Hello! I have been around BYC for a while, but for those who may not know, I volunteer with a history park that has a flock of chickens housed in a historic coop building pictured here (the coop is the building on the right):
As you can see, these chickens are somewhat public access, so the coop and run requirements present some unique challenges.
The coop is an original building from the pioneering/gold rush era in our area of Colorado and so minimal structural changes will be allowed, especially to the exterior, in order to preserve historic authenticity. The chickens, coop, and run area are present for educational purposes via tours, summer camps, and walking guides available throughout the park. The coop and run has housed as many as 25 birds, but currently only has 8. They plan on getting more birds once this current population passes on as most of the birds are around 10 years old or older. We have a local avian vet that volunteers her time and advises us on their health and welfare.
Before we go further, here are some photos of the run and coop interior to give you an idea of what we are working with:
As you can see, the area is quite spacious and we could likely house many more hens in it quite comfortably.
The museum that owns the park is in the process of writing a grant for funds to upgrade the run and coop and I am being asked to help come up with a plan for that. I have some ideas but would love to hear from some more experienced coop builders on what you see that could be improved.
Here are my ideas so far:
Completely enclose the run with a roof for predator protection - we've had no issues because there are so many people around during the day and we lock them in the coop at night, but better safe than sorry.
Install 1/4" hardware cloth to keep rodents out - I'm thinking along all fencing in the run (including the eventual roof) and extended out from the base of the run underground 2'. Also want to install it all around the interior walls of the coop 3' up from the concrete floor as well as around the big ventilation window opposite the nesting boxes(not well pictured, but you can see part of it in the last photo, though the window cover is down). (Edit: I have been informed that 1/2" hardware cloth is sufficient.)
Redesign roosting bars/poop board setup - The top roosting bars are about 5' off the ground and our heavier birds are hurting themselves jumping down. I am thinking if the coop and run is predator/rat proofed with hardware cloth that we can safely lower these roosting bars to around 3' or less off the ground. This would also make the poop board less huge and awkward to walk around when gathering eggs from the nesting boxes. The wall opposite the nesting boxes has a giant, wall-length window for ventilation, so it cannot have roosting bars attached, but we have all of the back wall to work with for roosts. May also lower the upper nesting boxes so they aren't tempted to roost in them once the bars are lowered.
Sand down roosting bars - We have plans to sand down the roughness on the natural wood being used for the current roosting bars, but we are also looking at getting much smaller pieces of wood entirely as our vet has indicated that these bars are too wide for the chickens' feet and they are making the girls more prone to bumblefoot.
Sliding feeder door in run by feeding station - I know many of you will say ditch the coin feeder, but it's a non negotiable as it raises funds for the chicken feed and care and is also a big attraction to the park for families (you can see a kid using the feeding slot in the second photo). I was thinking that keeping this open hole in the fencing would defeat the purpose of predator/rodent proofing the run, so I was thinking about designing a sliding panel door that kids could open to toss feed in and then close. Thoughts? Not sure if rats will climb that high to get to food, but I know the weasel family certainly will to get at chickens.
Things to note (not sure if it helps with design needs, but):
- They never free range outside of the run.
- We use the deep litter method with pine shavings inside the coop and refresh the bedding twice a year with a total clean out--once in spring, and once in the late fall after they all molt.
- All 8 of our birds roost on the top roosting bar currently with room to spare. The favored spot is the far left end of the top bar and they all just line up to the right as they go in from there.
- They plan to always have a variety of heritage breeds in the enclosure. Occasionally they may have two or three of one breed, but never more than that. No plans for bantams, though we did have a very small Cochin for a while who I wondered if she was a bantam. She seemed to do just fine though until she died after becoming egg bound, sadly.
- There are no plans to ever have roosters or raise chicks in this space. We will be getting new birds eventually but no birds younger than 6 months old will be placed here because they are so exposed to high volumes of the public and wild life (wild birds and rodents are attracted to the spilled feed at the feeder). We do not want young birds with developing immune systems to come into contact with all of the germs that will inevitably be around this coop for the foreseeable future.
- They currently have 24 hour access to two dust baths, two oyster shell stations, a veggie planter and climbing tree for enrichment, and a variety of pebbles for grit. Their feeders are put into the trash cans in the coop at night to keep rodents out.
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Those are the biggest items I can think of right now, but I would love love love any ideas from you wise BYCers out there. I have been volunteering with this flock for three years and have learned a lot both working with them and on these forums, but have never had chickens of my own. I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking something.
Edit:
There was some confusion about the current ventilation, so I went and took pictures this morning. While it's true that up near the rafters there are some cracks between the wood, the main source of ventilation is the giant window and ventilation screens pictured below:
When you walk in the door, immediately to your left is a giant ventilation window that can be opened or closed (it is screened in with mesh). There is also ventilation running all along that wall above the window as well as above the nesting boxes on the opposite wall. I have attached pictures with closeups of that ventilation as well below.
These screened in vents are about 6" tall and run the length of the wall on both sides under the eaves of the roof. Basically where you see those bright bands of light above the walls over the window and the nesting boxes is where the ventilation is. The hens are no longer permitted to roost in the rafters, so this ventilation draws moisture out of the coop over their heads in winter as well as providing a cooling breeze in summer.
I also took some measurements this morning. Here is a very rudimentary diagram of the space:
The coop stays open all day so the girls can go in and out as they please. The apiary is not an area that the chickens have access to currently, though there is a chance it will get moved and that space may also be available to them in the future. The dark blue lines are indicators of doorways.
And finally, I got some questions about the size of the roost bars, so here is a comparison image with my hand to give you an idea:
I would say they are between 4"-5" in diameter (they are each a slightly different size).
I would love ideas of how to rearrange the roosting bars (and even nesting boxes) into a configuration that makes more sense for both us volunteers and for the chickens. Pictures of your own coop arrangements that work well would be swell too!
Thanks in advance for your feedback, everyone.
As you can see, these chickens are somewhat public access, so the coop and run requirements present some unique challenges.
The coop is an original building from the pioneering/gold rush era in our area of Colorado and so minimal structural changes will be allowed, especially to the exterior, in order to preserve historic authenticity. The chickens, coop, and run area are present for educational purposes via tours, summer camps, and walking guides available throughout the park. The coop and run has housed as many as 25 birds, but currently only has 8. They plan on getting more birds once this current population passes on as most of the birds are around 10 years old or older. We have a local avian vet that volunteers her time and advises us on their health and welfare.
Before we go further, here are some photos of the run and coop interior to give you an idea of what we are working with:
As you can see, the area is quite spacious and we could likely house many more hens in it quite comfortably.
The museum that owns the park is in the process of writing a grant for funds to upgrade the run and coop and I am being asked to help come up with a plan for that. I have some ideas but would love to hear from some more experienced coop builders on what you see that could be improved.
Here are my ideas so far:
Completely enclose the run with a roof for predator protection - we've had no issues because there are so many people around during the day and we lock them in the coop at night, but better safe than sorry.
Install 1/4" hardware cloth to keep rodents out - I'm thinking along all fencing in the run (including the eventual roof) and extended out from the base of the run underground 2'. Also want to install it all around the interior walls of the coop 3' up from the concrete floor as well as around the big ventilation window opposite the nesting boxes(not well pictured, but you can see part of it in the last photo, though the window cover is down). (Edit: I have been informed that 1/2" hardware cloth is sufficient.)
Redesign roosting bars/poop board setup - The top roosting bars are about 5' off the ground and our heavier birds are hurting themselves jumping down. I am thinking if the coop and run is predator/rat proofed with hardware cloth that we can safely lower these roosting bars to around 3' or less off the ground. This would also make the poop board less huge and awkward to walk around when gathering eggs from the nesting boxes. The wall opposite the nesting boxes has a giant, wall-length window for ventilation, so it cannot have roosting bars attached, but we have all of the back wall to work with for roosts. May also lower the upper nesting boxes so they aren't tempted to roost in them once the bars are lowered.
Sand down roosting bars - We have plans to sand down the roughness on the natural wood being used for the current roosting bars, but we are also looking at getting much smaller pieces of wood entirely as our vet has indicated that these bars are too wide for the chickens' feet and they are making the girls more prone to bumblefoot.
Sliding feeder door in run by feeding station - I know many of you will say ditch the coin feeder, but it's a non negotiable as it raises funds for the chicken feed and care and is also a big attraction to the park for families (you can see a kid using the feeding slot in the second photo). I was thinking that keeping this open hole in the fencing would defeat the purpose of predator/rodent proofing the run, so I was thinking about designing a sliding panel door that kids could open to toss feed in and then close. Thoughts? Not sure if rats will climb that high to get to food, but I know the weasel family certainly will to get at chickens.
Things to note (not sure if it helps with design needs, but):
- They never free range outside of the run.
- We use the deep litter method with pine shavings inside the coop and refresh the bedding twice a year with a total clean out--once in spring, and once in the late fall after they all molt.
- All 8 of our birds roost on the top roosting bar currently with room to spare. The favored spot is the far left end of the top bar and they all just line up to the right as they go in from there.
- They plan to always have a variety of heritage breeds in the enclosure. Occasionally they may have two or three of one breed, but never more than that. No plans for bantams, though we did have a very small Cochin for a while who I wondered if she was a bantam. She seemed to do just fine though until she died after becoming egg bound, sadly.
- There are no plans to ever have roosters or raise chicks in this space. We will be getting new birds eventually but no birds younger than 6 months old will be placed here because they are so exposed to high volumes of the public and wild life (wild birds and rodents are attracted to the spilled feed at the feeder). We do not want young birds with developing immune systems to come into contact with all of the germs that will inevitably be around this coop for the foreseeable future.
- They currently have 24 hour access to two dust baths, two oyster shell stations, a veggie planter and climbing tree for enrichment, and a variety of pebbles for grit. Their feeders are put into the trash cans in the coop at night to keep rodents out.
-------
Those are the biggest items I can think of right now, but I would love love love any ideas from you wise BYCers out there. I have been volunteering with this flock for three years and have learned a lot both working with them and on these forums, but have never had chickens of my own. I just want to make sure I'm not overlooking something.
Edit:
There was some confusion about the current ventilation, so I went and took pictures this morning. While it's true that up near the rafters there are some cracks between the wood, the main source of ventilation is the giant window and ventilation screens pictured below:
When you walk in the door, immediately to your left is a giant ventilation window that can be opened or closed (it is screened in with mesh). There is also ventilation running all along that wall above the window as well as above the nesting boxes on the opposite wall. I have attached pictures with closeups of that ventilation as well below.
These screened in vents are about 6" tall and run the length of the wall on both sides under the eaves of the roof. Basically where you see those bright bands of light above the walls over the window and the nesting boxes is where the ventilation is. The hens are no longer permitted to roost in the rafters, so this ventilation draws moisture out of the coop over their heads in winter as well as providing a cooling breeze in summer.
I also took some measurements this morning. Here is a very rudimentary diagram of the space:
The coop stays open all day so the girls can go in and out as they please. The apiary is not an area that the chickens have access to currently, though there is a chance it will get moved and that space may also be available to them in the future. The dark blue lines are indicators of doorways.
And finally, I got some questions about the size of the roost bars, so here is a comparison image with my hand to give you an idea:
I would love ideas of how to rearrange the roosting bars (and even nesting boxes) into a configuration that makes more sense for both us volunteers and for the chickens. Pictures of your own coop arrangements that work well would be swell too!
Thanks in advance for your feedback, everyone.
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