Large chicken coop

[The Chickens' Maid]

We will probably have to build coops for our five roosters and their hens. I wanted to make one large coop with the inside divided for the five flocks and have that in the middle of a covered run. I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure what is best. I thought of an a-frame coop and a normal, rectangular coop.
We have 22 outside chickens. If anyone here has built a really big coop, what did you do? I'm trying to find a compromise between the least amount of money (and time) and a well-build coop. What do you think?

 

[zookeeper15133]

You have 22 chickens? I would go with a 10 x 12 or 10 x 16 shed and divide it into 6 sections. The 6th for storage, brooders whatever. This also gives you some room for growth.

The dividers can just be chicken wire.
Good luck!

 

[morelcabin]

I usually found that the more divisions, the more work...so most of the time my birds are in a large portion of the coop all together, and when I want to breed a specific breed I have two breeding pens at the back of the coop big enough to house a rooster and five of his hens. The breeding pens are also brooders in the spring, and become feed storage area in the winter.

My coop is 12 x 14, with a 5 x 4 brooder pen and a 7 x 5 breeding pen that I have my 5 brahmas in right now

 

[teach1rusl]

The Chickens' Maid :

We will probably have to build coops for our five roosters and their hens. I wanted to make one large coop with the inside divided for the five flocks and have that in the middle of a covered run.

So are you talking about something that would almost be like a house with a wrap-around porch (with the porch being the run area)??? Does the 22 include your roos?? I would check out the "large coops" under the tab at the top - Coop Designs. You may find something like that there...​

 

[patandchickens]

Since you are in CT (although if it's very coastal, this might not be such an issue) I would like to point out that if you have popdoors on BOTH sides of the building, it gets REALLY WINDY AND COLD in there on many winter days. Ask me how I know

(I didn't build it that way, it's a converted dog boarding kennel)

So if it is at all possible for you to arrange things so that at least in wintertime, you can have popdoors only open on the downwind side, that'd be ideal. Or you can do what I do, on the coldest-windiest days I have the upwind ones open for a few hrs in the morning when it's typically less windy tho colder, and then close them and open the downwind ones in the afternoon. But that results in less outdoor time for the birds.

If you must have both-sides popdoors, see if you can have the upwind-in-winter side have roofed runs that you can make the W and N side of the runs SOLID for wintertime, so the wind usually can't blow straight into those popdoors. (I do have a roof, and tarp/burlap that side, and it's still windy, but with a smaller coop and more solid sides on the run it wouldn't be such an issue)

I would not recommend an A-frame design for this at all. Build a proper normal shed (stud wall or pole-building style, your choice)

I *would* recommend building it as a single open space, and then make your dividers REMOVEABLE/moveable. So that they are freestanding wood-and-chickenwire panels that you can screw or bolt in wherever you want. That way the space is flexible as your needs change.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[The Chickens' Maid]

Thanks for the replies!
Yes, we have 22 chickens including the five roos. I like the idea of making the dividers removable; we have a few older chickens, so the coop dimensions may have to change as they pass away. Unfortunetally, the roosters like to fight (it's a dad and his three boys plus another rooster), so I don't think I'd be able to put them all in the same area yet, at least, not until the older rooster passes away.
Thankfully, we shouldn't be building this coop for a little while yet, so I have a lot of time to plan.
Thanks for all the help! This will really make building this thing easier.