My space saver coop design

[UrbanChickenSF]

Hello all!

I am new here and am just starting my chicken project! I do not plan to purchase and raise chicks until the summer but will be constructing their coop this spring. I wanted to post my design here to see if I could get some feedback from you guys. I hope that is okay!

The coop I am designing will have a dual function as an herb garden. It will house only 2-3 medium sized birds (most likely Plymouth Rocks). The dimensions will be 6ftx6ft and will be about 5 ft tall. The chickens would seldom have the opportunity to exit the coop during the day, due to the lack of space in our small inner city garden.

Here is my drawing:



Here are some concerns I have:

~Nesting Boxes: Are the nesting boxes too high? Are there too many? Will the chickens sleep in the nesting boxes since I have not planned for roosting polls?

~Sunlight: Do I need to minimize the space at the top of the coop occupied by the planter to allow for more direct sunlight? Will morning and afternoon sun be enough?

~Wire flooring: Would hardware cloth flooring on the loft level cause sores on the chicken's feet?


Any feedback and suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to read my post. I hope to hear from some of you guys soon!

-C

 

[Judy]

You only need one nesting box. Yes, they will sleep wherever is highest if there is no roost. You could eliminate two nests and put a roost there instead; for 3 hens it only needs to be about 2' long. But make the roost wider than a narrow pole such as a broomstick; the wide side of a 2x4 or a fat branch are good. There is probably enough sunlight. As I understand it, chickens do not tolerate a wire floor very well. The trouble is, if it is solid, I am afraid it would be too hot in the summer. I hope the bottom is dirt.

 

[UrbanChickenSF]

You only need one nesting box.  Yes, they will sleep wherever is highest if there is no roost.  You could eliminate two nests and put a roost there instead; for 3 hens it only needs to be about 2' long.  But make the roost wider than a narrow pole such as a broomstick; the wide side of a 2x4 or a fat branch are good.  There is probably enough sunlight.  As I understand it, chickens do not tolerate a wire floor very well.  The trouble is, if it is solid, I am afraid it would be too hot in the summer.  I hope the bottom is dirt.

Thank you so much for the reply! I was expecting to hear that about the roosting bars. I will do a redesign and will post more drawings this coming week. That's unfortunate news about the metal flooring. I was hoping that the second layer would be hardware mesh so that droppings would fall through to the ground below. The ground floor would be dirt, yes, or perhaps sand. My goal was to essentially double their floorspace by adding an extra loft layer. I wonder if they would even use it if they didn't like the hardware cloth flooring. Hmm.

 

[aart]

Nice sketches!
Not sure about the garden roof. You'll have to make very sure that it doesn't leak water into the coop when watering the plants.
Plus usually its best to have ventilation up high above the roosts, so you'll want to work that in somehow.

 

[Chicago chick]

hI see you are in San Francisco..cold and rains fairly often right? You'll not want a dirt floor..solid with a few inches of bedding & the entire coop should be raised off the ground to prevent ground rotting it out. Only one nesting box needed.Best bar is a
2x4.
Love your design.
Might be a chance of your herbs getting contaminated with poopy germs..maybe edible flowers grown for your chicks would be another choice..dwarf sunflowers, marigolds,johnny jump ups,etc..

 

[Chicago chick]

Plants will also need drainage..
Important that the drainage water will not run inside the coop..
Maybe you would also like to consider bantam sized chicks (my favs)..they would have a lot more room considering they will be cooped up most of the time..

 

[UrbanChickenSF]

Nice sketches!
Not sure about the garden roof. You'll have to make very sure that it doesn't leak water into the coop when watering the plants.
Plus usually its best to have ventilation up high above the roosts, so you'll want to work that in somehow.

Thank you! I will work in an idea for ventilation near the top! My idea was that the top garden would hold thick plastic bins. There wouldn't be any drainage, ideally.

hI see you are in San Francisco..cold and rains fairly often right?

Actually, no. It only rains about three to four inches a month during the winter only. The rest of the year is completely rain free. It is cold in the evening though all year round! Would a dirt floor be okay in this case then?

Plants will also need drainage..
Important that the drainage water will not run inside the coop..
Maybe you would also like to consider bantam sized chicks (my favs)..they would have a lot more room considering they will be cooped up most of the time..

I'm trying to find a cold tolerant breed that is pretty lazy. I will look into Bantams! Thank you!

 

[Chicago chick]

All container plants will need drainage..or they would drown/root rot, in stagnant water..keeping that in mind you may come up with an idea
There are so many sooooo many bantam varieties that are cold hardy..silkies & Easter Eggers to name a few..
Still would be cleaner, safer to have a floor and possibly elevated on a few cinder blocks.

 

[rachlore]

Do not forget about ventilation. If there is too little, they could get respiratory infections.​

 

[aart]

You might be able to do a dirt floor on the bottom....if...you have no drainage, puddling problems in that area.