Little Help, please.....

[TSMWDA]

Hey Y'all,
My wife, 7 year old daughter and myself were planning to ease into the chicken world this fall/winter. Then my sister and brother in law have decided to sale there home and he needs a new home for his hens. Now I need to get a coop built, quickly, for 10 to 12 birds. I'm an Army Veteran and worked in telecommunications for 38 years, but I missed out on the carpenter gene. We're tight on money like many others. Seeking any guidance on very detailed coop plans?
Many Thanks,
Scott

 

[Mace Gill]

Repost this to the coop thread and you'll get more responses!

Is there anyway to transport your sister's coop to your place?
Do you have an old garden shed that can be converted? Either of these would be a lot cheaper/faster than building from scratch

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to BYC!

You can start by looking through these for ideas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/coops.12/

You could check your local craigslist's free section for free stuff that can be used to build one.

 

[TSMWDA]

Repost this to the coop thread and you'll get more responses!

Is there anyway to transport your sister's coop to your place?
Do you have an old garden shed that can be converted? Either of these would be a lot cheaper/faster than building from scratch

They don't have a coop. Just an open structure to come and go as they please. Several have disappeared but for the most part they've remained safe.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Hey Y'all,
My wife, 7 year old daughter and myself were planning to ease into the chicken world this fall/winter. Then my sister and brother in law have decided to sale there home and he needs a new home for his hens. Now I need to get a coop built, quickly, for 10 to 12 birds. I'm an Army Veteran and worked in telecommunications for 38 years, but I missed out on the carpenter gene. We're tight on money like many others. Seeking any guidance on very detailed coop plans?
Many Thanks,
Scott

What part of the country/world are you (climate-wise)? I ask because appropriate housing can look very different for cold climate vs. hot climates. I'm in South Texas, and all my coops are open air types, and one group insists on roosting out in the open (in a secured run) all winter long. If you're in the northern hemisphere, you could put together something more open air now (just making it secure), and then you could take some more time building a more enclosed coop for colder weather.

 

[TSMWDA]

What part of the country/world are you (climate-wise)? I ask because appropriate housing can look very different for cold climate vs. hot climates. I'm in South Texas, and all my coops are open air types, and one group insists on roosting out in the open (in a secured run) all winter long. If you're in the northern hemisphere, you could put together something more open air now (just making it secure), and then you could take some more time building a more enclosed coop for colder weather.

Georgia, Zone 7, near Lake Lanier....hot & humid

 

[Top Rooster]

So my coop was free it is all made from scrap material wood and metal. So for your coop design I'll just tell you mine it's a 4x8 and about 4 feet tall the roof is wood and straight but above that is sheet metal that is slanted so the rain falls off and doesn't build and cause leaks then I have two rows of nest boxes one on to other on bottom 8 total turns out I only need 4 they don't use the top row I am not sure how big the nests are but you can decide on that the nests stick out from the coop so I don't have to go in to get eggs I have little doors that can open along the nest it opens all the nests. Inside I have multiple roosts that go zigzag all the way to the top so they can walk up instead of jumping because some hens get big and can't jump high. I have a small door in the front that they exit out then I have a bigger door on the same side as the nests that I use when I clean the coop, the coop is elevated one foot off the ground so animals can't dig in. Then I have windows all along the top of the coop for ventalation that is about three or four inches tall. I don't know if this helps but I tried to think of all the details of my coop it was practically free except the things that hold the doors on the coop or house.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

They don't have a coop. Just an open structure to come and go as they please. Several have disappeared but for the most part they've remained safe.

OK, so sounds like they are used to open-type. Here are two examples of mine. The first is a coop derived from plans I bought (thegardencoop.com - excellent plans, I had no carpentry skills before building, but it did take a little time - of course, I also work full time and had to do it by myself). The second is a tractor that I bought plans for and then heavily modified to a permanent coop - I've now built like 10 of them. It's the stress free tractor plans. It might be tight for 10-12 hens, though (although if they are given a lot of space to roam and only go in to lay or roost, and they're not big birds, it might be ok). You may wish to build or buy an automatic door as well.

Garden coop (First is original size, second one I made larger than original plans):

Tractor (modified with roosting platform and nests) - the inside photo is me letting them eat the grass on their first couple days before putting down bedding.

Just some ideas to think about.

- Ant Farm

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Georgia, Zone 7, near Lake Lanier....hot & humid

So ventilation will be key, and it MUST be shaded (location will be important - watch how the sun hits your candidate locations at different times of the day). I would suggest starting looking at a lot of different examples, but not to start with anything too fancy or expensive, because you'll inevitability want to change it later. DON'T buy anything prefab - they are almost always made of cheap materials and it doesn't work out. I know - I had one. It was called the Coop of Sadness and I dismantled it as soon as I built a new one...

- Ant Farm

 

[drumstick diva]

Welcome to the Backyard chickens flock. I think the best thing to go is post on your state thread. Just put "Georgia," in the search box and it should come up for you. You can ask what type of coop build they think is best for your area And what breeds of chicken handle the heat & humidity .