noobie mistake again, can I be fixed?

[drunkdog]

Ok laugh if you must but bring it on so I can adjust ...I have set aside a chunk of yard that is roughly 15ft by 25ft, I ordered 15 (but am only keeping up to 10) Black australorp pullets and 1 cockerel and theyll be here next week...I know I have about what 6weeks before I need a henhouse/hutch as the pullets will be in my shed in a brooder box for some time soo....my origional plan was a hutch and keeping only 5 now im to 10 so a double stacked hutch (like a rabbit hutch) or an actual smallish henhouse? keeping in mind the idea is to maximize the area set aside as outdoors with grass so that even when they arent runnin my yard theyll have ample room.....I find myself scrambling no for a solid house idea/concept/plan ...ao I am open to abuse/mocking/help as deemed neccessary....

 

[Laurieks]

Quote:
Depends on where you are... they can have the whole space, with a 3 sided shelter with perches and nest boxes (Broccolli boxes from Costco make great nest boxes, and are disposable/compostable

)
Also depends on predator potential... I use 4" stock panels for some spaces, since few bad critters get past the dog. The chicks go right through it, so pullet size is a factor too. The panels are strong enough to use as roof/ceiling, with plywood, etc. to keep out the rain.

Happy brooding!

 

[EggsForIHOP]

I'm not laughing at you, or even with you - in fact I am feeling your pain! Wanted just 5 chickens - my idea, my new hobby, 5 chickens and hoped to get some eggs here and there out of it.

Now we have 11 chicks 6 weeks old, 20 chicks not even 1 week old and potentially more on the way (DH ain't telling what that charge on the bank account is). Speak of DH - he is WAY into this now and I never expected that either!

I built a cute little hoop coop/chicken tractor deal - then started on the actual BIG coop. Let me tell you what I should have done and what I pray you to do: JUST BUY A SHED AND MAKE THE FEW NEEDED ADJUSTMENTS!


6 weeks and at least 20 trips to Home Depot and Lowes and the local hardware store later, we STILL have NOT finished the coop. Looking at receipts tonight I have decided I just should have coughed up the money for a small premade shed and added roosts and nest boxes and called it a day! IF I had known then what I know now, I would have saved a little cash here, a little cash there, and right before I put them outside I would go get my shed...trust me...it's all fun and games until it pours rain the day you plan to put the roof on!

If you do decide to build tho - good luck (sincere, honest best wishes!) On your behalf I pray for sunny days, straight cuts and squares corners!

 

[KenCoesta]

Actually, no - not a lot of mocking around here.
I just finished mine today (minus paint and run), and I wish I had been more on the ball with the coop.
The general rule is 4sf per chicken in the coop and 10sf per chick in the run.

The space you've alotted for the run is plenty big enough.
If you want your chickens to be happy and productive (and not kill eachother) your coop will need to be WAAAY bigger than you think it needs ot be.
Mine's about 10ft tall - I can't believe it!

Dig around in this discussion and you'll get plenty of awesome advice.
Good luck!

 

[Intheswamp]

Open for anything, eh? Ok, let's talk about that username first....

just kiddin'.

Here is a link to a list of plans for different sized coops. A few walk-in coop plans/ideas if you can use'em...

Scroll down the page to the coop with the title "Another link to Plan #6232". This is a set of plans for 8'x8' coop and has some good details to it. It would be a little large but would give you ample space in case the chickens need to stay in there for extended lengths of time (for instance, if you're located in the north where it snows and gets *really* cold). Look at the other plans and see what looks attractive and feasible to you. Lot's of people go by 4 square feet of coop space per large fowl chicken (regular, big chickens) and 10 square feet of run area for the same type/size of birds. More room per bird is always better.

If you could tell us your rough location for climate/environmental reasons it would help. It can get expensive as you let it get when building a coop...scavenging material, craigslist, free-cycle, roadside piles of wood from remodeling jobs, second-hand surplus stores, etc., can all lower the expense.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[drunkdog]

wow thanks for the replies already....first I am in wa State so weather can be a problem ..winters can be chilly...so I am thinking it should be enclosed...again my origional idea being a cross between some fo the chicken tractor designs ive seen and a rabbit hutch....now leaning towards a larger structure....I am a journeyman carpenter so the building part is a lot of the fun to me

, I simply dont want to do it twice

....my garden is too close to give much more room so I may have to revisit having less birds too even with the out of run time theyll get....and drunkdog ...yeah long story involving dogsleds, huskies, and a rookie that looked like a bottlerocket with no stick being let loose on the world

 

[drunkdog]

additional measurements have decided for me the house/structure cannot exceed 6by10 thank you all again

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:

Thanks for the visual image!!!

Ed

 

[MotherJean]

Howdy neighbor!

I'm up in Skagit County so I know your weather well. You definitely need an enclosed coop AND at least a partly covered run. We get way to many rainy days up here and you don't want to keep your flock cooped up in a small space for days on end because of wet weather. Build the biggest possible coop now that you can afford and have space for. Build out, not up. You only need it tall enough for you to walk into for easy cleaning. That "4 sq. feet per bird" measurement for the coop is really the absolute minimum space you should have for this climate. Bigger is better. 10 sq. feet per bird of run space is adequate. If you must sacrifice one for the other, short the run and expand the coop. Seriously, most chickens are not happy being wet. From November through May they'll want to spend most of their time under cover in the run or inside the coop. I don't know about you, but I'm not happy being wet either. A coop and run that you can get inside to feed, water, clean, and collect eggs is miles better than standing in the rain and wind to do it. Many here on the forum will also tell you, "sand is your friend." Believe it. It's the only thing that will save you from a chicken run that is a gooey mud pit a majority of the year. Shavings and straw become a sodden mess. It molds, it stinks, it's hard to clean up. You don't want to go there. Hope this all helps you with your plans. None of us wants to do this twice, but many of us have to because of a) lack of money; b) lack of time; c) no building skills; or, d) we planned/built in good weather for 5 hens and never considered its suitability for December or January with 10 hens

Oh, and one last bit of advice...start building tomorrow. Six weeks positively flies by and you're going to be REALLY anxious to get those chicks out of the brooder and into their coop and run. Wishing you all the best with your new flock.

 

[featherz]

This is happening to us too. We are building (roofing goes on today) a coop out of a kid's treehouse/playset that I estimate will hold 4-5 chickens, 6 if they are squished. I have eight chicks with 6 more on the way, possibly 7 if one of the ones I have now turns out to be a roo. I was so sure I'd have losses in transit or that I was such a newbie that some of my chicks would not make it.. but they seem healthy and ready to roll.

So we now are ALSO building a larger coop out of an old trailer - I would have just bought a cheapie shed but I kept thinking 'they are all metal, I want wood.. the wood ones are more money.. blah blah blah'. Hahahhaa.