New to BYC, would love advice on coop

[mendogurl]

Quote:
I am planning on having the roosts on a separate wall higher than the nesting boxes. Also planning on a sloped roof over the boxes, and a drop pan under the roosts.
What material is best for the drop pans?

 

[mendogurl]

Quote:

My paranoia is paying off? YAY !

Yes, the strongest hardware cloth I can find. I have read about what raccoons can do to chickens, and I want no part of that !

Maybe I will just get three boxes. Metal or wood? I like the look of wood much better, but is clean up much easier with the metal or does it matter?

 

[HappyHatch'en]

Re: drop pans....whatever you can get for free....plastic trays, tin from?, formica....shade cloths work well, but costly...search on the net for best deal....you have a great plan and everything is done but building it....good luck.
HappyHatch'en

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you were where it was cold enough for frozen metal to cause a problem, I'd recommend wood. In Los Angeles, I don't think it matters. On this site, you will see where people successfully use about anything under the sun as a nest box. I'm sure some of them live in the frozen north and use metal successfully, but I'm an engineer and overthink and overplan by nature and training.

I've seen where some use a removable insert to make cleaning easier, like a plastic tub or a cut-down cardboard box. Just lift it out, dump the contents, clean or replace it, replace the bedding material, and put it back. Whatever you do, you need enough bedding material to give the egg a soft place to land, cuts down on cracked or broken eggs.

As far as cleaning after a broken egg or to remove chicken poop, I don't think there is a lot of difference in cleaning between wood and metal. Mainly remove and replace the bedding.

Personally, I just like the way wood looks, at least after it weathers. It has a nice comfortable look to it. Purely personal preference.

 

[patandchickens]

Two 6x1 ventilation openings for night is not bad... but if you are going to close the main doors then personally I would build in more ventilation to make SURE you can rapidly shed heat from hot days. It is a lot easier (a lot!) to build it from the start than to try to retrofit.

If you have enough natural ventilation to your building you will not need a fan for ventilation, which is good because chicken coops are dusty enough that they are real hard on fans (mostly meaning the fan doesn't last real long but occasionally meaning fire-hazard) unless you use shop or ag type fans, which are much more expensive and mostly too big for your shed. If you have a super hot day you can certainly put a regular household fan out there for a few hours, but I would not recommend building anything into the coop.

I like droppings boards that you scrape the poo off each morning (really, you just run a scraper or dustpan down the board with a bucket moving along with it in your other hand, takes like 15 seconds MAX) because it gets the poo totally out of the coop and really improves air quality and fly issues. There are a million alternatives of course and they are good too

Have fun,

Pat

 

[mendogurl]

Quote:
Fortunately, unlike NC, once the sun hits the horizon, it cools down rapidly. I had the same dust concerns about a fan built in. Are there any safety considerations about a portable fan?
I think I am going to talk to the guy building the coop today and see if I can figure out how to put in some more ventilation. Perhaps nothing more than some one inch holes along the top of the southern wall, that the raccoons can't get into. Do I need to worry about rats? We are up against the base of a mountain range, and have some hard core rats.
I feel like I am building Fort Knox out there. I have a raised foundation (about 2-3 feet), so I attached hardware cloth along the bottom of the foundation, buried it about a foot, and then bolted a 3ft. panel of corrugated steel on top of that, buried about 6 inches. If the critters can get through that, I will just go ahead and serve roasted chicken on a silver platter and rent the house out to a survivalist !

LOL

 

[CityChook]

I considered a fan during my design phase, but now, 1 year later, I'm glad I didn't do it. The dust is incredible, and I think it would toast any mechanics involved in a fan. Just think of shade and a good cross-breeze, based on the location of your coop. Let mother nature do the work for you.

And, like Pat said, think of a larger run. I have 10 ft. per bird and still feel like it isn't enough.

Welcome!

 

[raizin]

I would make the run bigger also. Yes, you do have to worry about rats if they are in your area.
I use the deep litter method and don't use a poop board. I free range during the day and that keeps the mess down dramatically.
enjoy

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Aside from the obvious 'be electrically safe' and 'don't let the chickens poke their noses into the fan', and rig it so it can't fall over, I am not aware of any.

I think I am going to talk to the guy building the coop today and see if I can figure out how to put in some more ventilation. Perhaps nothing more than some one inch holes along the top of the southern wall, that the raccoons can't get into.

Meh. I would not bother with 1" holes. A 1" hole is less than 1 square inch of ventilation. It takes almost 200 of those leetle holes to equal the area of a 12x12" hole

Even if you use 3" or 4" holes, they do not add up very fast at all. Pretty much a waste of time if you ask me. Easier to just frame in rectangular openings and be done with it! Just cover them with well-attached hardwarecloth and nothing will get in, really truly.

Do I need to worry about rats? We are up against the base of a mountain range, and have some hard core rats.

Well, then you will have some hard core rat problem, yes. As you probably know they are next to impossible to keep out. Best you can do is hang your feeder, make it as spillproof as possible and keep any 'bits' swept up, try to make the nestboxes inaccessible to rats, and just generally make the rats WORK for their meal.

buried it about a foot, and then bolted a 3ft. panel of corrugated steel on top of that, buried about 6 inches. If the critters can get through that, I will just go ahead and serve roasted chicken on a silver platter and rent the house out to a survivalist !

I know you don't want to hear this, I apologize, but most digging critters can dig more than a foot deep, fairly easily. Certainly rats; also dogs and coyotes and foxes. You may get away with it; or you could consider laying out a horizontal apron 2-4' out from the base of the fence. Although it is just really hard to keep out determined *rats*, specifically.

Good luck, have fun, I really do think you can keep chickens just fine without too much predator problem since you are thinking this trhough sensibly ahead of time

,

Pat​

 

[mendogurl]

The run just doubled in size, thanks to this board ! Now 8x116.

Rectangular metal vents on three walls.

Rats ! I mean rats. Do they attack chickens?
I have for the most part just learned to live with them around the property. At least they are not city rats, feasting on heroin syringes and Big Mac's.

I can keep out dogs and coyotes, our property has an ten foot stucco wall, and gates around it, but that won't keep out raccoons and rats.
How do I make the nests inaccessible to the rats ?

My hope on the foundation is that it will slow them down and then I can reinforce if I see signs of attempted burglary. I am hoping that a raccoon can't dig and move the foundation coverings and eat through the floor all in one night, but maybe I am wrong.

What about piling river rock against the foundation ????

This has become a mission ! LOL

But thank you everyone, this is invaluable advice !