Need help with interior of coop

[Tiana Rose]

I got the roof on the coop this weekend.

Next weekend needs to be on the interior. So I really need some help. I thought I had things kinda figured out but my dimensions of what I thought I was working with are a little different than the actual dimensions. Joy of building my own chicken coop for the first time. So I posted a picture below of what I am working with. Well, at least it is close. In this picture they are putting the nesting boxes on the side. I am putting it on the back side across from the roost (Which is on the high side). The high side is 4' and the low side is 3' The coop is just where the plywood floor is, the rest is a run. On the side (where he is putting the nest boxes I want two doors. So the whole side will open.

So here are some questions. I want to put a open vent across the top and back of the coop. Is 4" enough? It will be covered in hardware cloth? Other suggestions on how high it should be? It will be the width of the front and back so 4' wide.

I will also have a window of some sort on the back above the nesting boxes, should I have a small window in each door as well?

Since the top will be just a vent how far under that should I put the roost so they do not get a draft? Can I do 14 inches? That will make it 18" from the perch to the top of the coop. Does it need to be more? Can it be less?

Then I want to put a drop board under the perch. I read that it needs to be high enough to be able to clean under it but high enough that there is no splatter when they go in the night. Is 8" good?

That will leave 22 inches under the drop board to the floor. Is that enough room for them to go under it? I do not want to use up their usable floor space.

Now I am really stumped about how to attach the perch and the drop board into the coop.

Since the side wall will be a door there is nothing there to attach anything to. Also they have a board in the middle of the other side (That leads into the run), I do not have a board there. I thought about adding a little 90 degree section where the roost would go but then it would be in the way when I am cleaning.... Any ideas? I am drawing a blank.

Thank you so very much to anyone who answers. I really want to get this figured out now before we build things as it is easier to change things at this point in the building process.


Oh, the chickens in here will be a buff orpington, speckled sussex (perhaps two), Astralorp, and an Easter Egger.

 

[Tiana Rose]

Wow, no one? Even if you can answer even one or two of my questions that would help a lot. I have been searching all over. I see others have asked the question about how far under the open vent to put the roost but the thread dies and no one answers. And I have seen some pictures of chickens under a drop board that look like they have plenty of room but no one mentions what the distance was. If you have pics that would be great. There are lots of open vent pictures but not a lot of info on how wide they are. Someone here said they have 2" and one picture said it was 5" I was hoping I could get some help on if 4" would be ok for my climate. We have four seasons here and it usually gets lows in the 20s and highs in the 90s but can spike higher or lower on occasion. And pics or ideas on how to attach a perch and drop board with one side being a door would be great. Any help would be very much appreciated.

Edit: Would it help to start a new thread for each question?

 

[ChickityChina]

I don't know if I am visualizing the interior of your coop correctly, but I think I know what you mean about the doors extending the full length of that wall and not being able to attach anything to it. How about attaching the roost post(s) to the sides of the other walls via a shelf-type mount? Like below (not my pic - borrowed from Google for an example):


I am going to do this in mine, and also the poop board underneath will be mounted the same way. I agree that I would put the poop board a little closer to the roost (6-8 inches is what I was thinking too) to minimize splatter.

I am by no means an expert, but I think 22 inches is plenty enough space for them to wander under. I plan on having my poop board about that same height above my pop-door, so they would have to run underneath it to get inside, but I think they'll be fine. Hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong on these things. I would hate to put bad advice out there. We are also in the process of building our coop, so keep us posted with what you decide on!

Good luck!!

 

[Tiana Rose]

Thank you for answering! That is a good suggestion! I did not think of brackets across the back holding it up. The one in the pick looks like it is just a 2x4 so it would not be far enough away from the wall, but I am sure I can find something that will hold it out farther and still hold the weight. Great idea, thank you.

My chickens are just babies right now and I am having a hard time getting an idea of how big they will be as adults. All the info just says how many pounds they will be. I mean I have seen adult chickens of course, just trying to picture them in my coop to see if it is the right height is the hard part so thank you for your opinion that 22 inches is enough. Glad I seem to be on the right track.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I want to put a open vent across the top and back of the coop. Is 4" enough? It will be covered in hardware cloth? Other suggestions on how high it should be? It will be the width of the front and back so 4' wide.

I can’t tell exactly how that is framed so I’m not exactly sure how you are putting these in, it looks like you have a facing that gets in the way of how I did it. Use what you have. Mine are 3-1/2” because my 2x4 actual measurements are 3-1/2” so it was a natural fit. 4” works fine. It’s not an exact science.

I will also have a window of some sort on the back above the nesting boxes, should I have a small window in each door as well?

I see no need for any other window. It won’t hurt but I don’t see any benefit either. If they will open they can add more ventilation in the summer.

Since the top will be just a vent how far under that should I put the roost so they do not get a draft? Can I do 14 inches? That will make it 18" from the perch to the top of the coop. Does it need to be more? Can it be less?

18” sounds really good to me.

Then I want to put a drop board under the perch. I read that it needs to be high enough to be able to clean under it but high enough that there is no splatter when they go in the night. Is 8" good?

Don’t worry about splatter, just make it high enough so you can clean under the roosts.

That will leave 22 inches under the drop board to the floor. Is that enough room for them to go under it? I do not want to use up their usable floor space.

22” is plenty for them to use.

Now I am really stumped about how to attach the perch and the drop board into the coop. Since the side wall will be a door there is nothing there to attach anything to. Also they have a board in the middle of the other side (That leads into the run), I do not have a board there. I thought about adding a little 90 degree section where the roost would go but then it would be in the way when I am cleaning.... Any ideas? I am drawing a blank.

I’m not totally sure I understand the problem, but can you drop a vertical hanger from the ceiling to attach the roost and droppings board to? It could be in the way of cleaning but sometimes life is not perfect.

 

[ChickityChina]

Glad I could help! Yeah - it is hard to visualize the bird to coop size ratio when in the planning process. I just pictured the pop door for reference. It is a 12'' x 12'' door (which is what I have had on my family's coops in the past) and they move through it just fine. So, I figured that they'd have no problems moving about underneath the poop board. I have to remember though, if I am going to put 4-6 inches of bedding in the coop, I have to account for that too.

 

[Tiana Rose]

Ridgerunner, yes the one 2x4 will get in the way of the opening being at the very top. So the open vent will be just under the 2x4, will that still be ok?

That was the reason for the windows, to add more ventilation in the summer. I guess window is a loose term. It will be a hole with hardware cloth over it and a cover that can lift up in the summer and close in the winter.

Glad the 14" under the open vent will work. I was not sure if the wind blowing in in the winter would rise immediately to the top and across to the other side or if some air would blow down toward the chickens so I was not sure how far under it to put their roost. I know they like higher the better but I do not want cold wind blowing on them and making them sick.

Oh! Hanging would be another option. Great idea. Thank you.

Glad 22 inches is enough head room for them underneath. I thought I would have a bit more room but I forgot to account for the 2x4s and flooring taking up space when I was thinking of original plans.

 

[Tiana Rose]

Here are some pics of my actual coop. Oh. The coop itself is 4x6 and the run behind it is 6x8. So the whole thing is 6x12

This is the low side that will have the nesting box in it. The goat pen is behind it and will help block wind, rain, and snow hopefully.



This is the side that will have two doors in it. That way I only have to open one in the winter and can open both in the spring for easy deep cleaning. The perch will be on the high side.



This is a picture from inside the goat pen of the high side of the coop. This will be a solid wall with the chicken perch behind it.