Need coop design input

[haunani]

I'm waiting to get my hands on some power tools to start working on the coop proper in preparation for our chicks due to hatch at the end of April. I did a rough sketch tonight of a layout for it, but want input, help, opinions, etc.

It's a preexisting building that's 10x18 that I'm going to split in half, so the coop will be 10x9. I want the water to be near the outlet for winter heating and the chicken door to be near the front as I plan to do a sliding door and I'd like to be able to open/close it from outside the run.

The work bench drawn in will be removed. I've already erased the 72" roost to keep the top roost bar 18" from the wall. The 9" between roost bars is the horizontal space. I plan on doing DLM. The north wall is about 6-7' tall. The south wall is about 10-12' tall. The south vents are preexisting windows that are about 2.5x2.5 that I'm going to replace with hardware cloth and a hinged cover. The west vent is also a preexisting window that's about 1 sq ft that I'll also cover with hardware cloth.

For the north side ventilation I was thinking of removing the topmost board and replacing it with hardware cloth, and replacing the board in the winter to protect from the bitter north winds.


Tell me what I need to change!!

 

[WillGriffin03]

Just one tip is make sure each chicken has 3 square metres to itself

 

[haunani]

32sq ft per bird seems a little excessive (3sq meters = about 32sq ft)

I did forget to say that this is for starting with 7 birds, with maybe a couple more added later.

I'm going based on the minimum coop size of 4sq ft per bird and run size of 10sq ft per bird.

 

[Poppy Putentake]

Nice and roomy with vents up high is good. If you could add a window or two on the east side, that would not hurt. (The morning sun helps warm the coop up.) Two nests is enough for 7 chickens but you've got room for more and you could stack them two high. You might want to put the nests against the east wall so they won't get the sun in the morning when the hens are laying, as they like the nests to be dark. Even though you have full headroom in a roomy coop, outside access to the nesting boxes is convenient. (You could also make it so you access the nests from the other half of the building.) Some people also have arrangements to replenish food and water from outside.

 

[haunani]

The east half of the building is going to be used for storage and will give me access to the food & water (it has a separate door). I'm only using half of it for the coop.

Perhaps I can move the roosts over next to the west wall, and have the nest boxes on the north wall next to the east half-wall (made from pallets).

 

[donrae]

Overall it looks very nice. I'm kind of jealous!

Just a couple of thoughts....

Your door is on the south wall, right? Is it big enough for a wheelbarrow? If you're doing DLM, you don't need to clean out often, but if/when you do, it's good to have enough access.

I don't see a door from the east storage room to the coop? You may want to do that, it will keep you from having to go in the storage room to get feed, then outside, then into the coop.

If you haven't already removed the workbench, I think I'd just leave it. Well, depends on your tolerance for poop. It will add to the available space they have, and may come in very handy if/when you decide to add more birds in a year or so. My main coop started life as a greenhouse and has a slatted shelf running the perimeter about waist high. My birds spend a lot of time on those shelves, especially in the winter, and several sleep there. Of course they poop there also, so it does mean more cleaning/scraping, but I consider it bonus space so I'm good with it.


Looks to me like you'll have some very happy birds

 

[haunani]

Thank you for your input!

The east wall will really be a partial wall built out of pallets. I was thinking of just some plastic netting between the pallets and ceiling to keep the girls on their side while keeping airflow open.

There is a door to the other side of the building, too. It's almost like it was designed just for this, lol.

Hubby and I went out tonight so I could show him what needs to be done and where I want things to go, and decided to keep the work bench and add a roost bar to it.

 

[Suuuzy]

We have a separate area for the nighttime that gets closed off with an automatic door between that and the run. The nests are in there and some roosts. With a small

window and vents up high.
Its another line of defense should a critter come calling at night. They'll instinctively go up there at sundown. This photo was setup for chicks when I took it.

 

[aart]

Draw some elevations too....side views.....to help you plan roost and nest heights.
Does your drawing show the whole building or just the coop?

Think about making 2 people doors from shed into coop and a temporary wall to make a separate section for brooding chick, a broody hen, or isolation/sick bay.

Check out My Coop page.

 

[haunani]

The numbers written next to the roosts are their heights. The elevation view is in my head. I have an engineering background, so I'm comfortable with it being there.

That drawing is just the coop half of the building.

Thank you for the recommendations.