New Coop and Run - need evaluation and suggestions!

[AgentCheese]

Good morning folks!

We just moved our 12 6 week old chicks out to the coop and they made it through their first night. Many thanks to all of you on these boards - We've gotten tons of great ideas here!

Here are some pics...I have since finished putting the roof on the run, and you can see from the last one that we added sand to the coop and installed chickens...LOL. We have 4 Buff Orps, 4 Lt Brahmas, and 4 Sp Sussex.


The coop is 6 x 8, with a 30 x 8 foot run covered with welded wire.



Here's the run - I have a split door so we can feed the chicks treats w/o getting poopy feet! Not sure what else to put in the run...any ideas? My son will be running 24" hardware cloth along the lower inside today. I already have hardware cloth along the ground to deter diggers.




Inside before I put the sand in. I used Blackjack 57 rubberized roofing material as a base. I do wish I had more ventilation. I have windows on each side, a ridge vent you can't see, and the soffits are open as well (covered w/ hardware cloth). I will eventually screen off below the roost when they get a bit older.



External Nest Boxes



Back side - roost clean out door.



Where run attachs to the coop. Not really happy with this, but had to get it done. Since this pic was taken I finished fencing off the roof.




Here they are! They were a bit scared last night, but were very happy this morning when I checked on them and gave them some grapes...LOL



Any suggestions or comments appreciated.

Thanks, Jon

 

[SCDunn]

It looks good. I'm thinking of building another coop like yours. I just have to watch the size cause unfortantly I live in the city. And agian nice job.

 

[The Huntress]

Looks very comfy...sure they will love their new home!!

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I think this looks like a very nice coop/run set up. You asked about what other things to put in the run. My hens have enjoyed having some elevated roosts. I put a few large logs standing upright in my run with holes drilled in them that hold roosts (leftover material from failed wine racking system. As well as a higher roost with both the vertical and the horizontal structure made from dead aspen trees from our property (similar to the roosts you have in your coop).




This is in the covered part of the run, and my girls really seem to like to hang out on the roosts on rainy or snowy days. There is now an extended run made out of big chain link dog panels that enlarges the run by about 10'X20'. I placed a big wooden crate out there from a landscaping project. I opened up one side and put a piece of plywood on top for roof. It is sort of a poor man's chicken gazebo and on many days you can find the hens resting in its shade or up on top enjoying...what ever it is chickens enjoy on the top of a crate. Anyway, think kids with a playground or a tree-fort.

I'd also suggest covering the roof of at least part of your run. Your hens will appreciate it on rainy days, hot sunny days and if you get snow in your part of the world. Be sure it won't colapse under the weight of whatever snow you might expect, but other than that, it doesn't need to be fancy. A tarp may do the job nicely.

 

[aart]

Looks good!

 

[4 the Birds]

Nice coop shed! It would have been nice if you could have gone full height for the entire run so that you can go in and out without hunkering down. It looks like you may have some shade trees for the run but it is always nice to have the run covered or at least a portion covered with a solid roof for the hot summer days and it also helps to keep out rain and snow. The run will get scratched to dirt pretty fast so you may want to add sand in there or you can add wood chips/straw when it gets muddy. The roost bars are nice but a ladder or ramp will prevent flapping up and jumps down. The beam below the roost bars will get bombarded with poop. Looks like a great flock!

 

[AgentCheese]

Thanks for the comments! We'll add in a ladder for the roost bars - great idea!. The beam underneath is just temporary until they get a bit bigger. I plan to screen it off as well.

We have some tarps we were thinking of using to cover part of the run. Based on comments here looks like we will. Thanks again!

 

[SCDunn]

I started today changing my wooden shed to a coop. It's 10x8. I'm going to keep the smaller one for my brooder when I get more chicks will post pics of the progress. I'm glad I found this forum it's a big help.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Good morning folks!

We just moved our 12 6 week old chicks out to the coop and they made it through their first night. Many thanks to all of you on these boards - We've gotten tons of great ideas here!

Here are some pics...I have since finished putting the roof on the run, and you can see from the last one that we added sand to the coop and installed chickens...LOL. We have 4 Buff Orps, 4 Lt Brahmas, and 4 Sp Sussex.


The coop is 6 x 8, with a 30 x 8 foot run covered with welded wire.



Here's the run - I have a split door so we can feed the chicks treats w/o getting poopy feet! Not sure what else to put in the run...any ideas? My son will be running 24" hardware cloth along the lower inside today. I already have hardware cloth along the ground to deter diggers.




Inside before I put the sand in. I used Blackjack 57 rubberized roofing material as a base. I do wish I had more ventilation. I have windows on each side, a ridge vent you can't see, and the soffits are open as well (covered w/ hardware cloth). I will eventually screen off below the roost when they get a bit older.



External Nest Boxes



Back side - roost clean out door.



Where run attachs to the coop. Not really happy with this, but had to get it done. Since this pic was taken I finished fencing off the roof.




Here they are! They were a bit scared last night, but were very happy this morning when I checked on them and gave them some grapes...LOL



Any suggestions or comments appreciated.

Thanks, Jon

Looks nice!

 

[Chilton_Coop]

Great, nice and roomy. You won't be sorry that you have it in the shade.
My run was all grass at first but now it's more than half concrete and is so much easier to clean.

After four years much of the wooden frame of my run needs replacing. It may cost more but I'll be using "plastic-lumber" this time.
I'll also look into increasing the coop size a tiny bit. (It was designed for two birds, now I'm thinking three. Lol...)