Looking to upgrade my curent coop - Need help and suggestions.

[CTBman84]

My girlfriend got a coop a couple months ago, and we have four hens. We're looking at getting up to 10, so we need a larger coop. However, money is something we have to be aware of, so we want to build one. It has to be a nice looking coop as it is in our side yard, and we don't want an eye sore.

In building a coop what should we keep in mind?

What size footprint should it have?

How much ventilation for 10 hens?

Are there any how-to articles out there with plans? My Google searching didn't come up with much.

I would like something with a removable bottom if possible, for easier clean out.

Thanks!

Edit: So it's looking like 4 sq feet per hen, and 1 box for every 4 hens, from what I'm reading on here.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Lots of great people with tons of experience willing to give insight.

Need a bit more information in order to begin the process.....

What is your climate like? (Location you live in)

What predators do you need to protect them from? (some people actually have to bear proof their coops)

Have you looked here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/2/Coops

A lot of people have documented their coop builds quite well.

I myself built my rather large coop and used as many salvaged pieces as I could. Some of mine was once shipping crates and industrial smoked lexan doors as well as salvaged metal roofing.



I did not document most of mine since it was done in a hurry. I did find that building the walls with careful measurements in the shop helped the get the coop up fast as well as allowing me to paint prior to raising the structure.


This is one of my all time favorite crate conversions ever.....

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/617973/our-shipping-crate-coop-finally-finished-pic-heavy

Inspiration for you perhaps....

 

[CTBman84]

I did look at the ones in the medium size section, but I didn't see any that were fitting for what I'm looking for, or the details weren't enough.

I live in Connecticut, and I need to protect against racoons, hawks, and fisher cats. No bears.

 

[mikepost]

Here is my work in progress. I bought a yard shed at Home Depot. Floor space is 7'X7'. It has a rubber/plastic floor and very easy to clean. It was cheaper than buying lumber. I added ventilation and op door. I also replaced the plexiglass windows with construction mesh and made hinged windows over them for winter and severe weather. I'm still putzing on it, making nesting boxes today. My roosting bars and nesting boxes will be easily removable to make cleaning easy.

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[JanetS]

The most important thing (to me) is to use hardware cloth on your coop and run.. Not chicken wire. Chicken wire is not strong enough to keep out most predators!
We have very serious bobcat issue(didn't know before we got our chickens) in our area. The 1/2" hardware cloth has kept our chickens safe. Having a predator proof coop
and run will save you a lot of heartache. Good luck.

Our coop/run



A good game/trail camera is good to have so you know what's moving around your yard.

 

[mikepost]

I use chicken wire in the run. I secure the girls in the coop every night. The windows on my coop have the hardware cloth, and the pop door is secured. I let the girls free range when someone is home (which is most of the time since I am semi retired and my wife works from home. I like the trail cam idea. I use them for hunting, I never thought of it for observation around the house!

 

[Folly's place]

My run has been chicken wire with welded wire over it, daytime use only, and worked pretty well. This spring I rebuilt with a roof, hardware cloth, and woven wire, and I think only a bear could get inside! Better security and peace of mind. Ten birds will mean AT LEAST forty sq. ft. in the coop, and bigger will be much better! I've got about five sq. ft. per bird in the coop, and many are bantams. Mary

 

[Finnie]

I too have had a hard time trying to find coop plans on line. In my search, I did run across this thread, that has some helpful links: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-nice-one-too-on-the-purina-mills-website/310

Also, there is a site called the Garden Coop that sells a nice looking coop plan. It is for a smaller number of chickens, but it can be modified, so maybe you could change the elevated part to a larger walk-in part. http://www.thegardencoop.com/

 

[Finnie]

Oh- how did I forget this one? I have these plans, and I am going to adjust them a little bit, and then use the back half for chickens and the front half for an actual garden shed: http://www.flowerpatchfarmhouse.com/build-your-own-crafting-cottage-or-garden-shed/

Now I remember why I didn't think of it. Because you are just putting something in your side yard, and this is a whole building!