Newbie Needs Coop Suggestions

[burd66]

Hello all! I am new to BYC and chickens. I am planning to get 3 or 4 hens mainly as pets. I want to buy or build a basic, inexpensive house or coop to keep them in at night. I live on several acres and believe predators could be a problem. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Margaret

 

[MissJames]

Quote:
My standard answer....make it bigger than you think you want.You will want more chickens!

 

[ranchhand]

Hi Margaret, and

!

If you look at the blue bar above, click on Index, and then look for Coop & Run Design and Construction, you will find a whole array of ideas!
Every time I look in there I get totally inspired! Once you decide, please take pictures, we LOVE pics!
Good luck, you will do fine, looking forward to future posts!

 

[wingnut1]

Hey Margaret!!! Congrats on deciding to get some feathered friends!

There is info all over this place that might be helpful for you -

We have predators, and our coop is enclosed by a pen. I have the pen floor covered in hardware cloth, and this runs up the sides of the pen for 2 feet. I have wire fencing with lager holes from the ground up to 6 feet. There is a net on the top that keeps out flying predators, and I make sure the chickens are locked up tight every night without exception.. That's worked for me so far. Hope this helps!

The coop itself has roofing tiles to keep the rain out, and a good overhang to keep the rain from coming in when it is windy. We live in a warm climate, so I have many spots/areas cut out and covered with hardware cloth for ventilation -- and these ventilation areas are covered in the winter with wood, plastic, etc...

Good luck!!!! And do look around - this place is FULL of info on coop design!!!

Again - welcome!!!

 

[andehens]

from California! The coop section should keep you busy looking for awhile!

 

[chookchick]

Okay, if you are absolutely, positively, would never think of getting any more chickens (yeah, right!), then the playhouse coop idea (4 by 8 footprint, double decker) might work well for you. Except build the roosting area as a 4 by 4 and give it a nice wide door to clean it out. That is what I did when I first started, and it works well for about 3 chickens, would be okay for 4 if you let them out a bit during the day. I like the fact that they have a very secure area that they can hang out outside if I am not there early in the morning. I ended up building a separate day run, then moving the coop and building a larger day run. I am pretty sure that by the end of the summer, I will have too many chickens to work with this coop, and will need to rebuild, so be forewarned!

 

[rays123]

Quote:
My standard answer....make it bigger than you think you want.You will want more chickens!

X2