Need some help on design concerns for a coop

[AlbeeFarming]

I am starting to put together all the information I need for this new venture into raising chickens for eggs. My son got introduced to it by his 4H group and I have learned that they are great for putting the idea into my sons head but not very good on information. I want to build my own Coop and run but would like to know what are going to be some of my major concerns and problems.

I live in Northern California in the hills. I am at 2700' Elevation ruffly. We do get snow from time to time but not every year and not a lot at any one time. We have lived in this house for 6 years and only had more than 6" at one time 2 times and it mostly melts off by the end of the day. The Temp ranges in the winter from lowest of 13 to highest of 80 Summer Low of 50 highest of 101. My back yard is completely fenced in. We have 1 family dog he is a knuckle head but a great dog. He is only 2 years old.We are probably going to be looking at getting about 6 Chickens all for egg production.
If there is anything else you need to know please just ask I want to do this right.

Thank you.

 

[0wen]

Predation is always a concern so you'll want to make a secure run to keep your chickens safe from physical harm. This includes your dog - simply because you never know how they'll react to chickens if they've never been around them before. I've seen ''good'' dogs become bird killers. Your temps are on the high end, so you'll want to provide them cover to get shade wit. This could be as simple as raising your coop off the ground tall enough for your birds to go under - a link to my hoop coop is in my signature as an example. This style of coop may actually be a good option for you with your temps being what they are. Many people who use a hoop coop don't even include the huddle box/interior coop (but it was quick and easy to construct, and increased my usable floor space so I went with it - I leave the door to the run open at all times so the chickens have access to wherever they want to be).

Ventilation is big also - you want more of it than less. I'm a fan of open air coops and again, in your climate - they'd probably do well. The rest of it is relatively easy, and there is a lot of knowledge here (and a large member base to answer questions) to wade through to get you started.

 

[AlbeeFarming]

Thank you for the information. I was toying around with the idea of I hoop coop. I absolutely don't know what my dog would do so I do plan to keep them separate. I am wondering also how much space is advised for good happy bird's. Coop space and run space. I was also told that I cannot get 3 bird's to start then add more later if needed. Is this true?

 

[0wen]

I was also told that I cannot get 3 bird's to start then add more later if needed. Is this true?

That's not true. It's common practice to integrate new chickens to an existing flock and there's plenty of info on this forum how to do it.

Most people recommend 4 square feet of space per bird in the coop and 10 square feet per bird in the run - that has some flexibility to it, but the more room your chickens have they'll generally be more content and healthy...

 

[AlbeeFarming]

Thank you. I was thinking of building bigger and leaving myself the ability to add onto it lat. I know once I start doing this all of my friends and family will start wanting fresh egg's.so the basic idea to my design should reflect security,airflow,ability to heat in the winter,dry area in the run and space for them to feel open.

 

[0wen]

You don't really need to heat it in the winter, just protect from drafts and provide a place for the chickens to huddle up together. That being said, if you can have it close enough to an outlet to run an extension cord in case of freak below zero weather - it wouldn't hurt...