Newbie with coop design questions and pressure treated lumber question.

[randrjensen]

I am new here and my wife and I are located in Florida and looking forward to spending time on here, building a coop and getting started with chickens. I'm looking to keep just 4 chickens or so. My main question is it ok to use pressure treated lumber or is it somehow dangerous to the chickens? Also I was thinking of building my coop in an empty stall in my barn so weather and varmints aren't much of an issue. It's a 3 sided barn so if I keep the stall doors open, the chickens could come and go as they please. I was going to let them free range all day and just lock them up at night. I am on 10 acres. I was just looking for ideas on designs just to make them a home to roost, lay eggs and feel safe. Any suggestions. I wouldn't even really need a run or anything just a "house". I see lots of coops but don't really get to see many pictures of the insides. Just trying to get ideas on a layout for nest boxes and places to roost. Thanks for any feedback.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I would recommend that your enclosure inside the barn for the chickens be made of 1/2 inch hardware cloth. It is the only thing that will keep out rats, weasels, and raccoons. They all kill chickens. It is very expensive but worth it. So welded wire fencing is fine for daytime but not nighttime. Chicken wire will let a raccoon in just fine with little inconvenience to the coon.

If your barn is free of rats/weasels and is closed up tight at night then you could go cheap!

I would not put the pressure treated stuff where the chickens would touch it. I have PT wood on the part touching the ground on my coop (the corner posts) but the rest is reg. plywood/2 x 4.

Lots of folks have done the horse stall chicken coop and it works well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/576511/making-a-horse-stall-into-a-coop-graphic-heavy

Don't let your chickens roost up too high or they may get bumblefoot.

Put your nestboxes lower than your roosts or they will sleep in the nestboxes.

 

[randrjensen]

Thanks for the great info. I was actually thinking of building some kind of coop inside the stall rather than turning the entire stall into a coop. I figured if I could lock them inside there at night it would be twice the protection. In the mornings I would just open the coop and the stall door and let them roam free.