My Coop Build

[togo54]

My 4' x 8' coop is about 3/4 done but I thought I'd seek recommendations from the BYC community as to how to finish it. The coop is built to be two feet above ground using pressure treated lumber for the "two feet above ground portion". It's basically a rectangular box. Four feet wide, four feet high and eight feet long. I'm curious to know what the general BYC community would suggest I do with the interior. I have roosts in place already but what I'm looking for is opinions about nesting boxes and their placement and access to their placement.

 

[Laughing Raven]

It looks like you door is at the farthest end of the pictures and if it were up to me I would put the nest boxes at the opposite end so they aren't right across from the roosts. That would also give you space at the closest end to build in a feed/equipment storage area for stuff you use right along.
It's just an idea that came to me after looking at your pics. Enjoy your building experience and the chickens it will house.

Sincerely,
Jodi

 

[togo54]

Thanks Jodi.
You are correct on you assumption about the door. Our 8 "almost" 4 week old chicks were getting crowded in their brooder that was made from a chest of drawers. Moved them into the coop today. Zero stress detected

 

[21hens-incharge]

How far off the wall is the roost?
I have mine at 12 inches with large birds. I see you have supports under the roost. Do you think it will be hard to clean around?
I used heavy duty shelf brackets to hold my roosts up so I could have poop boards.
I laugh since mine are rated at 250 pounds each (left overs from DH's workplace). That would have to be some chuncky chickens.

Yours is looking good. Glad they are all doing well in the new digs.

 

[togo54]

How far off the wall is the roost?
I have mine at 12 inches with large birds. I see you have supports under the roost. Do you think it will be hard to clean around?
I used heavy duty shelf brackets to hold my roosts up so I could have poop boards.
I laugh since mine are rated at 250 pounds each (left overs from DH's workplace). That would have to be some chuncky chickens.

Yours is looking good. Glad they are all doing well in the new digs.

The roost is about 16" off the floor and about 16' from the wall. I didn't even use a square when building this coop. Minimal cuts, use what I had and improvise for the rest. My chicks are 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 new Hampshires, 2 Ameraucana and 2 Black Sumatra's. As far as cleaning goes....time will tell. We're new at this.

 

[Laughing Raven]

togo -

It looks so good.!

Your little chickies look so happy. Can't wait to get mine all done. I sorta lucked out. lol I have architectural training and my husband is a carpenter. LOL I've got everything drawn up and now we just have to make sure the area is as clear of any metal and move all the lumber that's stacked in the area is further away than it is. Our landlord is a hoarder and the clean up is going A LOT slower than it should be. I'm just against having too many places for predators to hide anywhere near the coop. I live in a small town in Montana and we've got foxes, martens, eagles, hawks, rats, bobcats, coyotes and just about everything else in between.

lol So, needless to say, the coop will definitely be more like Fort Knox than your average coop build. LOL

My plan is a duplex coop. One side will be for my lovely Silver Laced Wyandotte ladies and the other side will be for a few select ornamental breeds. I've been looking at Sultans, Houdans and possibly some Polish. Then, around the corner from the chooks I'm building a turkey pen that's away from them. I'm raising the turkeys for Thanksgiving and feeding them up for a friends family, the landlord and then 2 for my family, one for Thanksgiving and one for Christmas. I'm more excited about my chooks than anything else. lol

Anyway, love the coop and looks like it will big enough to add more, you know how chicken math goes..!! lol Please add pix of the Black Sumatras as I would LOVE to see them. They are on my chicken bucket list. lol Sadly, my chicken math is in full swing and I haven't even got my first chooks yet. lol We will see how things go. I'm glad my husband has the patience of a saint and is more budget oriented than I am as far as getting them goes. Which is awesome.!

Thanks for sharing the great pix and have fun with those precious babies.

Sincerely,
Jodi

 

[togo54]

Thanks Jodi.

Gaining their confidence.

http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w487/withoutaride/20140527_1450211_zpse99500d2.jpg