My First Coop Build

[conklinator]

Put in some more work today. Finished the interior plywood, nesting boxes, and started working on roof joists but it started raining. Hopefully weather cooperates tomorrow...

 

[PapaChaz]

Thank you for the great info! My coop is going to be on stilts about 2-3 feet off the ground, with an outdoor feeding area underneath for the warmer months. I'm thinking I will insulate the walls, and floor, because I have the materials to do so, but leave the roof joists exposed/open for ventilation.

I'll continue to post pics as my work progresses.

they're doing very well with advice so far in this thread. great build by the way! I'll add that from experience on another coop of mine, make sure you leave access to that area under the coop! There WILL be an occasional egg laid there, or if you need to catch one for something, that IS where they'll run to, to get away!

Also, how many feet of roosting bar will I need for 10 hens?

The minimum roost space is about 9" or 10" for each hen. They also need at least this much space between the roost and the wall.

She gave the correct number for you to build, and they'll all crowd together in about 4 feet of it

but hey, it's what they do!


I do agree it's amazing the waste on a construction site. That's why I fired the framing crew when I built my house back in 99...........

 

[conklinator]

Question: Is it better for the outdoor run to have a roof, or is open on top ok? I was planning on doing a chicken wire top to keep Hawks out, but there won't be much in the way of a roof to protect the outdoor run from rain.

 

[conklinator]

Assembly in its proper place has begun. As with any home project, this is taking much longer than originally anticipated...

Hopefully I get a little more time to devote to coop construction this weekend...

 

[PapaChaz]

sorry I haven't been around much the last week or so has been especially busy. About the roof on the run, it's not totally necessary but mine sure do enjoy having a place to go out of a pouring rain and still be outside. Also, they like the area under there for added shade. Most of the day my coop and run is in the shade, but late in the evening the sun is on them full, and I've noticed them being under there in the late evening for the shade.

I didn't put a roof per se on mine, I simply got some black landscape cloth and used it as a sunscreen. It will keep a pouring rain from pouring through, but still lets enough through that it's not collecting water puddles and threatening breakage. I actually think I need one more wrap.....

 

[Blooie]

Love that landscape fabric for the same reasons! Also love that unlike a tarp there's air flow through it!

 

[postal]

this is the start of our coop it's all metal so far . It's 8x12 how big should I make the roosts

 

[conklinator]

That landscape fabric looks like a great idea, and cheap too! I think I actually have some left from my vegetable garden. I'll have to do that once I get the run built.

 

[Blooie]

You'll like using it, conklinator. We used three sections of it. We bought this metal lath looking stuff, like strapping, that had predrilled holes along the length of it. Then we attached the landscape fabric to it on one side and rolled it around the metal. With heavy clips we attached the metal to the cattle panel of our run. Think window shade. We can roll it up or down. Kinda neat.




Our run with the center "window shade" rolled up.

 

[conklinator]

Construction continues... I was really hoping to finish this past weekend, but my help didn't show up Saturday or Sunday. Hopefully one more day should do it. Here's what it's looking like currently.

Cedar shingle roof done:

Outdoor run started, but not finished: