New coop ideas.

[CKfarm22]

Hey y’all, we need a winter project to keep us busy. We just built our other coop but we’ve come to realize that we may need a bigger one. We’re looking to do maybe a 5x5 or 5x6 (and yes i already know the minimum is 5 sq ft per bird). I want some ideas that are easy to clean but also sturdy and protects our birds! This coop will be homemade but i want to see y’all’s coops!! Thanks everyone!

 

[cavemanrich]

(and yes i already know the minimum is 5 sq ft per bird).

It is actually 4 square feet per bird,,,,, but that is only a suggested guideline. Depending on the size of your chickens, you numbers may vary.
A very important size,,, is also the overall volume of your coop. I strongly suggest making any coop... a walkin height. Here are some advantages listed.

Easier to clean.
Better, and easier to ventilate. Both hot, and cold weather.
More room for chickens since you can have more than one roost level.
More volume give more air to be fresh, rather than small volume that would get stuffy easier. I'm referring to ammonia and humidity which is a product of chicken poop.
Easier to provide ambient daylight to interior.

I could think of more if I keep going.
Consider what you are going to build,, as an addition. this way your coop just becomes multi room type, with connecting doorways. ( The construction portion calls for 3 walls, rather than 4.). This also has advantages when you need to introduce new chickens to existing flock. Easier to partition then.
Post pix of what you currently have,,, with details of numbers, and types of chickens.
Hope I shined some light here as a start.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and

 

[3KillerBs]

One important thing to remember is that lumber and sheet goods come in multiples of 4 feet -- so that 5-foot dimension is a bad idea -- you'll cut off and throw out 3 feet of every 8-foot 2x4 you buy.

Better to either go 4x8 or 6x6 (buying 12-foot boards and cutting them in half).

10 staples in my scalp last month testify to the desirability of a walk-in height in addition to the benefits to the chickens that @cavemanrich mentioned above.

Generous roof overhangs, generous access doors, top-hinged windows, good lips on all the doors to keep bedding in ...

 

[CKfarm22]

@cavemanrich This is our coop now. It’s about 4ftx5ftx4ft. It’s a good idea to just add on to the side where the pop door is, and i was thinking that too. I’m just not sure how to because it’s plywood with pallet wood on top, unless we just cut the whole side off!

 

[MountainWoman73]

Pictures of my coop, with my favorite innovations highlighted. Excuse the mess. It hasn't been cleaned this month.

My coop is 8x12, raised above the ground because we built on a slope, with a one way sloped roof, separate human and chicken doors, and two windows. Because it has one wall adjacent to our house, it gets a little extra shelter in winter, and I have electric wiring.

Favorite feature 1: In-coop storage. The chicken area is 8x8, and there is an area for me that is 4x8, separated by a hardware cloth wall and screen door. I store hay, food, etc, so it is conveniently inside the coop, but chickens can't shit on it. I use this area for new chicks sometimes too.

Favorite feature 2: Pull door. I have my chicken door on a pulley, so I don't have to go into the chicken area to open or shut it. Nice when I'm barefoot or wearing work shoes in the morning.

Favorite feature 3: Trap door. I remove this and shovel/sweep used bedding out the bottom of the coop.

Favorite feature 4: Coffee shelf. This is for when you have four eggs in one hand, coffee in the other, and you need to latch the door. Also functions as a wine shelf in the evening.

Lastly, recycled goodwill wreaths on the nest boxes. My hens prefer a circular opening for some reason.

 

[HeathenHavenHomestead]

Mine isn’t near as fancy as the other above but it was homemade, sturdy, holding up in the weather and keeping the critters out.

you can find the link to my coop on my page

 

[CKfarm22]

Pictures of my coop, with my favorite innovations highlighted. Excuse the mess. It hasn't been cleaned this month.

My coop is 8x12, raised above the ground because we built on a slope, with a one way sloped roof, separate human and chicken doors, and two windows. Because it has one wall adjacent to our house, it gets a little extra shelter in winter, and I have electric wiring.
View attachment 2818794
Favorite feature 1: In-coop storage. The chicken area is 8x8, and there is an area for me that is 4x8, separated by a hardware cloth wall and screen door. I store hay, food, etc, so it is conveniently inside the coop, but chickens can't shit on it. I use this area for new chicks sometimes too. View attachment 2818795

Favorite feature 2: Pull door. I have my chicken door on a pulley, so I don't have to go into the chicken area to open or shut it. Nice when I'm barefoot or wearing work shoes in the morning.
View attachment 2818808
Favorite feature 3: Trap door. I remove this and shovel/sweep used bedding out the bottom of the coop.
View attachment 2818798

Favorite feature 4: Coffee shelf. This is for when you have four eggs in one hand, coffee in the other, and you need to latch the door. Also functions as a wine shelf in the evening.View attachment 2818801

Lastly, recycled goodwill wreaths on the nest boxes. My hens prefer a circular opening for some reason.

I absolutely love this! I love the special features that you added that would come handy for you personally!

 

[Sally PB]

Favorite feature 4: Coffee shelf. This is for when you have four eggs in one hand, coffee in the other, and you need to latch the door. Also functions as a wine shelf in the evening.

Now, that's a great feature! Good thinking.

 

[Swbertrand1]

Hey y’all, we need a winter project to keep us busy. We just built our other coop but we’ve come to realize that we may need a bigger one. We’re looking to do maybe a 5x5 or 5x6 (and yes i already know the minimum is 5 sq ft per bird). I want some ideas that are easy to clean but also sturdy and protects our birds! This coop will be homemade but i want to see y’all’s coops!! Thanks everyone!

Best idea I can give you is this: Build it twice the size you think you'll need or larger You can thank me in 2023...

Set it up for electricity for fans (direct wired or using a plug), automated doors, lights, etc. In the first photo, you might notice the pullout drawer that my boyfriend pulls out once per week to clean and put new shavings down. In the 3rd photo, you'll see a small door and another entrance. This was a "re-model" of the coop about 3 years ago to reduce the size of the storage closet and add a 2nd chicken entry via a tunnel under the storage area (gained a nest box beside the tunnel too) to create 2 coops within one for when we have young birds that aren't ready to mix with the adults, but need to be in the coop (we have separate runs too).

With just a removable divider door inside and a short section of fence outside, we can create two separate coop/run combinations and can switch back and forth between them in about 15 minutes by removing the interior divider (pictured in photo #4) and open "hatches" in the divider fence. When everyone is living as a single flock with the interior divider removed and two hatches in the run dividing fence are opened, the birds can go in either entrance and make a circle around the coop by going in one door out the other, around the coop, then back in the 1st door. It's worked out REALLY well.

Here is a 5x8 my bf built five years ago, and he wishes he had built it to something like 8x12:

 

[cavemanrich]

Seems I am not the only one loving this feature

Also good spot to place phone, flashlight, or keys, so they don't drop out into litter.