Honestly I like the first design better than the second -- if roofing costs are an issue, look for recycled stuff for the run portion (where it won't matter if it leaks a bit) and/or plan on buying the run roofing later on, but build the exact correct structure for it right off the bat (it is MUCH harder to retrofit for a Michigan winter than you are thinking it will be - snowload!)
And I *do* like the first design quite a lot. I think it is better than the majority of northern coops on BYC. Put plastic on two or two-and-a-half sides of the run for winter and you will have HAPPY birds.
I would suggest rethinking that outside nestbox and outside feeder. The outside nestbox is 100% unnecessary and is just a gratuitous weak point in the design where predators and weather can get in. If you really want outside access to the nests all yo need to do is build normal wallmounted INDOOR nestboxes, with a sliding panel to access them from outside. A sliding panel is much more structurally strong, much more easily predatorproofed, much more easily weatherproofed, and incidentally much easier to build
than protruding nestboxes. Those would only make sense in a very small short coop where nestboxes have to be floor-level, which is SO not the case in yours
The outside feeder is going to be a major raccoon attractant and predator/weatherstripping challenge. Honestly I see zero point in making a hopper-style feeder on the outside of the coop -- the whole point is you only fill it occasionally, so you can perfectly well fill it from INSIDE the coop and avoid all those problems. If for some reason that I am utterly not comprehending you would want to fill it from outside the coop, at least make it like I described above for the nestboxes - an outside access hatch to an INSIDE hopper/feeder.
I hate to say it, though, but even with a roof water collection system and a big ol' feed hopper, you are NOT going to be able to go away and leave them for a week or two. First, roof water only works when a) it rains enough and also b) there are not broken/detached plumbing bits, poo in the drinking part of the waterer, etc. Much more importantly, you can't expect to leave hens alone for a week or two and not come back to a) all your hens healthy and safe and b) (this is the biggie) no egg-eaters. Eggs really really need to be collected daily, every other day at MOST. There is no way around this (I know, you are thinking "rollout nestboxes!" but they are not reliable enough and of course hens don't always lay IN the boxes anyhow).
So, remember that you will NEED to have someone come and check on the chickens every day or so when you are gone. It's just the way it is.
Good luck, have fun, I think that as long as you treat the bells-and-whistles as something to 'play with' and learn with instead of something you're pinning all your hopes on you will have a REALLY nice coop there,
Pat
And I *do* like the first design quite a lot. I think it is better than the majority of northern coops on BYC. Put plastic on two or two-and-a-half sides of the run for winter and you will have HAPPY birds.
I would suggest rethinking that outside nestbox and outside feeder. The outside nestbox is 100% unnecessary and is just a gratuitous weak point in the design where predators and weather can get in. If you really want outside access to the nests all yo need to do is build normal wallmounted INDOOR nestboxes, with a sliding panel to access them from outside. A sliding panel is much more structurally strong, much more easily predatorproofed, much more easily weatherproofed, and incidentally much easier to build
The outside feeder is going to be a major raccoon attractant and predator/weatherstripping challenge. Honestly I see zero point in making a hopper-style feeder on the outside of the coop -- the whole point is you only fill it occasionally, so you can perfectly well fill it from INSIDE the coop and avoid all those problems. If for some reason that I am utterly not comprehending you would want to fill it from outside the coop, at least make it like I described above for the nestboxes - an outside access hatch to an INSIDE hopper/feeder.
I hate to say it, though, but even with a roof water collection system and a big ol' feed hopper, you are NOT going to be able to go away and leave them for a week or two. First, roof water only works when a) it rains enough and also b) there are not broken/detached plumbing bits, poo in the drinking part of the waterer, etc. Much more importantly, you can't expect to leave hens alone for a week or two and not come back to a) all your hens healthy and safe and b) (this is the biggie) no egg-eaters. Eggs really really need to be collected daily, every other day at MOST. There is no way around this (I know, you are thinking "rollout nestboxes!" but they are not reliable enough and of course hens don't always lay IN the boxes anyhow).
So, remember that you will NEED to have someone come and check on the chickens every day or so when you are gone. It's just the way it is.
Good luck, have fun, I think that as long as you treat the bells-and-whistles as something to 'play with' and learn with instead of something you're pinning all your hopes on you will have a REALLY nice coop there,
Pat
