Need coop add on suggestions!!

[alinas2010]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-mulligan.74743/
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Ooh that is so beautiful, I love the setup. Thank you for the inspiration! How many inches wide are your roosting bars?

 

[alinas2010]

Very nice! Expanding coops is my happy place! For sure do Dobie's L shape roosts with poop trays, you'll thank her later! Wish I had followed this years ago would have saved tons of work and grossness. Window's are wonderful but if you intend to use them for Ventilation make sure they are above head level of chicken on roost. ENJOY!!!

thank you, I am very much looking forward to this project! I’m getting a lot of advice and I am beginning to see that poop trays really are a must!

 

[DobieLover]

How many inches wide are your roosting bars?

I ripped 2x4's in half on the 3.5" side bringing the width to just under 1.75" then beveled the corners and sanded them to round them off.
All the details of the build are in the article. The height of the poop boards and how I constructed and attached them, the height of the roosts, etc.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

thank you, I am very much looking forward to this project! I’m getting a lot of advice and I am beginning to see that poop trays really are a must!

Poop trays are so much a MUST that I neglect to consider other important things anymore. You've got such a nice clean slate there I hope you post pics of your progress, I know it's going to be very cool. And I couldn't agree more on your comment about space. The more space the happier the chickens and chicken keeper!

 

[Ridgerunner]

My must-haves for a coop are nests, roosts, predator protection, and environmental protection. Environmental protection means keep it dry (don't let rain, snow, or ground level water inside), keep strong winds from hitting them while on the roosts and give them a place to avoid strong winds during the day, and good ventilation. I'm not going to try to tell you how to do any of these, there are so many different ways to do any of them.

Now, some nice-to-have's for a flock of 4 to 6 girls in Wyoming. If you were going to be hatching chicks with broody hens or regularly integrating new chickens my list would grow.

You already have one of my most important nice-to-haves, room. In Wyoming especially you will find all that room great for 4 to 6 girls this winter. That's very important when they are stuck I the coop only for days or weeks on end. With extra room you can respond to emergencies as they come up. I find when I pack them tight I have more behavioral problems to deal with, I have to work harder, and I have more flexibility in dealing with the issues that come up. You should be able to manage quite well in that 8x8 walk-in coop.

I find it very helpful to have a built-in broody buster/prison. Design it to be elevated with a wire floor so poop can drop through and cool air can get to the bottom of the broody. Cut a piece of plywood to stick in there if you want a solid floor. This can be used for a broody buster, a hospital room, or anytime you need to isolate a chicken.

I built my nests so I could lock a hen in a few of them if I wanted to. That has come in handy for different reasons.

To me, an important thing in how you arrange your coop is to make it convenient for you. You are the one that is going to have to work in there. The chickens can adjust to about anything and can comfortably get into tighter spots than you can. When you position nests, how easy is it for you to gather the eggs? Don't put roosts where they get in your way. How are you going to open and close your pop door? I found it convenient to have a human door between my walk-in coop and the run. Very convenient. Where are you going to be storing the feed? I suggest a metal trash can with lid in the coop. Metal to keep mice and rats out and in the coop because it is so convenient. I like the roosts a convenient height so I can take the chickens off of the roost at night, they can be a lot easier to catch then. That makes checking them for problems or mites and lice easier.

Good luck!

 

[aart]

Cut the sheathing off over the top plate and secure the spaces between the rafters with 1/2" hardware cloth. Then attach a trim board to the bottom to further secure the HC and cover up the cut line.

This^^^ but, not mentioned here but shown well in 3rd pic of post #7,
rafters will need to be extended.

 

[alinas2010]

My must-haves for a coop are nests, roosts, predator protection, and environmental protection. Environmental protection means keep it dry (don't let rain, snow, or ground level water inside), keep strong winds from hitting them while on the roosts and give them a place to avoid strong winds during the day, and good ventilation. I'm not going to try to tell you how to do any of these, there are so many different ways to do any of them.

Now, some nice-to-have's for a flock of 4 to 6 girls in Wyoming. If you were going to be hatching chicks with broody hens or regularly integrating new chickens my list would grow.

You already have one of my most important nice-to-haves, room. In Wyoming especially you will find all that room great for 4 to 6 girls this winter. That's very important when they are stuck I the coop only for days or weeks on end. With extra room you can respond to emergencies as they come up. I find when I pack them tight I have more behavioral problems to deal with, I have to work harder, and I have more flexibility in dealing with the issues that come up. You should be able to manage quite well in that 8x8 walk-in coop.

I find it very helpful to have a built-in broody buster/prison. Design it to be elevated with a wire floor so poop can drop through and cool air can get to the bottom of the broody. Cut a piece of plywood to stick in there if you want a solid floor. This can be used for a broody buster, a hospital room, or anytime you need to isolate a chicken.

I built my nests so I could lock a hen in a few of them if I wanted to. That has come in handy for different reasons.

To me, an important thing in how you arrange your coop is to make it convenient for you. You are the one that is going to have to work in there. The chickens can adjust to about anything and can comfortably get into tighter spots than you can. When you position nests, how easy is it for you to gather the eggs? Don't put roosts where they get in your way. How are you going to open and close your pop door? I found it convenient to have a human door between my walk-in coop and the run. Very convenient. Where are you going to be storing the feed? I suggest a metal trash can with lid in the coop. Metal to keep mice and rats out and in the coop because it is so convenient. I like the roosts a convenient height so I can take the chickens off of the roost at night, they can be a lot easier to catch then. That makes checking them for problems or mites and lice easier.

Good luck!

Hey thank you so much for the advice! I really appreciate it. I hadn’t even thought about an isolation/time out pen, but I think that’s going to be a must now too. Our thoughts were that this would be a good coop for winter, like you said, possibly being stuck inside all day. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[alinas2010]

I ripped 2x4's in half on the 3.5" side bringing the width to just under 1.75" then beveled the corners and sanded them to round them off.
All the details of the build are in the article. The height of the poop boards and how I constructed and attached them, the height of the roosts, etc.

Good to know, the more resources I can read the better, thank you for sharing.

 

[alinas2010]

I will be postings pics along the way for everyone, it may just help someone else one day in the mean time, does anyone have advice for insulating a coop? I’m not sure if it’s something I need to do in Wyoming, but I am trying to abound having anytime of supplemental heat in there. Our winters do often get down into the 1 digits overnight and once in awhile below zero. I’m hoping insulating will help, but wonder if I would have to take it out in the summer when it’s near 100?

 

[aart]

I will be postings pics along the way for everyone, it may just help someone else one day in the mean time, does anyone have advice for insulating a coop? I’m not sure if it’s something I need to do in Wyoming, but I am trying to abound having anytime of supplemental heat in there. Our winters do often get down into the 1 digits overnight and once in awhile below zero. I’m hoping insulating will help, but wonder if I would have to take it out in the summer when it’s near 100?

Good ventilation makes insulation mostly moot...and there are many cons, rodent housing, chickens eating insulation, etc.

Heating a coop is usually not necessary unless you have temps well below zero 24/7 for more than a few days.

You might find some guidance here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

Tho I don't often get into singles or below, I've found periodic electrolytes can really help:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-extreme-weather-spiel.75893/