Layering to increase coop area

[Poultry4Health]

Nice combo. By the way why do we need to have coop height as high as 7 feet.Is it for us or for the birds?

 

[Poultry4Health]

I'll be making a very economical coop and the run soon.Enlarging the existing one. I plan to share the pics too. I plan to make it with light metal tubes and half inch hardware cloth/net. I am amazed to see so expensive small coops and runs, all made of solid wood, (something that's too expensive in my country) and I don't understand how a 500-700 $ coop be economical to hold 12 chickens. My present cage holds 15 and is made upbof metal wires stretched between two wall with half inch nettingbover it. Here winters don't drop below -2 celcius but summers see 40+.

 

[Poultry4Health]

If you mean me? Here's pic of the all-in one coop/run. I don't have one with the little coop inside the run, but could get a pic Sunday if ya want.

View attachment 1200264

What do you think about adding a basket for kitchen waste so that the birds don't spread the pieces all over ?

 

[Crazy chook lady]

Mor

Can we beneficially increase coop area by adding shelves on one side if the coop for chicken to walk around. This will effectively increase coop area when the space is limited.

More shelf space is a great idea as it does increase the floor space for them.

 

[Crazy chook lady]

I actually have done this. The

What do you think about adding a basket for kitchen waste so that the birds don't spread the pieces all over ?

They still make a mess

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nice combo. By the way why do we need to have coop height as high as 7 feet.Is it for us or for the birds?

If you are going to go in there it is extremely convenient to be able to stand up and move comfortably. You should consider your comfort and convenience when planning, that greatly lowers your frustration and stress levels later on. Plus you are less likely to bang your head.

In your climate you don’t have to worry about cold, but your heat can be a killer. With your open air construction the height isn’t as critical from that aspect. With solid wall construction with ventilation you get better air movement in a tall structure than in a short structure, especially if an inlet is low and in the shade. I don’t think you need to worry about that since you are using wire walls.

In truly cold climates you worry about a wind hitting the birds, wind chill is a real effect, plus you do not want a cold wind ruffling feathers to the point the feathers lose their insulation effect. While -2C may be pretty chilly to you it’s not that cold for your chickens since they wear a down coat. A standard way to provide insulation in winter is to have openings above their heads when they are on the roosts so any breeze is over their heads. A taller coop allows you to do that.

Chickens like to roost in the highest spot available. You do not want them sleeping in the in the nests since they poop a lot at night. That could lead to poopy eggs. Extra height gives you more room to put the roosts higher than the nests. But the higher the roosts the more clear space they need to fly down.

Another consideration is that many standard building materials come in 4 ft (1.3m) x 8 ft (2.6m) sizes. If you consider those when building your coop you can reduce waste and cutting. A lot of the small elevated coops are only 4’ high. A lot of the walk-in coops are 8’ high or some convenient height based on these dimensions when you consider sloping a roof. If you are building nests, that 1 foot cut-off to come to7 feet may be used for nests which means you don’t need to buy extra material for that. With your metal tube and wire construction you may want to look at available sizes before deciding on final dimensions. That can reduce your materials costs and labor or give you a more efficient coop size based on cost and labor.

You have a different climate, goals, and other conditions than a lot of people on this forum. Some of the reasons we do certain things won’t apply to you. Your challenge is to try to pick out the things that do apply to you and see how you can use them. Good luck!

 

[Poultry4Health]

Really grateful Ridgrunner for such a detailed guidance.I'll certainly keep these facts in mind. I'll be going for the most economical design.