Need Help on Coop Design from Shipping Crates

[supercoops]

OK Velve,

I'm getting it now. It is so easy to give chickens ventilation -- just elevate the lid. In the winter I do not want a lot of ventilation because it gets too cold so I close down the lid. That's how my design works. simple, effective, cost conscious.

Speaking of cost. I'm selling these coops in the $35 to $55 range and the customer modifies it from there. If they want roost poles they put them in. If they want more ventilation they drill holes. I even have vinyl catch canvas for the floors. etc. etc.

As a business, I don't want to put more in a coop than all customers will buy. It's kind of like selling a house. If you fix up the bathroom and kitchen you get your money back. If you add a swimming pool you don't get your money back.

Another thing -- my value system is not based on money -- it's based on survival. They are not the same thing. I'm all about sustainable agriculture. I'm all against agri-business. I have a BS in Business Administration and I almost recant from my degree. My coops and other products are for the environmentally conscious people that respect nature and the their planet. My coops are recycled shipping crates. It's green if it's nothing else. I treat my customers with great respect. As one customer said it in a review -- my company has the "customer service" that we once new about and no longer see anymore. What a refreshing memory.

 

[supercoops]

From what I can see, from your posts, you have never taken care of ADULT chickens through a cold winter. You raised some chicks, with a heatlamp in that box. Chicks do not have the same sq.ft. requirements as full grown birds. You can get away with raising a bunch of chicks in a small space, but it won't go well with full grown birds. From what you have posted, you don't have a clue about proper fresh air flow/ventilation needs with a chicken coop. Not only do you need plenty of it, for the summer/warmer months, but it is just as important, IMO, even more so, in the winter. Where I live, I can get summer temps over 100, with suffocating humidity. Then, in winter, I can get temps into the low single digits, not including windchill.

Chickens may have originated in Veitnam, but with centuries of breeding, we have birds today that are faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar removed from their tropical ancestors. Chickens today, outside of those tropical breeds, are built to handle the cold. Fact is, they handle cold a whole lot better than 100 degree heat. Adult chickens do not, and will not huddle up in a pile, to stay warm in the winter. But what they will do, is generate A LOT of humidity/moisture just from breathing. And if you don't provide enough ventilation/fresh air flow in the winter, you are going to have problems. If that moisture isn't vented out of the coop, in the winter, it will freeze on the inside surfaces of the coop, and on the birds themselves, NOT good. That little door your coop has, is not going to provide no where near enough fresh air flow, summer or winter.

Then, there is the problem with the amnonia gases from their waste. If not properly ventilated, those gases will burn the chicken's lungs out. Sometimes, chickens may spend a bit more time in the coop, during winter than out, especially if there is snow on the ground. I've seen mine stay in for over two weeks straight. The popdoor was open for them to come out, but they choose to stay in. If you get snow, and your 17 birds decide to stay in that coop, they are going to load that box up with waste, and all the nasty gases that come with it. Also, adult chickens don't like to be crowded, they need floor space. Most people recommend 4 sq.ft. per adult standard, some go with 2 sq.ft. minimum, but the more room the better. If they are kept in crowded condition, they will start tearing away at each other, and once blood is drawn, they can turn into feathered sharks.

What I have described IS facts of nature, as far as chickens go. It is a proven, and well known fact, that they REQUIRE sufficient fresh air exchange/ventilation in their coops. It is a known, and proven fact that chickens can generate mass quantities of CO2 and humidity just from breathing. And that needs to be removed from a coop by proper ventilation, and the coop needs to be properly sized for the number of birds kept in it. And, it is a known fact, that chickens have delicate lungs, that can be damaged by foul air in a improperly ventilated coop.

Now, you can go on ahead with what you got, I wouldn't try it. I look forward to, around the middle of Dec, an update post from you, telling us how your 17 birds are doing in that box.

The birds can do whatever they want. That's what I've decided. Right now they want to huddle. I have more coops than I have chickens. If they each want their own then fine. I can do that to.

Now here's my ventilation solution. Would you like more clearance, like perhaps 6 inches clearance? I can do that too. I can easily set the lid with one hand. Up for summer. Down for winter. Does it get any simpler?





I could push the feathers clean off of a chicken with air if I wanted to, but I don't want to. I'm an engineer. Anymore challenges?

 

[JackE]

The birds can do whatever they want. That's what I've decided. Right now they want to huddle. I have more coops than I have chickens. If they each want their own then fine. I can do that to.

Now here's my ventilation solution. Would you like more clearance, like perhaps 6 inches clearance? I can do that too. I can easily set the lid with one hand. Up for summer. Down for winter. Does it get any simpler?





I could push the feathers clean off of a chicken with air if I wanted to, but I don't want to. I'm an engineer. Anymore challenges?

Go ahead man, you got all the answers. Come back and give us an update around mid Dec.

 

[supercoops]

Hoke doke.

 

[jetdog]

Seems like more brains than common sense

 

[supercoops]

Probably Right. Analysis paralysis as it were.

Engineers tend to be that way and I hate working with lawyers because they trump everything I try to do.

There are a lot of good ideas presented in this thread, and I'll leave it to the customer to use his/her imagination and personal preferences to finish out my basic coop.

I should probably look into the poultry science department at our state university -- to get this down to brass tacks. It's just another project -- everyone of them is different, but the solution strategy is always the same. The planning was done, and this thread is in the "DO" section of the Deming wheel. We are "realizing" the product:

 

[supercoops]

OK Jack E. I think I have it now, and I want to thank you and many others who helped me get this project going. Here's my final write-up on the coops. Please note this post is not intended to be an advertisement and I leave no contact information:

New Chicken Coops -- 8 Sq Ft of Roosting Space


I offer a basic coop foot-print that is functional "as is" or it can be modified easily by the customer to include roosting poles, shelving, etc. according to customer preferences. Coops weigh 90 pounds. Solid-construction offers maximum security from large-predators.

These coops have never housed a chicken or any other animal. They were re-processed from palletized wooden-shipping-crates that were discarded after only one shipment. The wood is in excellent condition. Dimensions are approximately 42 x 30 x 22 inch. Walk-board not included.

The lid is easy to lift and it's covered with a tarp that's trimmed in from the underside of the lid. It can be tilted to increase ventilation (see last picture) or it can be closed down tight in the winter to hold in the heat.

This coop design uses horse bedding (pine shavings) which needs to be changed about once a month in the summer and more in the winter. This design is superior to wire bottom cages which collect germs and odor and are a big mess to clean.

These coops should last many years. It's a cost-effective solution that's functional "as is" and it allows the customer to apply the finishing touch now, later, or to make no changes at all. They're environmentally friendly and our chickens love living in them.


I offer the following pricing:

Empty shipping-crate with wooden lid "as is": $15
Coop w/ tarp-covered lid but no paint applied: $35
Coop w/ tarp-covered lid & 2 coats of latex-paint applied to exterior: $45
Coop w/ tarp-covered lid & 2 coats of latex-paint applied to interior & exterior: $55

 

[chicken pickin]

You have a such a great source with all these shipping crates to make a wonderful coop. If I had them I would be building tons of things. I think I would likely use 4-6 of those crates to make one big coop.

I personally would not buy what you are advertising though. If on craigslist I would scroll right past, if on the side of the road advertised for sale I would drive on by.

My reasons are like all the other reasons listed in this thread by all the numerous people. I don't think you get what chickens actually need. Your chickens may go into this coop at night but that is due to a driven instinct to want to be under protection, not simply because they like to be wing to wing all over the floor. Likely the reason your chickenss don't or prefer not to roost is because you probably did not provide them with a roost as young chicks. They never learned. I start proving a roost at 1-2 weeks of age. Other reasons I would not buy this is no ventilation no nesting areas no windows(imagine how dark there winter will be). and even though your cover is tarped in a heavy down pour or when snow and ice are melting I can only imagine the amount of water that will leak in around the where the cover sits in place.

As for ventilation, IT IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST! Even in winter there needs to be an exchange of fresh air. Vents or vent holes need to be placed in the highest points in the coop to allow venting but not a draft on roosting chickens. I have vents in all of my 5 chicken coops, turkey house and goat house. I also have windows in all of those houses. Even in winter the windows get left cracked open. Chickens can manage the cold, they cannot manage ammonia build up.

My suggestion is to add the roosts to ALL of your "coops" also add some drill holes along the upper edges for ventilation to ALL of your "coops". I also highly suggest you advertise these "coops" to hold 2-4 adult birds MAX and no more.

A better suggestion that might bring in a lot more business is to sell these as chick brooders. Honestly those size boxes you have are what I brood my chicks in. Advertised as a brooder I might buy one.

My adult chickens all get 3-4 sqft of floor space each inside the coop and 10-12inches of roosting(on a roost bar inside the coops) each. Also each of my coops have a few nest boxes provided that is not counted in the floor square footage. And all of my coops have ventilation at the highest points(not an just an open pop door) in summer AND winter, and also windows for adequate lighting which helps with egg laying and also increase fresh air exchange

Remember chickens cant actually tell you what they want, yes you can get some ideas from them. But like previously mentioned chickens will do their best to adapt to what they are given. A lot of times they are not given what is needed and the outcome is not good. The owner of the chickens needs to really research before getting into chickens or coop building to know all the needs of a chicken and provide every single option regardless of what you think your chicken is telling you. Honestly a new chicken owner like yourself building something that many of us experienced chickens owners say wont work is not a good thing for all the potential new chickens owners you may be selling to because the knowledge of proper chicken housing is not going to get past on to them.

Please do more research and take in lots of info and advise from the more experienced and learn more about chickens needs before moving forward with this. Its not a bad idea you have at all, its just seems incomplete.

 

[supercoops]

Chicken Picken you are right on all counts. There is one thing you left out -- this box is an egg layer. Yesterday I provided the roosts just like you said, and today I got my first egg in the laying box. There are 5 nice neat nests in the pine shavings, and it's pretty dark in there. I understand you want a dark box for egg laying -- not vents, windows, etc. because the hens don't stay in there for long.

My coop is a biggie size of the egg-layer seen in this picture. The lid even opens the same way. This pictured coop is supposedly for 3-5 chickens and you can see the egg-layer box on the left end. Their egg-layer is 23 x 20 with a lifting lid, mine is 23 x 42 with a lifting lid. I think my box could possibly service up to 10 egg-laying chickens. What do you think? thanks much.

 

[supercoops]

Here's the latest version of the box, and I'm going to add hinges, a latch , and a metal roof: It will open from the rear instead of the front, and the roof will have pitch and some overhang..