in both the coop and the run. Three sides of the coop and the ceiling will be completely enclosed (wooden walls) with windows as needed for ventillation. For the wall into the run, we are considering leaving it somewhat open-air - hardware cloth to cover it and with some boards, particularly in the bottom half, but with more space between boards or even no boards for the top half.

I am trying to come up with ideas for the interior design of the coop - it's just so much more space than I had before and it is currently a blank slate. I have been looking at all the great designs on this sites and there are tons of great ideas but I am wondering if any of you have any other suggestions or must do's in terms of interior design. Thanks in advance! ~Laura

 

[BoltonChicken]

I used the Purina plans as a starting point and modified from there.

http://poultry.purinamills.com/NUTRITIONMANAGEMENT/HenHouseHutchDesign/default.aspx

Been happy with it so far.

 

[ailurophile23]

Thanks for the link BoltonChicken! I definitely like the ladder style roost against a wall - I'm just not sure on positioning it to make the best use of the space. I'm still trying to decide if the nest boxes should be completely inside the coop since we can walk into it or if they should be built into the wall and accessible from the inside barn aisle. We'll have a feed room right across the barn aisle so I don't have to worry about feed storage space. I'm afraid if I don't ask for suggestions that my chickens will end up with tire swings and swinging roosts in their coop.

 

[teach1rusl]

I bet your chickens would just LOVE a tire swing...lol!!

So the wire wall you're talking about will be in the exterior wall??? I was a bit confused on that...

 

[ailurophile23]

Yes - the "wire" wall will be the "outer" wall (the south wall) of the coop in that it will have the coop on one side and the run on the other. The run will actually be partially under a "wing" (12' overhang) of the barn so it will have a roof and a solid wall on the side (to block the winds that come from the west). The "coop" will actually utilize a stall space within the barn - basic square with three mostly solid walls (the aisle wall is the north wall which faces the interior of the barn) will have a door and a window - the two adjoining sides (east and west walls) will be solid to the ceiling. There will be a solid ceiling as there will be a hay loft above this area. We really want to try the "open air coop" to help with ventillation. Even though it can get quite cold here in the winter, we have more issues with humidity and in the winter that leads to frostbite. I intend to place most of the roosts toward the aisle wall (the north wall that is inside the barn and away from the wire wall) and up high - it should be draft free back there and hopefully warmer. If needed, I can always close off some of the open wall with plastic but ventillation has been trickier for us than warmth. Or worst case, I can add some boards to make a more solid wall if things go terribly awry.

So did this help or did I make it horribly more confusing?!

 

[teach1rusl]

Yes, that helped.

I'm only familiar with Va Beach area (no winter to speak of) and up close to WV (where they can get decent snow/cold). I know that near up/over near the WV border, humidity can get really bad.
Placing the roosts where you mentioned should work in keeping a dead air area. As you mentioned, tarps, stacked hay bales, etc. can be used if you see a problem.
I like going inside my coop to putter, hang with the girls, etc., so just wall mounted nest boxes work fine for me. But if you think others will be collecting eggs at time, maybe the outside (well - inside for you since it's in the barn...lol) access type next boxes might be preferable. I LOVE having a dropping board under my roosts - and since you mentioned humidity being a factor, they might serve you well. It takes literally a minute a day to scrape them into a droppings bucket (goes out to compost once a week or so), and that helps keep moisture down in winter. I have no other suggestions - my mind is boggled at having a 12 x 12 clean slate coop to work with...

 

[ailurophile23]

Quote:
My mind is boggled as well (as may be obvious from my sad attempts to describe things) - you wouldn't believe how long it took me to compose the previous post!! Thanks for reminding me about dropping boards - with my current coop, it hasn't been practical but in the new one it should be. I like ease in daily cleaning. Where I currently live is quite close to the WV border and in the mountains which is why we get the cold and snow. I am only moving two counties away but I think the elevation is slightly higher and the climate is very similar - we have all four seasons and some extremes in both, but never for too long. Now back to planning the tire swing.....