New coop!! Ideas? Suggestions?

[NorthwoodsChick]

Hey y’all dad and I will be building a new chicken coop very soon and I’d like all the help with ideas and suggestions I can get! I want to know everything! What kind of coop? What building materials? How many roosts and nest boxes, and where should I put them? Where should I put feeders, waterers? What bedding material?
I want it to be able to house 20-25 chooks. Any helpful information is MORE than welcome!
Thanks in advance!!

Check out the articles section on BYC. Read and research based on your needs using the search tool, formulate your building plan, draw it up, then ask specific questions to fine tune your design.

 

[Bakbuk]

Check out the articles section on BYC. Read and research based on your needs using the search tool, formulate your building plan, draw it up, then ask specific questions to fine tune your design.

That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing. Good advice!

 

[PippinTheChicken]

My coop is a modified 4x6 shed. All the "furniture" is made of pallets. The walls are overlapped wood so it allows airflow. It has a plastic window, but to stop predators, I put galvanised mesh on the inside of the window. They also have curtains, a shelf, and posters

 

[Krugerrand]

That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing. Good advice!

While this coop is way too small for he number of chickens you are planning, it makes for great reading and is a great resource of information:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/

@Yakisugi Coop clearly put a great deal of thought and research into each decision made. This article walks though those decisions and references many good places for more information. You can use those resources as you build something bigger.

 

[The Chickens Maid]

Ventilation... We have a super quiet ventilation fan ducted out through the ceiling, works great. Also, the best thing we added to our coop was a chicken guard automatic door. I don't think the egg box amount needs to be even close to how many hens you have ...we have 12 egg boxes, 10 hens, they all use the same 2 to 3 boxes max. Some will stand outside the occupied box and holler until her sister gets out of her way.

 

[Ktlyn 41]

An open air coop is always fun idea and satisfying project. I just finished building mine (a prince t woods open air coop, started building in November) and it is probably the most satisfying things I've ever done.... I did however make mine with only hand tools and scrap wood. Still an awesome looking coop and my hens love it!

 

[WallacetheKhakiCampbell]

I have found that the ability to completely open one side of the coop is INCREDIBLY helpful. But it doesn't have to be like an entire wall depending on the size of your coop. If I were rebuilding my coop I would make a kind of trap door maybe 2ft tall running the length of one wall along the floor. Good sturdy hinges and latches on the outside. This way you could push all of the bedding out from the inside instead of shoveling scoop after scoop of old bedding, trying to turn around in the small coop with a shovel and get it all out the door into a wheelbarrow. Plus with corners, it's just plain annoying. I don't know if i'm explaining this well at all but just keep cleaning ability in mind!

 

[gimmie birdies]

Don't let the roof dump onto where you collect eggs.

 

[gimmie birdies]

For winter, I set up "winter under areas," that are not pretty but functional. We get snow here. I take them down in the spring because I don't need them as much.

It looks like the hens don't have any place to walk, but under all that snow, they have under-playpen areas. I use pallets. I have not had any collapse.
Summer pic.

 

[JesusisGod]

remember how horrid mites can be. In the future i wish to avoid wood. its a nightmare