Million coop questions

[gemd]

building my own coop and run. husband says just put metal posts and attach chicken wire....? He claims we have never had a racoon in our yard.

The coop/house part, we will use plywood 4x8. I have 6 leghorns so is 4x4 too small inside? Also can I have nesting boxes inside (and does that count in their sq foot per bird calculations)? I am also thinking of making one wall a giant hinged door so I can clean the coop and access eggs, but can the nesting boxes be open on the top/ceiling part too? Or do I need to have them closed and hinged? Must the nesting boxes be outside the house or in? See my rough draft drawings for reference.

 

[DobieLover]

I'd go 4x6.
Bump out nest boxes save floor space in the coop.
Don't pitch the roof to direct the rain run off over the bump out nest boxes.
You don't have to have bump out boxes but reaching into a non-walk in style coop to collect eggs daily will be a pain in the back.
What are your plans for ventilation?

 

[gemd]

I might jjustgo crazy drilling holes on all 4 sides near the top or do a window plus holes. And can standard chicken wire work for the run or no? Hardware cloth is so $$$. And I already have some chicken wire. They will be inside a fenced yard 6' fence even when I let them free range.

 

[Mamatomany123]

I wouldnt use standard chicken wire. We live in the middle of town and have never seen any predators other than your standard house cat. I've had chickens a month, theyve only been outside for 2 weeks. I can not even begin to tell you what kind of predators have tried to get into the run. Hardware cloth is a bit pricey but so worth it. I also did a apron of of around the run, my husband said I was over doing it. I had an emergency with my kid last night and forgot to put them in the coop. Went out at 1am and found something trying to dig in. Was dark so couldnt see it too well. Thankfully the apron stopped it at every spot.

 

[Mtnboomer]

Dont use chicken wire. There are more things to worry about than just raccoons. Use a welded wire fencing 1"x4" opening. Hardware cloth is great if you have small predators like weasels or mink. But for raccoons, opossum, skunk, dogs, etc. welded wire does fine.

For ventilation, leave your eaves open (protected with wire of course) snd add a few windows to the walls again protected by wire.

Chicken wire keeps chickens in and NOTHING out.

There are 1000s of design considerations but security, ventilation, and ease of maintenance are most important.

 

[gemd]

could I use a fence as a wall of the hen house? It is your typical wood panel fence with about an inch gap between slats. I would add hardware cloth so snakes etc dont get in. Then use plywood for the other 3 walls, floor, slanted roof.

 

[gemd]

What size welded wire and which is cheaper, hardware cloth or welded wire?

 

[gemd]

What size welded wire and which is cheaper, hardware cloth or welded wire?

 

[aart]

could I use a fence as a wall of the hen house?

I would not.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[rosemarythyme]

For 6, bump it to 4x6. Nest boxes do not count as usable floor space in a coop, so if you have internal floor level boxes those are eating up square footage - you can bump them out or elevate them to free up the floor space.

Since you're in TX heat is a concern. The recommended minimum ventilation is 1 sq ft per bird. You should aim to go above that - think bigger openings, and openings up high to let out hotter, moist air.

I don't know if hardware cloth or similarly sized welded wire is cheaper so you may need to do some shopping around. Either one is a more secure choice than chicken wire. Just because you haven't seen a coon doesn't mean they aren't around... I didn't think we had bobcats until one was eyeballing the chickens, just 10' from the house.