Looking for feedback on coop design!

[dvmmom]

I'm a chicken newbie and about to start construction on my coop! Before I'm too far gone, I was hoping to get some feedback on my plans. I'm essentially thinking of combining the overall shape of the https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-palace.62943/ with the storage and double coop doors of http://heatherbullard.com/2010/03/our-chicken-coop/. It's meant to house 6-8 chickens (currently have 1 Orpington, 2 Brahma, and 3 Wyandotte chicks). Coop is 5'x5' and run is 5'x15' (also plan to let them free range a bit during the day). I was thinking of having a tray that pulls out from the front side of the coop, but now I'm thinking maybe I'll have it pull out on the back side instead since that's where I'll probably have the main roost. Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[PirateGirl]

I would make the coop bigger if you plan to house 6-8 large breeds.

 

[sillybirds]

I like the Heather Bullard design, except I would add a droppings board/tray under the roost, so you don't have to fully replace coop litter as frequently. Additionally, I think it would be better to have larger run.

 

[PirateGirl]

Pull out trays work better with some bedding materials than others. I'm not sure how deep you are planning your tray, but I would probably make it more like a drawer 4 inches deep so it doesn't jam up so easily.

 

[dvmmom]

I would make the coop bigger if you plan to house 6-8 large breeds.

How big would you recommend I make the coop?

 

[dvmmom]

I like the Heather Bullard design, except I would add a droppings board/tray under the roost, so you don't have to fully replace coop litter as frequently. Additionally, I think it would be better to have larger run.

Yes! I meant to mention I was thinking of adding a droppings board under the roost. How large of a run would you recommend?

 

[dvmmom]

Pull out trays work better with some bedding materials than others. I'm not sure how deep you are planning your tray, but I would probably make it more like a drawer 4 inches deep so it doesn't jam up so easily.

I estimated about 6" of depth for the tray/drawer. Thanks for the advice!

 

[sillybirds]

How large of a run would you recommend?

I believe the generally recommended minimum is 10 sq ft of run per chicken. The listed dimensions of the Heather Bullard coop/run are 11 x 4 ft = 44 sq ft, which would be sufficient for maximum of 4 chickens. In general, the larger the run the better, within reason.

 

[dvmmom]

Ok. So, I think I can reasonably modify my plans to make everything 6' wide instead of 5'. That would make the coop 30 sq ft (5 sq ft/bird) and the run 90 sq ft (15 sq ft/bird).

 

[PirateGirl]

How big would you recommend I make the coop?

This article has most of the required minimum dimensions per bird.

https://thefreerangelife.com/chicken-coop-necessities/

Off the top of my head 4 square feet of floor space per bird, 1 foot of roost space on the highest roost per bird, nest box 12inch cube. There are more guidelines like pop door size, headroom above roost, distance to walls from perch, distances between perches.

This book has a really good section on coop building and space requirements.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1603...g+chickens&dpPl=1&dpID=51FyR0272dL&ref=plSrch