Need a North Eastern Ohion to Coddle Me Through This!

[ElioraImmanuel]

We live near Warren, on 5 acres. We'll have alpacas, soon. I want my DH to build me a coop, but I don't know where to begin. I'm reading post after post and it just confuses me. I need it simple and straight....we'll have 18-24 Chickens (I'd like to have Easter Eggers, Ameraucaunas, Araucanas--all colored eggs). The chicks will free range w/the alpacas.

1. How big does my shelter really need to be because 4 sq ft/bird of space on the ground for the coop and 10sq ft/in a run is a lot!

2. Should it be elevated? How High?

3. # of nesting boxes? Roosts?

4. Insulate or not? With what?

5. Type of roof?

6. Heat or not? I've looked at the sweeter heater, but how big does it have to be?

Oye! I could go on and on! My head is spinning. Help?!

 

[Dogfish]

1. bigger than you think you'll need
2. 12-24"
3. 6 minimum
4. Not sure, where does Warren live?

5. comp roof is best when placed over plywood and tarpaper, depends on your budget.
6. Depends on where Warren lives, if you need to heat. Most folks will say no heat. A 250W heatlamp will provide some heat.

 

[teach1rusl]

Okay...I'm not a NE Ohion, just a lowly southern Indiana-ian, but I'm still gonna' throw my 2 cents in...
I'm guessing you guys get colder weather, and probably more snow than we do. I'll tell you that MY girls would not go out on really cold days (well...they'd go out for a few minutes, shiver a bit, and then head back in for an hour...lol), and they wouldn't go out in the snow at all unless I shoveled an area for them and threw down some straw. That gets old pretty quickly. But THAT'S exactly why you need to build a roomy coop. Summer time is not a big issue. It's winter time that's the killer. A roomy coop makes for easier clean-up too. Imagine a family of 5 living in a 1000 sq. ft. home vs. the same family in a 2000 sq. foot home. Besides being able to tolerate one another better (lol), you don't notice it getting dirty and cluttered as quickly.

1) The 4 sq. feet for standard chicken "guideline" is really a minimum for healthy/happy birds, IMO. Even better if a person can give them MORE... and plan for the bigger amount of chickens you want. If you don't want to go that big, reduce the number of chickens you "adopt."

2) Does the COOP need to be elevated??? No. Mine (and many others') sits on blocks leveled on gravel. I think many small coops are elevated to use the space underneath for run space. But larger coops generally aren't elevated, at least that I've noticed.

3) I'd say one for every 4 chickens you end up with...maybe an extra thrown in...

4) I LOVE having insulation. It puts my mind at ease when the temps drop down into the single digits in winter. I went with the pink fluffy fiberglass stuff, but many go with the foam board insulation. You'll never say "Dang. I should NOT have insulated!!" But you do have to cover the insulation of course (or you may very well be saying what I just said you wouldn't...lol...'cause they'll eat it)

5) Some love shingles, some love metal...ours is metal over plywood (and insulated ceiling of course)

6) The sweeter heater looks great to me, although I don't own one. If you're considering a heat source, it makes even more sense to insulate to me...else you'll practically be trying to heat the outdoors.... I use a heat lamp (hung on chains...not clipped) w/bulbs as low as 75W (although there were a few nights I stuck a 250 in there...but my goal was to keep it above freezing in my coop). Many don't add a heat source unless it drops below zero...depends on your breeds, your birds ages, your outlook/goals for your chickens.

Oh yeah... and if they are totally going to be free ranging, then will they even need a run??? Or were they going to be free ranging part-time and in the run part time???

 

[squiqwe]

Howdy Neighbor ( Cortland,Ohio); I'm converting 56 sqft of my 8x12 shed into my coop with an outside run of 120 sqft for a dozen australorps. I'm new to raising chickens but below are the standard answers.

How big does my shelter really need to be because 4 sq ft/bird of space on the ground for the coop and 10sq ft/in a run is a lot!

2-3 square feet per chicken inside the henhouse and 4-5 sq/ft per chicken in an outside run

# of nesting boxes? You should provide one chicken nesting box for every four hens.

Roosts?4. Try to provide at least 8 to 10 inches of perching area for each chicken.

Heated Coop? I'm not planning on heating mine because of the added cost.More importantly is that the coop is not drafty. With this in mind I chose a breed that will do well in our temparature zone.

 

[Kittymomma]

Nowhere close to you, but...If you skimp on space you'll be back here next winter when they're stuck in the coop asking how to deal with feather pecking and aggression problems. I have less then 4 square in my coop, but mine free range even in the winter. When the weather is bad they all hang out in the 1,000 square foot barn and attached lean-to so I can fudge the coop size. If you don't have a covered run or other outbuildings that they can use during bad weather you're much better off with more coop space not less.

Start small flock wise and as large as you reasonably can structure wise. You can always add more birds later. Integrating new chooks can be a pain, but it's nowhere near as painfull as having to deal with the pecking and aggression issues that come from crowding them. Best of luck with whatever you decide, the chooks are by far my favorite out of all the farm critters we have.

ETA:

 

[greenpeeps]

I have to head to work so I'll write late, but I live close by, in Canfield.

 

[Mattemma]

Youngstown here.We had 3 red sex link hens in a small non-insulated metal shed.They did fine all winter.2 holes cut and covered with plexi glass provided a small amount of light.Got 2-3 eggs each day.Mostly 3.Shed had bales of straw,pine shavings layered high,and 3 plastic egg crates for laying.I also added a long wood perch.Sometimes I put in milk jugs with hot water.Plan to add more hens so the extra bodies will increase the warmth. I was suprised how well they held up in the shed.

Have fun with your animals!!!!