I love this site, I have spent shameful amount of hours on it, looking at plans and reading posts.
I am just starting out, I have been researching coops and runs for about a month. We have a coop planned out now, will start building later this month and will be going to buy our chickens at the farm sale the middle of May. We are building a coop big enough for 10 chickens, I think we may start with 5 or 6 and then get more later
To save money we are getting really creative with our coop.
It is going to be 10 ft long by 5 ft wide and 5 foot tall in the front and 4 foot tall in the back. We are building it about 10-12 inchs off the ground and the 4 nesting boxes will be built outward of the box and will be 12 x 12x12. I am planning for a 10 ft perch. We will be making the pvc pipe feeder. Still looking at suggestions for the best waterer. The chicken door will be 12 x 12. We have planned for plenty of ventilation, some will stay open all the time and large areas can close for the winter.
But the most interesting part of this whole thing is we are building the coop out of garage doors. WEIRD I KNOW!!! We got the two garage doors for $125. The good thing about them is they are already insulated and really cut down the lumber costs.
I will post pictures as we start to build.
Any advice is appreciated, I am just trying to get it as close to perfect as I can since I can't really afford to build a new one if I mess up.
I am just starting out, I have been researching coops and runs for about a month. We have a coop planned out now, will start building later this month and will be going to buy our chickens at the farm sale the middle of May. We are building a coop big enough for 10 chickens, I think we may start with 5 or 6 and then get more later
To save money we are getting really creative with our coop.
It is going to be 10 ft long by 5 ft wide and 5 foot tall in the front and 4 foot tall in the back. We are building it about 10-12 inchs off the ground and the 4 nesting boxes will be built outward of the box and will be 12 x 12x12. I am planning for a 10 ft perch. We will be making the pvc pipe feeder. Still looking at suggestions for the best waterer. The chicken door will be 12 x 12. We have planned for plenty of ventilation, some will stay open all the time and large areas can close for the winter.
But the most interesting part of this whole thing is we are building the coop out of garage doors. WEIRD I KNOW!!! We got the two garage doors for $125. The good thing about them is they are already insulated and really cut down the lumber costs.
I will post pictures as we start to build.
- I am still looking for advice on building the run. How tall, what kind of ground. We were thinking of putting it partly on the grass partly in the trees, that way they have multiple surfaces and will have sun and shade. (the branches are not low in the trees)
- I am also trying to figure out the deep bedding, I prefer not to clean it out to regurally. I want to plan for this before we build. I know you start with a few inches, mix it up regurally and add something to it to dry it out, then you just keep adding more bedding. To do this I must have to have a certain amount of space between the floor and the nesting box? Would 10-12 be good enough?
- I could also use advice on choosing the right chickens. We live on an acreage so I am not to worried about noise, I just want a good breed that lays well and can stand the cold Alberta Weather, ones that like to be handled would also be a bonus since we have kids. Is it ok if I buy a few different breeds?
- How to keep away preditors. We are in coyote territory. Of couse we are building the coop off the ground, putting strong latches on it, closing in the run and burying it partly underground. Any other ways?
Any advice is appreciated, I am just trying to get it as close to perfect as I can since I can't really afford to build a new one if I mess up.
