New chicken coop!

[cmcgoun]

Well, I am starting to build my chicken coop and run and I have just a few questions.

-Do you have to have windows, and if so how many?

-How high should the nest boxes be?

-What kind of wire/mesh should you use for the run (chicken wire or hardware cloth)

-Where can you find hardware cloth

-How many perches should you have and how high should they be?

-Do you have to have a ladder going up to the nest boxes?

Well thats all for now, if you have any other hints or advice let me know I am new to this!

Thans

 

[masschix]

Asked most of the same questions when I started, so I'll pass on what others have told me.....

-Do you have to have windows, and if so how many?
You should for ventalilation...as for how many, two would be best for a nice cross breeze.

-How high should the nest boxes be?
Just asked this one the other day....doesn't matter too much as long as the birds can reach the perch in front of them. If they can't, you could always add in a lower perch for them to jump from. So in other words....how ever high it's seems comfortable...I put mine 20" from the floor. OH Yah, you might also want to make sure that you have a way to keep the birds from roosting on the top of them.

-What kind of wire/mesh should you use for the run (chicken wire or hardware cloth)
We used chicken wire due to the cost. However, hardware cloth is much more secure and durable.

-Where can you find hardware cloth
You can find this at most hardware stores.....Lowes, Home Depot, etc...

-How many perches should you have and how high should they be?
You need to have enough space for perches so that all your birds can use them. General rule of thumb is to make sure that there's about 8"-10" per bird (please correct me if I'm wrong). For the height....you want to make sure that the roosts will be higher than the nesting boxes, or they will roost there. Because my chicks are only 6 weeks, my roost is low (around 12" off the floor), but will be able to keep moving it up as they grow.

-Do you have to have a ladder going up to the nest boxes?
NOPE! Like I mentioned above, it depends on how high the boxes are at. You many need to add another perch in front if they can't reach...however, when they are of laying age, they should be able to reach pretty high.

Hope this helps.....HAVE FUN! We were able to build our coop in 2 weeks (lots of hours on the weekends).