New Chicken coop

[DickMidnight]

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looks pretty good. it needs a few ventilation adjustments, otherwise it’s a really nice looking coop

id extend the roof over the double doors and cut out the gables for ventilation.

if you’re also building the attached run that was shown on the website, that will act as your roof overhang on the backside, allowing you to cut those gable sections out as well.

 

[3KillerBs]

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The first thing I see here is the complete lack of roof overhangs. You'd need to adjust the roof framing to fix that so you can have soffit and gable venting.

The big window is pretty, but should be thought of as supplemental ventilation because it is likely to be below the roosts. Instead of installing a single-hung glass window you should make it as a hardware-cloth covered opening with a top-hinged cover -- which will act as an awning.

 

[Windrider]

Wait, isn't Kirkland on the rainy side of Washington... like near Seattle? Then I am going to say "UGH... no roof overhangs!" to those plans.

 

[Windrider]

Oops, 3KillerBs ninja'd me!

I'll edit to add that even though So Cal is known for having drought all the time, we are currently getting enough rain that I am rethinking my coop before I get new chickens.

Even the run should have decent overhangs if it is roofed. Nothing makes chicken poop stink more that getting wet!

 

[DickMidnight]

The first thing I see here is the complete lack of roof overhangs. You'd need to adjust the roof framing to fix that so you can have soffit and gable venting.

the website view he shared shows a roofed run attached to the back side of the coop.

if he’s building that as well, an overhang in front is all he would need.

 

[3KillerBs]

the website view he shared shows a roofed run attached to the back side of the coop.

if he’s building that as well, an overhang in front is all he would need.

He still needs overhang on all 4 sides to shelter the venting since the easiest way to ventilate a shed you build yourself is to simply not bring the siding all the way to the top of the wall and use hardware cloth to cover.

The uphill wall of my open air coop being an extreme example of this tactic.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

NOPE.

That's three seperate things shoved together as one. Not as good as one thing designed to work as a complete system. You want and need overhangs on the hen house - its where you will hide predator-protected, weather-sheltered 24/7/365 free ventilation, so you aren't dependent on windows (and because its nice when you are opening the door to be out of the rain). The ridge line of the roof and the attached run should be continuous. Trust me, when you build this thing, you aren't moving it later.

Unsure if you've given thought to your flooring, but with chickens, there's a lot of very good reason to use bare earth and "deep litter" - meaning no floor. No floor means your design can go up more like a pole barn - its a different building method. You may also want to give thought to externally accessible nesting boxes, for your convenience. But the height of those affects the height of your roosting bars. So its not a decision made lightly, or later.

Additionally, its a a hen house, not a people house. Windows you can't rely on are needed only for satisfying human sense of aesthetics and to provide ambient light. You can cut some costs there, if you aren't interested in the aesthetics with a more functional, top open window higher up on the walls. Likely south facing, for passive solar. Its also framed more heavily than need be, increasing construction costs. No need for 16" oc, 24" oc is perfectly adequate.

There are doors on both sides? That will tend to limit how you can use the internal space - your roosting bars, for instance, will need to run from door wall to door wall. Which is fine, but with double doors as pictured, your mounting space is limited. Go to a single door at each side, instead. Or locate the doors close to a single corner, so the rest of the space is useful for roosts, shelving, etc w/o impeding your traffic thru the room.

Finally, have you given thought to which way you are going to orient this thing?

Those are my initial thoughts, based ona quick glance.

 

[DickMidnight]

He still needs overhang on all 4 sides to shelter the venting since the easiest way to ventilate a shed you build yourself is to simply not bring the siding all the way to the top of the wall and use hardware cloth to cover.

The uphill wall of my open air coop being an extreme example of this tactic.

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depending on how many birds are going into his coop, he might not need that much venting. cross breezes between the covered gables might be sufficient.

if he needs the additional venting, then yes, overhangs on all sides are must haves.

 

[Windrider]

My biggest concern if I lived in your climate would be how to keep the coop and run as dry as possible. I mean, Seattle and its environs are the butt of weather jokes all the time:

What do you call two straight days of rain in Seattle? A weekend.
It only rains twice a year in Seattle: August through April and May through July.

"I can't believe it," said the tourist. "I've been here an entire week and it's done nothing but rain. When do you have summer here?"
"Well, that's hard to say," replied the local. "Last year, it was on a Wednesday."

All joking aside, your biggest priority will have to be keeping the chicken area dry and ventilated or you will get discouraged by how stinky they will be. It will be a challenge in your climate. You are on the right track to look at a coop with a covered run combo.

Something along the line of Carolina Coops would work for a small number of chickens, and some here on BYC have used that plan as inspiration and gone bigger or modified it for their climate. You need to plan for BIG overhangs, more that usual. Get that water away from the chicken ground!

 

[DickMidnight]

I mean, Seattle and its environs are the butt of weather jokes all the time:

i lived in seattle for two years. it’s incredible how much it rains. it seemed like it was 45, gray, and drizzling every single day except for about 6 weeks in the summer where it was 75 and crystal clear.