My new coop plans, looking for some imput.

[AllAlaskan]

Ok, I was thinking in cubic feet where I should be looking at square feet. That will make a difference. Even still a 4x8 floor is 32 square feet which is still good for 8 birds. Im going to have to think on it, I am space limited in a way.

I figured this would be big enough because most of the people I know up here keep much more birds in coops not much bigger. I know of one lady who had 40 birds in a 8x8x8 foot coop. Also Another friend of mine has 9 birds in a 4x4x6ft coop.

But like I said I was a little concerned on the size of the run though.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
You will get it figured out. Just extend the coop over the run some more. If you start with the chickens.... 15 x 4 is sixty square feet. You might be able to fudge by going three square feet per chicken 15 x 3 is 45 square feet... thats bumping the length of your coop three more feet or 4 x 11 feet for the coop.

I personally would think it better to make their coop as comfortable as possible since there is going to be a lot of the time of the year that they will be spending inside.

LOL you are talking to someone who made paperdolls to scale at four foot square to layout her own chicken coop.

 

[AllAlaskan]

Actually, you would be surprised. My birds were coming out when it was -30f lol. They would come out hang out for the daylight hours, then back into the coop. I think Im going to sit down and mess around with it some more.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
WOW

you slipping antifreeze into their scratch....

heh heh. I was amazed when my cousin told me they didnt blanket their horses and they had free access to the barn but they rarely went inside.

BTW my coops square footage wise can handle 18 and they are 6 x 12 dog kennel panels. I plan on starting with ten. The runs off the coops will be 6 x 20. I am in the complete oposite end of the spectrum climate wise.... I have to worry about 110 degree days. I am actually considering doing a swamp cooler...LOL.

If you could take your run another six feet in length and two more in width that would be a good footprint. Then build an elevated 10 x 6 coop like you show in your diagram. Pleanty of space runwise and coop wise. Though cleaning it might be a problem if you cant actually get up in there and walk around....

Just some ideas .... shake my head a little and they just kind of fall out.

 

[AllAlaskan]

haha, no no anti-freeze

But they did LOVE their scratch at those temps.




Well I have a 14x14 ( could be 16x16, I forget. I may have to go measure later) and I am using that as my Run atm. The camper is 22ft long and 8ft wide and has a lot of space that isn't being used because it wasn't built for a coop lol. But I'm thinking about maybe making a coop and go 8ft x 8ft wide/long and 8ft tall at the tallest peak then slope the roof down to 6ft at the lowest. Part of my concern about keeping it up against the house is the snow that falls off in the winter can be pretty heavy so I will have to build it to be pretty stout. I was hoping to keep it cheep but it just might not be possible. In which case if I do I will also have to build a roof over the run to shed the snow as well. In which case I will most likely use corrugated fiberglass for the roof so the snow can shed well.


Back to the drawing board I guess.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Well the plus side is the snow is an excellent insulator. You might use that to your benefit... somehow. I like the camper idea because they are naturally insulated.

 

[AllAlaskan]

They arnt insulated that well

This one stays only about 10f warmer then what it is outside with a 100 watt heat lamp. it had some holes in the roof and water got in there a while back. Its covered by a plastic sheet and it keeps the water out now but the insulation is already ruined. And because the windows are so low keeping it ventilated without drafts has been, difficult. I had to Wrap half of my run which is facing downwind of most winter winds to keep it draft free with the south facing windows open and all the rest closed. That is also part of the reason I want to build a coop, to make sure I have good ventilation and was hoping on a smaller space to keep a bit warmer in the cold months with a simple heat light. But I know I dont NEED it, just was hoping maybe to keep egg production up in the cold months.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Ahh... so its a matter of patching and doing with or buidling new ..... Keep us posted.

 

[AllAlaskan]

Ok, so Im looking now at a 8ftx8ft floor with 8ft tall roof to a 6ft slope.

This is what is what im thinking right now. This is just a rough draft. Also Im looking at making the run 8ftx10ft running the roof over the run.

Not sure yet how im doing the ventilation, but this is the design im working on.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Very nice .... I like your chicken airllock to help keep the coop warm.

Looks like you got the snow coming off the roof figured out....

So When do you start breaking ground....