Larger Raised coop?

[starina]

Good morning,
Does anyone have a larger (96 sq ft) raised coop? DH and I are trying to decide wether we want a raised or walk in coop. We're both leaning toward a raised coop, and trying to figure out doors for cleaning, etc..
Thanks!

 

[latebloomer]

i'm going to build something about the same size (100 sf triggers need of a permit) and i'm planning to make mine walk-in.

i posted this image of my first idea for an a-frame coop with the run underneath and was told to consider the climate here and plan on building a coop that will allow eight to ten feet per chicken as opposed to the typical four square per chicken because there will be times that the chickens really might not want to be outside for extended periods of time.

 

[JackE]

Here's a larger raised coop.
Jack

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=445004&p=1

 

[baldessariclan]

What do you mean by "raised"? Do you want it high enough where chickens can walk around underneath? Or just raised off the ground slightly?

My feeling is that if you are considering a "raised" coop design (and in this case I mean that "raised" = high enough off ground for chickens to walk underneath ~ 2' or so), you''ll probably want to give some serious thought as to how you're going to access both the coop insides and underneath areas. If the coop is small enough where everything is pretty much within arm's reach (depending on door size/placement), then the raised design won't be much of an issue. If it gets bigger than that, though, you will probably have to crawl up inside and/or underneath to take care of business at times. Remember that chicken coops and runs can get to be pretty dirty/dusty places...

For a roughly 100 sq. ft. coop, you're talking minimum side lengths of 10' x 10', which will put a lot of area well outside arm's reach, no matter where you put the doors. So you may want to make it tall enough so that you can stand up inside, and maybe a door with stairs to make it a little easier still. The underneath part will be a pain no matter what -- long handled rakes and shovels might help, though.

You could also consider a long, narrow raised coop design to get things back within arm's reach and still attain a ~100 sq. ft. interior area. You'll probably want a lot of doors or removable panels along one side for full access.

 

[latebloomer]

Quote:
my assumption was that raised coops have a place where chickens could be underneath, it would be great to confirm that

 

[starina]

Yes, high enough for the chickens to go under. Sorry I wasn't clear. I was hoping high enough to work in it without bending over. My thought was ~6 x 16. JackE, that is a lovely coop. We have high winds here though, and many feet of snow

It snows and rains sideways here.
I was thinking several sets of double doors, down one of the long sides, nest boxes on a short side, a shed or salt box roof.

 

[JackE]

Quote:
Thanks for the coop compliment. I get high winds too, And sometimes, We have got more than a couple of feet of snow at a time also. The coop I have was DESIGNED for just that kind of weather. They used coops like this in Maine and Canada back in the day. They have pictures in the book with the coops half buried in snow. No need to fear winter with this coop.
Jack

 

[Hoosierchickens]

I'm building a large raised coop. It's not tested yet but you can check out by BYC page to get ideas if you'd like.

 

[starina]

Very nice coop Hoosierchickens! I think I have to start drawing. I have ideas, but need to work out the logistics. Like everyone else, I'd like to get the layout right, making it easy to maintain.
There are a lot of very creative people here.

 

[Kaitie09]

I think ours is a lot bigger than 96 sq feet, but I guess it is considered raised. The shed is build on a hill. Under the goats side is about 4 ft, and the chickens side is about 2 feet.

We still have to add lattice to the outside so that they can go under it, but it is a work in progress.