Our Coop so far

[lifeofpaine]

Hey everyone, we started our coop today. But we need ideas for placement of the roost bar(s) and nest boxes (3) we figure the chicken door would be on a short side, but we need an egg door, and a human door (so I can get in and clean out the coop) The coop is 4ftwide, 7ft long, and 4ft high

 

[nhingy]

I built the nesting boxes out of the side of my coop and they have a lid that I lift to get the eggs, makes it really easy and it gives you more floor space.

The roosting perches we made come off the end and down to the floor, they are on hinges so when we need to clean we just lift them up and hook them and have access to the total area of the coop.

 

[lifeofpaine]

Can you post a picture of that? I just dont know if I should make a roost bar length ways or short ways

 

[BlueEggsDaily]

Here's what we did.. Ours was 4x6.. And also about 4 feet high... On the shorter ends we had the nesting boxes (3 of them) and the chicken door. Long sides was our window and a door to clean out coop which was about 4 feet wide and 4 feet high. Our Run is larger now than the picture and big enough and accessible to us. Inside the coop I put one long thick board up high longer way for the roost.. I have 7 chickens in there and I was surprised to see how much they like to scrunch together. Another 5 could easily be up there on that one roost. I have their feed inside so if I were to do another roost it wouldn't work because they would poop in the feed.
Anyways, hope this helps.

 

[nhingy]

Can you post a picture of that? I just dont know if I should make a roost bar length ways or short ways

I will get a picture tomorrow and post it, they are sleeping now.

 

[lifeofpaine]

Also keep in mind, I live in colorado. So we get snow. We have Dellies so they are hardy, but we still want to keep them warm. So IF I were to do a long window like that, how could I cover it for winter

 

[BlueEggsDaily]

We also might move somewhere it snows...
Here in Bakersfield it gets super hot so they needed a window. So if we moved where it snowed this is what I was gonna do:
I was planning on getting a sheet of plexiglass bigger than the window and from inside using scraps of wood nailed in in a fashion to be able to slide the glass in and out.
There's also tarp i wanted to use.. Small piece to place on top so snow can roll off and not get wood soaking wet making the coop colder.

 

[lifeofpaine]

I was thinking maybe putting hardware cloth on the inside of the window, and then cutting out a door on the outside that can be hooked on the outside for opening and closing

 

[KatD]

you need one linear foot per bird for roosting, One 12 x 18 inch nest will serve 3-4 hens. 4 square feet per bird in a coup is prefered but some say 2 square feet is adequite if the birds have a run. A run should ideally be 10 square feet per bird but some say less is okay if the birds are allowed out of the run. Also when installing your people door, keep in mind the distance you will have to reach when servicing the coup. I hope that helps.

 

[KatD]

That's a good idea if you still have ventilation to let the amonia escape somewhere at the top of the coup.