Our First Coop!

[Dmontgomery]

Jack, Google search "chicken coop kit" and see what you get.

 

[Intheswamp]

That looking pretty good. Someone mentioned removing the blocking at the eves....I agree with that. It would create some very good ventilation. I see that you've drilled some large holes in a piece or two of the blocking...it would be much better to just have open (screen covered) ventilation it all around the eaves. One square foot of ventilation per large fowl is good, more is better. You can figure that glass-paned window will handle close to four birds-worth of airflow.

How high are your roost poles going to be?

It looks like you will be able to get eggs and open the pop door without entering the run area, nice! I like the area set apart for storage...very handy!

Good job! Your chickens are gonna love it! ...and thanks for the videos!!!
Ed

 

[Intheswamp]

On the roof edge above the nest boxes... There's not enough room to nail a fascia board to the end of the rafters. If you decide to remove the blocking for more ventilation you could get a piece of bent metal flashing to hang over the edge to protect the vents from rain. It shouldn't be too hard of a modification.

Ed


ETA: And don't forget to screen over the vents if you do unblock them.

 

[aart]

Is that a nest box accessible from the storage area too?
Roosts are a way too high for foot print of coop......might be some wall crashes.

 

[vanderbecks]

yes there is another nest box accessible from the storage room. My goal was to make all the boxes access from the outside of the coop . There is also now a feeder that fills from the storage. In reply to the height of the roosts . I was told to make them as high as possible and above the nesting boxes. I will have to see how that one plays out i guess.

 

[aart]

yes there is another nest box accessible from the storage room. My goal was to make all the boxes access from the outside of the coop . There is also now a feeder that fills from the storage. In reply to the height of the roosts . I was told to make them as high as possible and above the nesting boxes. I will have to see how that one plays out i guess.

You only really need 1 nest for each 3-5 birds....watch for leakage on the exterior nest.
Roost are best higher than nests, but only by about a foot, so they won't roost(sleep....and poop) in nests......
....but roost height also needs to be relative to the foot print of coop so they have room to open their wings to fly down without hitting anything.

What are the dimension of the coop....how many birds do you plan on having?

Also agrees that more ventilation is needed.

 

[vanderbecks]

The coop itself is 8x4.5 we have 17 chicks coming next week

You only really need 1 nest for each 3-5 birds....watch for leakage on the exterior nest.
Roost are best higher than nests, but only by about a foot, so they won't roost(sleep....and poop) in nests......
....but roost height also needs to be relative to the foot print of coop so they have room to open their wings to fly down without hitting anything.

What are the dimension of the coop....how many birds do you plan on having?

Also agrees that more ventilation is needed.