My First Coop... What I have so far " UPDATE "

[CountryRoosterUSA]

The coop is 4 by 8. The walls are 5 ft in front and 4 ft in back.
I used some old storm windows, turning them around so I can lift the glass from outside to reveal screen { also going to put hardware cloth inside just in case.}
The windows are on the east and west side so they can get early morning and late evening light.
The coop will be on the south side of my tractor shed to be out of the cold north wind in winter. Also tractor shed will act as one of my sides of the run which will be aprox. 20 by 8.
External nesting box, for more room inside. boxes are 15 wide,15 high, 16 deep, 12.5 high in back.
People door will be on the side so as to clean the coop.

Please let me know what you think ? Thanks

 

[Monk]

Looks real nice so far.

 

[redturtle]

good start...keep the pics coming

 

[flgardengirl]

Nice framing job. Yes keep the pics coming!

 

[kkubal]

How many chickens will that size coop hold? I am building ours and I am not sure what size to make it--I hear conflicting information.

 

[sattoritx]

wish we've gotten that far.... looks great =-)

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Okie dokie, here's some of what I think. Your coop looks good. A 4x8 coop intrigues me simply for the simplicity of using 4x8 sheet goods.

Anyhow, here are some of my (critical) thoughts, but remember that they are just that...thoughts

**I would go ahead and put in some cross-bracing for the legs...as the construction continues the weight of the coop will increase and you don't want that baby to suddenly start swaying to one side or the other.

**The nest boxes are going to be under the edge of the roof that the rain falls from and will need to be very well water proofed. It would be good to have a long extension of the roof to cover the nest boxes and also give you room to get under to collect eggs while it's raining (unless you want to take your shower while you gather eggs). Too much of a roof extension will place the edge of the roof lower to the ground where someone my bean their head on it. You could move the nest boxes to one of the narrow sides of the coop getting it out of the roof's dripline.

**You might want to add some short cripple studs to help support the 2x4 that is running horizontally under the window. Adds a little more support for the window.

**If you haven't considered one you might want to look at incorporating an easily accessed dropping board to help keep things clean.

**If a raccoon can get on top of the barn then it could possibly enter the run from that vantage point. Check the perimeter and be sure no trees, bushes, old ladders or whatever will give access to the top of the barn.

Keep it going! It's looking good! What type of litter are you going to use? How many chickens are you figuring on keeping?

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Same here!!!

 

[indianporfavor]

looks really good, keep posting pictures to keep us all updated on your progress

 

[CountryRoosterUSA]

I believe they say

4 sq. ft. of space per chicken in the coop.

10 sq. ft. of space per chicken in the run.

So my coop should be good for at least 8 chickens.