My coop design/bird capacity

[Silver-Fire]

I have been looking around the web (well, mostly on this site, you guys are awesome) and i feel like i am somewhat ready to start building my coop!! I would love for you guys to tell me what you think about it and how many chickens it would hold (i only want to get 2-3 golden sex-linked, but the hubby wants 4). The whole thing is 8 feet wide, 3 feet deep, and 6 feet tall. Just the coop is 4 feet wide, 3 feet deep, and 4 feet tall. The area under the coop is 2 feet tall. Please tell me if i need to make any changes!!

oh, and yes, on the note in the roof it says it slopes away from the "doghouse" that is the building (hubby's man cave) that will be right behind it. .

and to give a better idea of the scale, the nesting box is 1ft by 1ft, so roost is 2 ft off floor, and chicken door is 1 ft tall.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'd lower the nest boxes a little. If they're too close to the same height as the roost the chickens will be tempted to sleep in them causing soiled eggs.
Another thing you might want to do is rearrange where the nests, roost and pop door are in relation to one another. Most of the manure will be under the roost. It looks like when they go in to lay they will have to walk through that and then hop in the nest. That will contribute to soiled eggs too.

 

[4 the Birds]

+1

Looks good! Instead of the nest boxes on the back with the roost in front (the birds will walk through poop to get to the nest boxes), I would put the nest boxes on one side and the roost on the other. Then the access door on the back and the pop door in the middle on the front. This would keep most all the waste on one side and the nest boxes on the other. Plenty of overhang on the roof would be good to keep rains out of the top vents. Shutters would be nice to have. Hope this helps!

 

[Silver-Fire]

ok! should i just put the nesting boxes on the floor of the coop, or lower them to 6 in off the floor instead of 12in?

and have the coop layout like this?

 

[4 the Birds]

Much better layout! I would put the boxes up off the floor. 6" would be fine with a lip on the front to keep in the bedding and eggs. They will roost on top of the boxes unless you have a steep top over them. Hopefully they roost on the bar up a little higher than the boxes. You will probably want an access door behind the roosts to clean out that area often.

 

[aart]

Might as well go 8x4, less lumber waste and a bit more room.

Use 1/2" x 1/2" hardware cloth on all coop openings to exclude all predators.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I like them elevated slightly so after you add a lot of bedding to the coop they will still be higher. 6 inches is probably high enough. If elevated they like a perch in front of the opening so they can inspect the box before jumping in.

 

[Silver-Fire]

Thanks!!! Yes, i am planning on putting hardware cloth on all sides, and considering enclosing the section under the coop for bad weather, so they have a place to go outside the raised coop.
And yes, i will be able to open one whole side for super easy cleaning, even under roost.
I have scrap lumber laying around to use so i wont have much waste with it being 3 ft deep, but definitely something to consider!!

How many golden sex-linked chickens would it hold comfortably?

 

[Tambo26]

Your design looks similar to my coop except for the roof design. This (Coops for Dummies) plan also had an outside nest box under that window you can see but I didnt like the idea of a possible racoon breach, rain leak, cold air leak etc. so I have a milk crate inside with a poop board on it. Woks great. I agree TOTALLY with the poster above that said roof overhang for keeping rain out. (wet chicken ground is smelly chicken ground!) I wish mine had more overhang on all sides! The dimensions of the coop is 4X4X?5?. The entire thing (not including the added run on the back) is 4X8. I have three big Buff Orpington hens. I don't think 4 would fit in mine. These are big girls! Consider cleaning your run.... there's nothing more frustrating for me than trying to clean under the coop (from inside the run) and not having room to maneuver my rake! GRRR! You'll find that once you build your coop... you'll see things you want to change!
Have fun! I'm so glad I've done this chicken thing! It is so much fun!
Tam

 

[salt and pepper]

Oh, also, you will be able to keep four birds in there, I would advice putting a roost in the run, as my birds LOVE roosting on anything high up. Will it have a window, if you have good ventilation, it isn't necessary, but chickens love the light.