Newbie looking for input on coop and run design (added drawings)

[RiddleMe]

I'm getting ready to start building my coop in the next few weeks and would appreciate any input! I'm located in central Oregon, so high-desert, semi-arid conditions. I'll be starting with 12 hens, larger breed layers, but I imagine there will be some expansion in the future.

I'm planning to go with an 8x12 gable shed style, 7' interior walls, plywood floor with a linoleum overlay. Vented soffits on the long sides, shingle vents on the ridgeline, and slider windows. The shed will be angled 45 degrees N/S, so the side and front windows will both get southern exposure (works best with surrounding buildings/trees to get the most light inside).

Below is my tentative layout. I was going to install the second chicken door as a backup and maybe put up a temporary wall at that end to save that portion of the building for storage/a private area for broody mommas in the future. But maybe they'll want both doors and all that room right off the bat? It seems like a lot of wasted space (maybe that's a good thing?)

Also, another question. I was going to build their run about 36'x20', with 6' fencing. But I did want to cover it with some sort of netting as we have the occasional bird of prey in the area. Any ideas on how to cover an area that large? Maybe I should go with something narrower, like 36'x10'? They will also have access to about 1 1/2 acres of chain link fenced free range area during the day.

Edited post to add drawing of coop

 

[yelim]

I got a plan from somewhere on this sight I think. It was a shed roof plan that I used. I hope you can see in the pics about the run. I used welded wire 1" x 2" top and sides with 1/2" x 48" hardware cloth
around the bottom 30 ". I extended it out and burried or covered it about 18".

 

[RiddleMe]

Thanks yelim, nice run! Are your posts 8' or 10' apart? And are those roofing nails that you used to attach your wire?

 

[Pharm Girl]

Quote:
I love your set-up and have coop/run envy!! Good luck on your coop design fellow Oregonian. It sounds like you are thinking things through and will be very happy with the outcome. Good luck.

 

[elmo]

If you haven't read this page yet, do check it out:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

Does the ventilation you're planning come into the range of 1 square foot per chicken ...or in other words, 12 square feet? Don't include the windows for this calculation unless you live someplace where the winters are very mild and you'll be able to leave them open.

If you live someplace with hot summers, you'll want maybe double that number, with the rest of the additional ventilation down lower to catch cooling breezes.

Welcome to the forum! It's a beautiful coop you're planning there.

 

[RiddleMe]

Quote:
I did read that article, and it was incredibly helpful as I was originally planning to close off the eaves! At this point I think I've got about 18 sq ft of passive ventilation, not counting windows/doors (see below list). But maybe I'm calculating wrong...

Vented eaves (I'm using 2x6 boards for the rafters) - 12' x 6" eave openings x 2 sides = 12 sq ft
Two 18"x24" gable vents, one on each end of the building = 6 sq ft
Vented shingles for the ridgeline = ??? (not sure how much this would contribute)

Regardless, I think you're right, I need more as I'm trying to design to have room for chicken math. I can add another ~5 sq ft to the NE side of the building using 2 vents @ 8"x4'. If I put it 6' high that should keep it 2-3' above the roost. Any suggestions on the best place to put some lower level venting, maybe next too/under the nest boxes, or on the NW wall. How much would I want as cross ventilation vs perpendicular placements? I will have to close any passive ventilation that is not protected in some way (louvered, angle of roofline, nearby tree, etc) as we get wicked winds/wind gusts where I live fall to spring, the type that can flip over heavy patio furniture and tear shingles off a house.

 

[Newbie in Screamer Al]

Really nice Yelim....

 

[yelim]

Sorry for the delay.
I didn't remeasure but I think the post are 8' on center.
On the welded wire I used fence staples and on the hardware cloth and wire cover I used screws and fender washers, as I learned from someone
on this forum.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think you are very wise to plan for the future. My basic laying/breeding flock is 7 hens and a rooster, yet I have had as many as 34 chickens, counting newly hatched. I raise my replacement layers plus raise them for meat. Your goals may be different, but you did mention a broody raising chicks. Expect to go well above your 12 you start with.

I am a firm believer in the more space you can provide the better. We have rules of thumb on this forum for the minimum space that will probably keep you out of trouble, but exceeding that space makes management easier. It is not wasted space.

Sounds like your 8' x 12' coop is going to be much nicer than mine. Instead of soffits with vents, I just left the area under the roof between the rafters open and covered that with hardware cloth. Ventilation is not a problem for me, but I am in a different climate. We all do things differently.

They do not need a second chicken door. Having one will not hurt anything, but it is not necessary. A separate area that you can close off if you want to is a pretty good idea. You can leave the door open when it is not in use, so you don't lose the benefit of that space, but it can come in handy to isolate a broody, keep an injured chicken separate from the flock yet with it, as a grow-out pen for brooder raised chicks, or to keep chickens for integration. I'd suggest partitioning off a section of the run outside that second spare door so any chicken kept in there can be let outside and still maintain separation.

A lot of the layout inside is just personal preference. What you have will work. A few things to consider. It is generally best to have the nest boxes fairly dark compared to other areas in the coop. Chickens usually like to lay in places that are hidden from predators and a little dark seems to be a criteria. This does not mean that they will not lay in bright open areas, just that they usually like darker areas. With that much window space, putting them under the windows where the top shades them may be the best spot.

It is best to put the roosts as low as possible yet make sure they are clearly the highest thing the chicken can get to, especially clearly higher than the nest boxes. You do not want them sleeping in the nest boxes. They poop a lot when they sleep and you don't want poopy eggs. So clearly higher roosts. But chickens can hurt themselves getting down from the roosts. It does not happen very often but the larger the chicken is, the more likely it is to happen. When they get off the roosts, they spread their wings and fly down, so it is not like they are doing a cannonball dive to the floor. Many large fowl breeds come off higher roosts every day with never a problem, but why risk it? As low as possible is better. Another thing. The higher the roost, the more horizontal room they need to fly down. Your coop should be plenty big enough to avoid this, but in a tight coop with a high roost, they can hit walls, nest boxes, feeders, waterers, whatever on the way down. Another thing. When they roost, they need to be out of drafts. If they are roosting lower than the level of your vents, any draft from those vents will pass over their backs.

If you do build a storage area, remember they like to roost as high as they can. High shelves make great roosting areas. Also, they will play up on shelves during the day, knocking things off. You might seriously consider some type of door on any shelves. And don't forget dust. Anything you put in the coop will be covered in dust. They shed dander. They poop a lot and it dries out. When they scratch, it becomes dust that coats everything.

Your nest boxes can be any height. You can put them on the floor or as high as you want for convenience of gathering eggs, as long as the roosts are clearly higher. If you raise them off the floor, I suggest raising them high enough above the height of the bedding so they and you have plenty of room to get under there. Under those raised nest boxes can be great places for them to decide to lay eggs. It can be quite cozy and dark. If you don't have enough room, they will scratch the bedding away from the feeder and under the nest boxes, actually raising the level of the bedding under there. If they get blocked off where the chickens cannot get under there, that area becomes a nice safe place for mice to build nests and raise families. If you put your nest boxes at floor level, they might want to hang in there during the day and leave their poopy deposits or scratch stuff from the floor of the coop into the nests. Many people have nests on the floor and love them. Many people have nest higher up and love them.

Since your coop is 12 feet wide, I suggest you consider a run 12 feet wide. It just seems a natural fit. A 12' x 32' run should give you plenty of run room for the size of your coop. I suggest a 32' run as I set my fence posts on 8' centers. I certainly won't argue if you go for a larger run, since more space is always better, but that should be sufficient, especially as you plan to free range them most of the time.

I'm not real familiar with your climate. I assume it is fairly dry but that you do get snow in the winter. Mine don't mind the cold. Mine will go out and play in single digits Fahrenheit weather, provided the snow and wind is not too bad. I've got some that even go out in the snow, but they really don't like wind. They may even go out and play in below zero weather. I just don't get much of that so I don't know. I suspect you will have days in the winter with snow and wind where they may not want to go outside. That is where the extra room in your coop comes in handy. But if you cover a portion of your run with a solid roof, you can keep the snow out (might need to put something up on the fence, a tarp maybe, to block the wind and blowing snow) and give them a place to play even during "bad" weather. A sloping roof will also keep water out of your run, which is a good thing. A solid roof may also help shade them in the summer, another good thing. So I suggest you consider covering the section near the coop with a solid roof.

You have to walk under any roof you put on your run. If you are like me, when you walk you bounce up and down a bit, so you really need the roof high enough to account for your bouncing as your walk. If you are 5'-11", six feet is not enough. Something I strongly urge you to consider. When you wear a baseball type cap, you cannot always see those low sections.

If you don't use a solid roof, I suggest you use some wire fencing to cover the run. Plastic gets brittle and fails pretty quickly.

When someone says they use staples for the fencing, they do not mean those little staples from a hand powered stapler. Predators or just the wind will rip those out. They mean fencing staples, the kind you drive in with a hammer or the really big ones from some powered equipment. Don't take the stapler from your office and expect to do any good. You'd be surprised how many people get confused on this.

Many people attach hardware cloth with screws and large washers. It works and they seem real happy with that method, but I do it differently. I use strips of wood, usually around 1/2" thick, and screw that over the ends of the hardware cloth. I predrill the holes so the wood does not split and make sure the screws go inside a hole in the hardware cloth. That will not come off and it has the advantage of covering the sharp ends of the wire. When you are as graceful as I am, you learn to not leave too many sharp edges around.

Hope you get something useful out of this. Good luck and welcome to the adventure.

 

[yelim]

The wood lathes are a great thing. I wish I was good enough to get the wire straight enough to cover the ends
with wood lathe. But alas with not so level ground I could keep the washers and screws somewhat straight.