Never-before-chicken-mom needs coop advice

[Digzie77]

My husband and I got 4 chicks that are still in our brooder. We need to decide on a coop design soon. As a plumber, my hubby thinks he can build anything out of PVC and conduit, and IMHO he is pretty darn ingenious with the stuff.

Does anyone have any PVC plans that they could share?

Also, how many nesting boxes should I have per pen? Is it 1 to 1, or maybe 2 hens per box?

Thanks!
Deana

 

[crazy4ChickensNducks]

You might be able to find some pvc coops in the articles coop section
I have 25 hens and 7 nest boxes but they only use 2 or 3 boxes
For 4 hens you will need at least one box oh and welcome!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

The general rule of thumb regarding nest boxes is a minimum of 2 with 1 box per 4 birds.
While one box may be sufficient for the size of flock that you're proposing, having that extra box will be important if be 1st box is occupied, if you have a hen that goes broody and refuses to let anyone else use it for a period of time, etc. It is true that birds will tend to use just one Box or maybe 2 if there's more than that there, this is because the nest that has been used by the 1st bird of the day has now received the "good co-op keeping stamp of approval" which is that because there is 1 egg there this is Ben designated a safe spot that another bird has already laid their eggs, which encourages the next bird to come along to also lay there. If 1 wants to" spread the love" between the nest boxes, the easiest way is to use" bait" such as fake eggs for golf balls to make it appear that the other nests have also been used

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Regarding co-op construction, definitely visit the co-op section here and take a look at some of the other examples people have used. One possible point of concern with a PVC construction would be its strength and durability in regards to predator resistance

 

[123RedBeard]

This should give you and hubby some ideas ...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/chicken-coops.12/

 

[chickitychickity]

Technically with four hens you only need one box but I recommend two in case someone gets kicked out of one of them.

 

[HopeSprings]

Plastics, including PVC, will degrade with exposure to sunlight. So longevity might be an issue.

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC @Digzie77 !

Do your due diligence as to coop design, lots of variables to take into consideration.

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[JurassicBawk]

My dad made my chicken house for me, making one regulation size nest box area that was divided into 2 sections. At the time I had 4 EEs, and they'd all pile into one side and ignore the other, so I removed the divider so it was one large area. Now I've added 2 laying Polish bantams (and an OEGB that looks like she's going to lay sooner than later,) and I added another box inside their house just in case they wanted more room. So far they've ignored the new box and still just mainly use one side of the nest box, but at least I know I've given them options.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

Does anyone have any PVC plans that they could share?

I don't have any plans but I agree, he can build something really substantial with PVC or conduit. Looking through the coops section under the articles tab above (Redbeard gave the link) can give you some good ideas. I'm sure he can come up with his own design. You might do a search on hoop coop.

If four chickens are all you ever plan to have you have a lot of options. You could go with a small elevated coop or something bigger. If you think you will add more chickens or integrate replacements I encourage you to thick bigger. You might follow the link in my signature to see some of my thoughts on this.

Also, how many nesting boxes should I have per pen? Is it 1 to 1, or maybe 2 hens per box?

I agree. In your case I'd go with two unless you plan to have more than 8 hens in the future.