My small coop plans (blueprints, materials list) - How large should the entry/exit be & the nest box

[jimmywalt]

I'm building a 4'x4'x4' coop for my 3 ISA Browns and 1 Bantam. I'm wondering on how large the entry/exit hole should be and also how big the nest box should be (for two nest side by side).

Any suggestions or links to dimensions/pictures would really be appreciated for these 2 items.

Here is a drawn picture of what I vision my coop will look like and the materials list (from Menards - they currently have a 11% rebate on everything) on what I plan to purchase. I might have more materials than I need, I'm not positive. This will have 18" of head room under the coop and will be 4'x4'. The run will be 8' x 4' x 3'.

I should say that the "Electrical" items are to make the outlet outside my house GFCI so that when I plug in electric for the winter to the coop that it's safe. The Hardware Cloth is to make my existing 8' run wider (currently it's only 30" wide - I'm going to make it 48" which is the size of the coop). The Rust-Oleum paint is to make all the hinges/bolt the same color black, and I'm getting 2 acrylic glass in the event I want to put one above the coop door for more light inside. I did a guess on the number of 8' lumber I will need - probably too much, but better safe than sorry. I can return the unused.

Thank you.

 

[OldChurchEggery1]

Hi there! Since you're going to have Brahmas, which are pretty big, I'd suggest you go with a nest box size of 14"x14" at the base and make sure you have plenty of headroom. I have Jersey Giants and like any hens, one hen will want to cram into a nest box where another hen already is hard at work even if there are 4 empty boxes nearby! I'd say 14" head-space would be good, too. A nice cube. If it's much taller than that, they might feel like it's just the right cubby size for sleeping (and pooping) in overnight. I have a small entry door on my coop, only a foot wide, but it is tall. I've heard you ought to make it large enough that two chickens can pass side by side, but I've had the same coop for almost 4 years now and so far no hen or rooster has complained about having to wait for someone to come out before she or he can go in.

Oh sorry. I just realized it says "bantam" not "Brahma." Okay, go for 12" x 12" then on the nestbox size. Sorry!

 

[jimmywalt]

Thanks for the reply. Yes Bantam (just 1) the others are ISA Browns (3).

 

[CoopDeFoudre]

Dig the coop. Looks similar to the one I'm building.

Overall it's 8'x4' and slopes from 3.5' to 4.5" over run. Coop sits 24" off ground with pop door exiting through the floor, and is 4'x3'x4' sloping to 3'. Nest box placement is like yours is; 24"x14"x15-12" with a divider in the center to make two 14x12 nests.

I haven't started putting in the plexi windows yet (that's Saturday's project), but there will be two 8x10" panels in the flap over the run and then one each in the end window and the cleanout door.

 

[jimmywalt]

Ok, so here are pictures to the start of the penthouse for our 5 chicks. It measures 4'x4'x4'. This thing is HUGE! It's 20" off the ground. The pictures of the 3 sides are the front and two sides. We will put the back on last once the inside is done. It will have vent in the front center and in the back above the nest boxes. The front will have a large window so they can see out as they sit on the horizontal roost that will be going from side to side. The clean-out door will be on the side with a small window above the door.

My buddy that's helping me use to build houses from the ground up all by himself. He got this done in 3 hours!!!! I can't believe it. It would take me 3 weeks non-stop to do this and I wouldn't have had any right angles or square corners!

Look at the roof joists this guy builds! He says that they will hold the weight of extremely heavy snowfall.

He also made the sliding door inside. It will be operated from a rod that will extend outside of the house. Now I would have never thought of that!

Finally I had to get the ladies hardwood floor. I mean what lady doesn't like hard wood? (actually it's just vinyl but it looks as good!).

Another 3 or 4 hours and it should be done. The next question is how in the heck are we going to get it into the back yard??? I have a 4'x8' trailer that is about 20" off the ground, but I'm not sure that it will actually fit since the coop is the exact same size. Ummm... It has to go approx. 150 to 175 feet from where it's sitting in the garage.

 

[nab58]

Wow, you made great progress! It looks great! Doesn't it feel great making it yourself? My husband and I started on ours yesterday. I can't read plans to save my life, so I'm the gopher in this project. It actually has worked out great so far....hubs and I have managed not to come to blows over the whole thing

I'll take some pic and post them if I can figure out how to start a thread in this forum.

 

[jimmywalt]

I was up till 2AM last night and didn't even know it. I guess I was having too much fun on the chicken coop build. Here are some more pictures.

Access door on side of cleanout under coop. I'll probably put food/water under there. Ground to floor above is 20".


Electrical in the coop!!! Cord is hidden in PVC pipe all the way to the ground under the coop.



Picture of door slide. Door opens and closes from inside the coop. No handle needed on the outside (front). Just pull the green rod that sticks out about 3 inches to slide the door open closed.



Cord from inside the coop comes out PVC pipe at the bottom and goes into ice cream bucket which will keep it water tight (with lid) in the winter. The bucket will be outside of the coop/run.



Trying out a light bulb in the coop.



Coop with light off. You can see the PVC (white) to the left of the bulb. The rafter with the bulb is about 20 inches from the front of the coop. Hopefully this will keep the coop warm on cold nights in the winter and provide "daylight" for egg production in the winter.

 

[jimmywalt]

Didn’t make it too far tonight. Had to run to the store and get small screws so that took time. Tonight I got the side clean out door done and the vents in the front.
Still have to do the following –
Back wall
Nest box (which will probably take me a lot of time)
Windows (will do those last because they can break)
Hardware cloth on the bottom (2 different spots)
Drip edge on coop and nest box
Trim
Tar paper & shingles
Paint

Boy, all that is going to take me awhile. I’m not fast.



Here’s what I got done tonight –

 

[pittsbirder]

looks great so far...are you planning a poop board? unless you have a door that access is easy it would be hard to get to it but it has made cleanup a breeze on my similar sized coop..sweet pdz on the board under the roost bar and i bet 80% of poop is on it and scoop it like cat litter.

 

[allsummedup]

Wows a that looks amazing!