emcd124
In the Brooder
- Jul 19, 2016
- 18
- 4
- 27
Hi all,
We are looking to acquire two young chickens from a local farmer. I plan to "hack" an old Ikea tv cabinet into a coop for two chickens. I read several books about coops, but there are still a few things I'm unsure about. In particular:
*do the nesting boxes have to be high (eg a second story inside) or can they be on the ground floor?
*how high up do the roosting rods have to be up off the floor?
*and (relatedly) how high is the distance that a chicken will go without a ladder, and what distance requires a ladder? If the roost is 6" off the ground will the chickens just jump up there?
the interior of the cabinet is 23.5" high by 22.5" deep by 35" wide. I will replace the Ikea cardboard back panel with one of the two former interior shelves, with a window and a door cut into the back to provide access to the run. (there will also be a 1" gap at the top that I will enclose in wire for more ventilation. The whole thing will get a layer of exterior paint and I'm looking into some simple slanted roof options, maybe corregated metal.
After a number of sketches, I'm down to two interior design possibilities. I'd love advice from more seasoned chicken folks.
One plans to elevate the 12" cubed nesting box so there is 11" clearance underneath for more ground space. This would require adding a porch to get to an attached 2nd story roost, and an interior chicken ladder to get up there. From what I've read chickens like being high. But all this will be a bit more complicated to construct.
The alternative (below) proposes to put the 12" nesting box right on the floor in front of the openable tv cabinet doors (to make for easy harvesting of eggs, on the bottom of the image) and to attach a removable roost set up right next to it (also in front of the doors for easy removal/cleaning). It would always be possible to elevate these in the future, or alternatively to add in a second story interior porch hand out area onto of and extending beyond the nesting box.
Any flaws jump out at you? one of them decidedly better than the other?
We are looking to acquire two young chickens from a local farmer. I plan to "hack" an old Ikea tv cabinet into a coop for two chickens. I read several books about coops, but there are still a few things I'm unsure about. In particular:
*do the nesting boxes have to be high (eg a second story inside) or can they be on the ground floor?
*how high up do the roosting rods have to be up off the floor?
*and (relatedly) how high is the distance that a chicken will go without a ladder, and what distance requires a ladder? If the roost is 6" off the ground will the chickens just jump up there?
the interior of the cabinet is 23.5" high by 22.5" deep by 35" wide. I will replace the Ikea cardboard back panel with one of the two former interior shelves, with a window and a door cut into the back to provide access to the run. (there will also be a 1" gap at the top that I will enclose in wire for more ventilation. The whole thing will get a layer of exterior paint and I'm looking into some simple slanted roof options, maybe corregated metal.
After a number of sketches, I'm down to two interior design possibilities. I'd love advice from more seasoned chicken folks.
One plans to elevate the 12" cubed nesting box so there is 11" clearance underneath for more ground space. This would require adding a porch to get to an attached 2nd story roost, and an interior chicken ladder to get up there. From what I've read chickens like being high. But all this will be a bit more complicated to construct.
The alternative (below) proposes to put the 12" nesting box right on the floor in front of the openable tv cabinet doors (to make for easy harvesting of eggs, on the bottom of the image) and to attach a removable roost set up right next to it (also in front of the doors for easy removal/cleaning). It would always be possible to elevate these in the future, or alternatively to add in a second story interior porch hand out area onto of and extending beyond the nesting box.
Any flaws jump out at you? one of them decidedly better than the other?