Need feedback (trouble shoot) on my new coop

[Chickendummy]

Please offer your suggestions on my new coop. I want to keep 4-6 std hens for laying. The house is 3x3. It is 2'8" tall at the front and slopes to 2' at the back. The nest box is built into the rear wall. It is 12" deep and 12" high at the opening sloping to 9" at the back. I was planning to divide it into 3 sections (12"x12"). Materials: 2x3 framing, 3/8" ply-wood for walls, floor, and roof. The roof and one side wall will be hinged for cleaning and other access. The nest box will have a hinged cover, too. I just don't know how high to position the perches for roosting. Is there enough head room??

The run is 4'x8'. I think it is enough space for 4-6 hens. This is my first venture into keeping chickens, so be gentle.

Thanks,

CD.

 

[illegal avian]

I really like the teeter-totter in the run! Great idea!

 

[MrRushed]

Do you plan on lifting the roof off this to clean the inside?
What you have done so far looks good.

 

[juniperyogi]

This looks really good! I could be wrong, but 3x3 might be a tad small for up to 6 girls. My coop is is 4x4 with a 5x4 attached run and it will only hold 4 girls comfortably.

 

[turtlebird]

I think it looks pretty good so far! Post more pics as you progress! What are you planning on using to cover the run? Hardware cloth?

 

[Chickendummy]

Thanks for the sincere feedback. (Teeter-totter? lol)

· I will cover the run with just std 1" hex mesh.
· I was shooting for 4x4, but I couldn't fit a sheet of plywood that big into my car. I think I can expand the house.
· My plan is to hinge the roof so it tilts up like the hood of a car, and one side wall will be hinged to open entirely for easy cleaning.

What about perch height? I mean If I run a 2x3 across the house will the chickens duck under? jump over? will there be enough head room how much do they need? Barred rocks or reds?

Thanks,

CD.

PS. I will include more pics as it progresses.

----------------

Howe's law: Every man has a scheme that will not work.

 

[tmiller42]

Looks great!! I agree with the comment about size though. It depends somewhat on how well the girls get along. Since they'll likely only be in there at night, it's much less of a problem. But if they're high-strung or still sorting out pecking order, that might not be enough space. Where do you plan to put food & water? If it's in the coop, then they'll spend even more time and you're losing more floor space. If it's going outside, how will you protect it from the elements?

My bigger concern actually is that the run might be too small. You'll be amazed at how quickly a few girls will fill up that area with fertilizer and destroy the grass beneath it. If you plan to move it around (tractor style), are you going to push it back to the coop at night? I was thinking that, given the small size of both, you might securely attach the two and put the whole thing on wheels! If you plan to have bedding in the bottom of the run, consider making a whole panel into a door for easy access. I have a bad habit of never building enough PEOPLE access into my runs for cleaning, repair, and chasing chickens when I need to collect them.

Are you planning to place the roost from side-to-side across the run? I'd put it at around 10"-12". But it's not critical, they'll duck under or hop over. Or were you planning to put it in the coop? Either way, 10-12" is probably good. You probably have enough room in the coop for 2 roosts - maybe even at different heights (so they can fight over the "best" one of course. lol But that adds to your "space" by going up.

Again - very nice work! Best of luck with the new girls.

 

[elmo]

As a general guide, figure 4 square feet of indoor space per standard chicken, with 10 square feet of outdoor space per chicken. People do give their chickens less space than this, but must be alert for pecking order problems and other crowding issues. The more chickens you have per square foot, the more work for you to keep it clean and healthy for them, too.

About the hex wire: do you mean chicken wire? Usually, hex wire is woven, not welded. Woven wire isn't as strong as welded wire. Be careful with that since it might not withstand a predator attack. And spaces of 1" don't stop a predator like a raccoon from grabbing through the wire and pulling pieces of chicken out, dismembering the birds. You can fix this problem by locking your chickens inside the secure coop at night, and/or using hardare cloth with 1/2" by 1/2' spacing instead of the hex wire. Some people use the hardware cloth just on the lower portion of the run, with welded wire with larger openings on the rest of it.

You've done a nice job with construction here. Welcome to the wonderful world of chicken keeping!

 

[CityChook]

You've got a good start!

Looks big enough for 2 birds. 6 is probably pushing it, but I've seen it before. Gauge-ing from the foliage in your photograph, I'm guessing that you live somewhere warm. If so, then less room in the coop/more room in the run is often do-able as they basically sleep inside. Be careful -- cramped quarters will lead to difficult poo-management and potential aggressiveness in your flock.

Your run definitely needs to be bigger for 4-6 chickens (right now it's sized for 3 max). Minimum would be 10 sq/ft per bird, and I recommend even more if you can swing it. Especially if you expect them to spend most of their time outside of the coop.

You probably don't need 3 nest boxes. Maybe section one off for some storage?

Teeter totter - high five illegal alien!

Are you going to build a door into your run? It will need framing.

Consider how you plan on opening/closing/securing your pop door. Can it open with the run built up tightly to the door? I recommend having a pop door that can be closed/locked at night. Leaving it open invites predator problems.

You could really use a window in the coop. And definitely cut in some ventilation regardless of what climate you live in.

With a smaller run, I definitely recommend 1/2 inch hardware wire -- not hex chicken wire. You wouldn't want a critter (think: raccoon) sticking it's hands through the wire and grabbing a chicken. Not that the chicken wire would ever stop them -- they simply bite or tear through it. And in a smaller run, there's less room for your chickies to run away if trouble comes-a-calling.

You're on the right path! Keep the photos coming!

 

[Chickendummy]

I finished!

Here it is fully occupied.

The girls are busy clearing away the grass. Go figure.