My 1st Coop Build

[BF2014]

Hello all, I'm brand new to the site and my first post..

Well, we (my family and I) are looking to introduce a few new feathered friends to the property. We're new to chickens, excited and looking forward to the venture! I'm the type of guy who, yes....doesn't like to read instructions and Iikes to "wing it" (no pun intended) when I build things....no drawings, no plans....just a couple scribbles, a quick measurement and cut.

That being said, I've begun the build on our first chicken coop. It's designed out of old pallet wood, made to look like a torqued and twisted 100 year old house, has a footprint of approx. 3ftx5ft., is elevated 1 1/2ft off the ground, has 4 nesting boxes, auto watering and food dispenser and soon to have electric coop door (will post coop pics when done). The chickens will have approximately 1200sq.ft. of roaming area to explore during the long hot Florida days.

My first question is the design of the floor. Originally I was looking to use small mesh wire on the elevated floor (1/2" galv wire) but have read that there may be some concerns when doing this i.e. foot injuries, predators, temp drafts etc. After doing some internet image searches, I see quit a few coops with wire mesh flooring on small elevated coops. Is this a true concern? seeing as they will probably only be in the coop during the night and more than likely be on their roost and/or in their boxes. I was looking at it from the point that, I already have some wire lying around, and it seems like it would assist in good air circulation (Florida's a bit HOT!).

If a solid floor is preferred in such a coop, any design ideas to make it easy to clean? I will have access to a garden hose near the coop if need-be to spray it out on a regular basis ( I don’t think I can do deep litter in such a small elevated coop).....I like simple and easy to maintain....whatever that may entail, I want it designed into our coop lol!

My next question would be containment. I have an acre set up with two beautiful solid chocolate lil donkeys. I planned on setting the coop up within this acre. There is a spot I scoped out with a group of trees and lots of leaf matter (tons of insect life). I was exploring the idea of the electric fence netting, thinking it would prevent my donkeys from getting too nosey and also contain the 3-5 hens we are planning on. Any thoughts on this? Any concerns with having them under a group of trees.....predator birds come to mind here but our neighbor doesn't seem to have any issues with her ranging flock. Figured the net fencing would also deter our new feathered family members from venturing across pasture to the neighbors flock 3 acres away and vice versa.

Last would be, if we were looking to only have 3-5 hens (starting with pullets / no roosters), what breeds would you suggest? We want good layers (different colored eggs would be neat for the kids, would need to be attractive birds and ones that are friendly....my little boy will want to show them affection I'm sure of it LOL.

Any suggestions and or advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Welcome to the group.
I have a few thoughts for you.
I think the wire mesh floor would be fine. You can always change it to plywood later if you don't like it.
Don't worry about drafts, especially from the floor and especially in Florida. It can get double digit below 0 here and I have huge openings and never lost a bird to cold.
Being under the trees is a great idea. You need good shade for the chicken area. They will die from heat. The only issue with the trees is that I would trim any big branches that may fall down the road and damage the coop. All my buildings are under trees and I've had plenty of limbs fall but I still like the shade because it gets hot here too.
I like an elevated coop so the chickens can go underneath. That adds to run space, it is often the coolest place in the heat of summer and it offers a dry space for dust baths in wet weather. On occasion a chicken may choose to lay an egg under there but your coop isn't big enough to prevent your reaching the egg if that happens.
On the elevation, you want enough space for the chickens to get under. But you have to consider other things and their elevation. You want the nests to be off the floor a bit if you ever use the deep litter method. The roost needs to be significantly higher than the nests or they'll either sleep in or on the nests. In is bad because you'll have poopy eggs.
You then need enough head room so they don't hit their head when they jump up onto the roost.
4 nests is overkill for 3-5 chickens. They'll all use one but I would build 2.
3X5 is a bit tight for 5 chickens. I'd build bigger.
You have space and I surmise at least 3 in your family. It's recommended to have at least 2 chickens per family member. Regardless of how many eggs you use now, you'll use lots more when you have delicious fresh eggs in your own backyard.
It is a real shame to go to all that trouble and still have to buy eggs at the grocery store. I'd go for more chickens. You'll eventually want more, chickens die from both illness and especially predators. It is much more difficult to add birds later to an existing flock than to raise a larger flock together.
An electric fence is a good idea and one of the things that is effective against ground predators.
Your idea for the coop is good but just make sure that any opening over 1/2 inch is covered with hardware cloth. Weasels and mink can squeeze into a 1" opening and will kill all the birds without eating any.
You can't have too much ventilation.
Floor plan. Have the roost, door and nests arranged so that the hens don't walk under the roost (where most of the feces will be) when going from the door to the nest.
A good rooster will help with aerial predators. They also tend to keep the peace in a flock, find food for the hens, stand guard while they eat and research shows that pullets start laying earlier if they can see a rooster.
As for breeds, their egg laying ability and characteristics, check out these breed charts.
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Hope this helps.

 

[JanetS]

Welcome to the group.
I have a few thoughts for you.
I think the wire mesh floor would be fine. You can always change it to plywood later if you don't like it.
Don't worry about drafts, especially from the floor and especially in Florida. It can get double digit below 0 here and I have huge openings and never lost a bird to cold.
Being under the trees is a great idea. You need good shade for the chicken area. They will die from heat. The only issue with the trees is that I would trim any big branches that may fall down the road and damage the coop. All my buildings are under trees and I've had plenty of limbs fall but I still like the shade because it gets hot here too.
I like an elevated coop so the chickens can go underneath. That adds to run space, it is often the coolest place in the heat of summer and it offers a dry space for dust baths in wet weather. On occasion a chicken may choose to lay an egg under there but your coop isn't big enough to prevent your reaching the egg if that happens.
On the elevation, you want enough space for the chickens to get under. But you have to consider other things and their elevation. You want the nests to be off the floor a bit if you ever use the deep litter method. The roost needs to be significantly higher than the nests or they'll either sleep in or on the nests. In is bad because you'll have poopy eggs.
You then need enough head room so they don't hit their head when they jump up onto the roost.
4 nests is overkill for 3-5 chickens. They'll all use one but I would build 2.
3X5 is a bit tight for 5 chickens. I'd build bigger.
You have space and I surmise at least 3 in your family. It's recommended to have at least 2 chickens per family member. Regardless of how many eggs you use now, you'll use lots more when you have delicious fresh eggs in your own backyard.
It is a real shame to go to all that trouble and still have to buy eggs at the grocery store. I'd go for more chickens. You'll eventually want more, chickens die from both illness and especially predators. It is much more difficult to add birds later to an existing flock than to raise a larger flock together.
An electric fence is a good idea and one of the things that is effective against ground predators.
Your idea for the coop is good but just make sure that any opening over 1/2 inch is covered with hardware cloth. Weasels and mink can squeeze into a 1" opening and will kill all the birds without eating any.
You can't have too much ventilation.
Floor plan. Have the roost, door and nests arranged so that the hens don't walk under the roost (where most of the feces will be) when going from the door to the nest.
A good rooster will help with aerial predators. They also tend to keep the peace in a flock, find food for the hens, stand guard while they eat and research shows that pullets start laying earlier if they can see a rooster.
As for breeds, their egg laying ability and characteristics, check out these breed charts.
http://www.albc-usa.org/documents/chickenbreedcomparison.pdf
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Hope this helps.

Great post! I agree.

Just a few suggestions: Black Australorp and Red Sex Link are great friendly birds(both lay brown eggs). I would stay away from White Leghorns. They are good egg layer but are very flighty.

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome! I think your coop will be way too small for more than three hens. Build big!!! I also think that a walk-in coop is much better, both for the birds, and for you. In Florida, a three sided shed type structure with a dig- proof foundation and hardware cloth over all openings would work great. You will want more than three birds, trust me in this. A dirt floor is fine as long as it drains well in rain, and has a dig-proof perimeter. Electric fencing is very helpful for ground predators, and to keep your donkeys out of the chicken coop and feeders. Mary

 

[BF2014]

Thanks for all the quick replies! I agree with wanting more than 3-5 birds, my biggest hurdle is we are trying to keep a small footprint and use as little acreage as possible ( but I do heed the warnings and take the advice!). Is it possible to have more than one coop? A small coop community of sorts lol.
If I start with a small coop and few birds, can I change up the pecking order if in the future I add new birds ALONG with a larger new coop?

The reason for 4 nesting boxes is simple, it lent itself easy in my build design. I could divide the 4 boxes into 3 boxes, that would make them about 18"wide x 14"deep x 14"high (Seems an odd shape & size nest box....wider than they are deep? but seems like they will just about nest in any type of container lol.

Good to know the trees will lend themselves well for the keeping. A concern that comes to mind are branches falling onto the electric netting but there's no real way to avoid that risk if I decide to put the coop there (just prayers for their safety and containment).
I'll have to see where this build takes me and go from there. I'm sure I'll make some mistakes along the way but willing to learn and take advice from experienced keepers!

How about when it comes time to purchase pullets... Local purchase or mail? & any suggestions on where to purchase? We're in the Tampa Bay area for point of reference.

 

[Percheron chick]

Buying online will require a minimum of 5 with my pet chicken but all the others will require 15-25 chicks. I would try locally. CL is a good place to start. Buying started pullets locally will run about $20 each while online they run about $75 each due to shipping.

Put EEs on your short list of hens.

Living in the south, you should consider building a coop with wire sides. More like an aviary with a few nesting boxes.

 

[BF2014]

Craigslist is one of my favorite places & have found many people selling chicks and pullets. Whichever breed we go with, I must end up with hens... Even though we have over 5 acres, I don't think my neighbors would appreciate an early morning alarm clock lol

The coop design will have mesh wire at the end of each roof peak and I guess I'm going to give the wire mesh floor a go, so air circulation should be quit good & they will be under a large group of young oak trees for all day shade.
How much room will a full grown hen need when perched inside the coop & should the hens have access to feed while inside the coop? ( water is accessible inside and outside my coop).

 

[Folly's place]

You will still need a predator proof perimeter, because critters will reach up through the wire mesh and chew off toes, at least. Ugh! I have feed in the coop and secure run only, to discourage critters. Your birds will get up at dawn, and want food and water then. I'm not up that early every day, so food in the coop. Mary

 

[BF2014]

Ok, food inside-

, Water inside-

, Electric net fencing for perimeter protection (soon to be

)
Thanks and appreciate everyone for the info and continue to look for suggestions!

 

[Emma Miriam]

I'm coming in late to this thread, but just want to say

I love it when OPs give us lots of info to work with, so thank you for writing such a great first post!

I have three pullets and that's fine for my family, but in the winter I'm sure I will need to buy eggs.

My suggestion to newbies is to build a coop that can fit at least 6 birds. That would mean a 4x6 coop. It doesn't take up too much room in a yard, but that way it can hold enough hens to provide a family with lots of eggs. Plus, let's say you start with 3-4 birds now. Three years down the road, those hens will be slowing down their laying rates, and you'll want to add more (trust me, you will). If you have a big enough coop, you'll have room to add two or three more at that point.

Wire floors are fine, but one thing to consider is ease of cleaning. Many people think that poop will fall nicely through 1/2 inch hardware cloth. Well, I've had experience with that, and droppings often do get stuck, which necessitates frequent cleaning (and not all of it will come off with hosing, so you'll need to scrape). Plus, if you want to utilize the area under the coop as a nice spot for your chickens to hang out and dust bathe, you don't want a pile-up of night droppings under the roost there. So, it's up to you of course, but in my experience I don't think that wire floors are any easier to manage than plywood floors. If anything, you can put bedding down on plywood whereas you can't on wire, which means that you need to clean wire more than you would a solid floor. Just my two cents.

Personally, if you already have 1/2 inch hardware cloth lying around, I would make the bottom few feet of one wall hardware cloth instead. That would create nice ventilation for your hot summers.

You asked about how you would clean a solid floor. I have a dirt floor in my small coop, but it works the same way. Just put a 2-4 inch layer of pine shavings down on the floor. If the chickens are outside most of the day, you'll only have to replace the shavings every 3-4 weeks. Just sweep them out into a bucket or wheelbarrow, and replace with new shavings. You could also consider putting in a droppings board, which would make the shavings last much longer. Have you heard of that?

As for breeds, it sounds like you're looking for three things: heat tolerant, friendly, and pretty good egg layers. Some breeds to consider: Australorp, Orpington, Easter Egger, Sussex, Brahma, Welsummer...and, if you want a SUPER FRIENDLY yet not amazing egg layer, a Silkie. Easter Eggers (blue/green) and Welsummers (chocolate brown) will add color to your egg basket. Orpingtons are said to rival Silkies in their potential for being a lap chicken, and Australorps are excellent egg layers who are also friendly. I personally have a Brahma, Sussex, and Easter Egger, and my Brahma is extremely friendly (she jumps up on my lap), with my Sussex a close second. Speckled Sussex are BEAUTIFUL birds. My Easter Egger isn't overly friendly, but that may be because she got out of the brooder once as a chick and I traumatized her by chasing her around. She seems almost ready to forgive me and is getting friendlier by the day.

One other thing to think about is whether you want to install an automatic door. It would open automatically at dawn and close at dusk, which means you don't need to get up super early or be home every evening, and you can actually go on vacations every once in a while! I love mine, and can give you more info on the different models if it's something you're interested in.

I don't keep my food inside and like it that way, but I have a Grandpa's Feeder so don't need to worry about rodents. There are two reasons I like my feed outside in the run. One, it saves space in the coop, which in small coops is at a premium. Two, chickens spend a lot of time around the feeder, and constantly come and go throughout the day. I'd rather they be outside in the fresh air than bothering the other hens who are trying to lay their eggs in peace! There are pros and cons to both, so that's up to you.

Hope that helps! If you'd like more info on droppings boards or automatic doors -- or want more of my experience with the breeds I have -- let me know.