Need coop ideas

[sarahsue468]

New to Chickens and am about to build our coop. We have 6 chicks right now and would like a coop large enough to expand to 8 or more in the future. We have lots of room for the coop and chicken run, just would like some ideas on the size I should be planning for.

Any input would help. Thanks.

 

[WallTenters]

So if you want 8 chickens, plan for 16.

Our looks like a (very ugly, shanty-town) house. It's 8x8, with a peak roof. Plenty of room. Right now we've got 11 adult birds (Dominiques, mid-size bird) and 5 younger birds all in there and they have plenty of room.

We actually have a window in ours, because there was a window with a little crack in it, and we thought it would be nice to help let as much light in without letting in too much cold air in the winter. It has worked out great so far. See if you can post an ad on CL or freecycle - ours was free, it's a nice double pane energy efficient window that was not installed because of the small crack in the corner of one of the panes.

We are still (a year later!) waiting to finish the roof, right now it's just OSB sheathing plywood but we'll be putting some tin on the roof this spring once we get a couple of warm days to work outside so it will reflect heat as it's out in the sunshine instead of under trees like it used to be.

Anyway, it works great for us. We have a poop board under the two roosts (well, there are three roosts but the birds only use the top two) and we put wire and then a door on the front so underneath the poop board actually serves as a way to introduce new birds - it's a 2.5 x 4ft area, so we can put birds in there and they interract with the flock through the wire, hearing each other's sounds, and we know if anyone has any serious problems before they can get to each other and do damage. After a few days of being in the "coop in a coop" new birds get to go out with the general population. This area will also be a broody area if we have a hen determined to set

 

[Newbie in Screamer Al]

I have 12 hens, and 1 roo in this 8x10 coop with a 12x25 bullit proof run. I started with a plain shed I bought on craigslist Hope this helps. All the best.............

 

[sarahsue468]

Thanks! Great ideas, I am leaning toward finding a shed and converting it to a coop. The newly discovered carpenter in me wants to build a coop from ground up, but don't know if I have the time or patience for that. I really like the covered run, I have a cat who seems more than interested in the chickens. I bought the materials tonight to create a larger brooder box because I feel that they are crowded in the rubbermaid tote I have them in now. When should I have the coop completed by?? They are almost one week old now.

Thanks