Our NEW Coop Build Coming along;) (thanks to Carolina coop ideas)

[The Inspired Mom]

My husband is awesome! Just sayin’

I’ve wanted chickens for many years. Have magazines from 10 years ago when I first started dreaming of having our own chicks but with remodeling old home then buying this home & remodeling more over last 7 years we just haven’t had time and honestly space in our yard was a real concern. We don’t have much land but we are backed to state game land which is wonderful!!!! The last 2 mornings we saw a few deer around 6:30am just slowly gandering 30-50 feet from our back deck. Love it up here.

After many months of discussion we finally ordered baby chicks & they came within days of ordering. (Didn’t know if it would be hard to get since pandemic but they came quick We got our first batch a week & half ago and second batch 4 days ago. All are doing well...only had one chick die in the first batch so we have 19 chicks now.

Our family of 8 has been enjoying watching them grow. For mother’s day weekend my dear hubby started building the coop. He and our oldest 3 teens started that Saturday May 9,2020
Then on Sunday he kept working (normally we don’t work on Sundays because we would have church but since quarantine church is still shut down Praying this quarantine stuff ends SOON We miss friends & family but thankfully no one sick that we know so that’s huge praise This quarantine we wanted to have some good things come from it and we have 19 baby chicks & I planted 2 raised patio garden beds a couple weeks ago and I’m getting baby sprouts of my carrots & lettuce already! Woohoo!! I’m no gardener so this blesses my heart. Anyways...

Super EXCITED about our Chicken Coop!!!!!

We watched tons of chicken coop videos over last month and we really like Carolina Coop set up. We like many others that aren’t by them as well (I love the shed building ones with walk in storage) but for our budget and DIY and for layout we went with a Carolina coop style. We own a construction company so my husband doesn’t need a “plan” he’s just going by what we saw on the videos and what I want We did use some old scrap woods too to keep price down and we had a huge stack of pallets from 20 years ago that was kept inside. So that is what we are putting on outside. Not sure if I need to seal it yet but I’m loving the rustic cabin look so far!!!!

My husband has worked on it everyday after work and today is 2nd full weekend he’s been pushing to get it done so these baby chicks can have their brooder in the coop.

We know the run isn’t huge....yes we have 19 chicks (supposed to have 20) but we are planning to build a chicken fenced in area behind the coop that we can let chickens out a few hours a day to forage. (with supervision) that area we wont leave chickens in when we go to town etc.

The coop itself we are planning to do deep litter method and put concrete board down (bc it was free) and it is smooth to clean out the coop. We are using 1/2 inch hardware cloth throughout coop and run (we don’t know if we need to put it on floor of run under a few inches of dirt or not? So if anyone has tips on that we’d appreciate it)

I’ll try to upload pics of process so far.

I’m thinking of doing a video on our new chicken family journey to put on you tube but we will see.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The coop itself we are planning to do deep litter method and put concrete board down (bc it was free) and it is smooth to clean out the coop. We are using 1/2 inch hardware cloth throughout coop and run (we don’t know if we need to put it on floor of run under a few inches of dirt or not? So if anyone has tips on that we’d appreciate it)

I guess my first question is, are you keeping all 19? It's a lovely build and I know Carolina Coop numbers like to run tight in the coop but 36 sq ft for 19 birds sure is tight, not just in overall sq ft but you're looking at 19 sq ft in ventilation to reach minimum recommendation, plus at least 19 ft of roost.

Also to clarify, deep litter won't work in a set up like this as it favors a dirt floor and moisture (which requires even more ventilation) in order for composting to happen. Deep bedding is what I assume you're doing? If not, rethink the deep litter...

I'm not a fan of putting hardware cloth or any wire on the floor of the run. Costs you extra money, and there's a risk of chickens digging down to it and injuring their feet. A safer-for-feet and still effective way of excluding digging predators is to apron around the outer perimeter of the run and coop.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I appreciate your input so much. How many birds are you thinking is good for a 6x6 hen house? We calculated tonight 1 square foot for each bird to roost will fit but it will be tight like you said. I think a 4 of my birds are cross Cornish meat birds?! Not for sure yet and they are adorable but I think of thinning the flock that way if need be or possibly selling some.

So the recommended space for chickens on here is 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, which would put you at just 9 birds. I know the argument is the birds will only be in there at night but crowding can become an issue day or night. Some flocks need more space, others get by just fine with less. Since you're hoping to keep as many birds as you can, you can try keeping them all for now (assuming you eat the Cornish X, that'll leave you with 15) but be ready to make changes if needed (such as rehoming), if behavioral issues start showing up with birds bullying one another off roosts or out of the coop.

Don't think you mentioned it, but how big is the run?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think looking at baby chicks it is hard to imagine how big they can get as a newbie.

Yup. Even I'm still amazed at how tiny chicks are compared to the adults.

Just snapped this this morning: my smallest hen checking out some 5 day old chicks. I keep secretly thinking that I accidentally got quail chicks, the chicks are just so tiny!

 

[rosemarythyme]

That is wonderful!!!! How many hens & baby chicks do you have?

My husband & oldest 3 boys worked on our coop again tonight. They put 18 feet of roost bars in and might add a couple extra feet bars to a corner but I told hubby I’m gonna give some away. I love my barred plythmoth Rocks already though. They are so quick to let me rub their necks. We have a rare breed that is tiny same age as this rocks but she’s smaller & so calm too..I had ordered a rare heritage breed mix box the first batch but they didn’t list what they are.

What’s your favorite breed?

I currently have 7 hens (a mix of 4-year-olds and 2-year-olds) and now 4 chicks. They're a mixed flock just because I like having a variety of chicken and egg colors, but my favorite breed overall would be Easter Eggers, due to the fact that they can come in almost any color, and it's fun getting blue or green tinted eggs.

Even if you end up giving some away, if it turns out that chicken keeping is enjoyed by your family, you could always expand in the future by using some of the current run space as part of a larger coop (and then adding a larger run). Having a mixed aged flock will help keep your family in eggs for years to come.

 

[aart]

The terms 'deep litter' and 'deep bedding' are often misunderstood and misapplied.
I've always liked this explanation:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-method-with-this-coop.1075545/#post-16440037

Even CC's claims that deep litter/bedding will last 2-3 years, especially at their population rates, is ridiculous.(Sorry, pet peeves)

 

[rosemarythyme]

Awww! Beautiful hen! Yessss the chicks are so tiny but ours are almost 2 weeks old and they are getting big fast . Thanks for sharing a pic Do you have a separate brooder for your chicks or are they part of the coop for now?

My brooder sits in the run, right on the ground. It's mutually beneficial to both chicks and hens: chicks get hen TV, and hens get chick TV.

 

[The Inspired Mom]

Wellllll tonight the hen house/coop has been almost finished We started this build May 9th and in 10 days it’s almost complete. (My amazing hubby has worked his day job and came home each day not even coming inside until 10pm each night). He’s exhausted but I SO appreciate his hard work and skills!!! Our older 3 teens (17,14,13) did an Amazing job helping build our coop! We still have the hardware cloth to put on apron & to build the water/feed system. & I want to put some solar lights around coop & mulch & plant some chicken herbs or plants for them to enjoy for snacks.


Thanks everyone for all your input! I soooo appreciate it!!!! I’ll post some pics of our baby chicks soon

 

[krbuerg]

How much did it cost?

 

[The Inspired Mom]

How much did it cost?

Ummm. Need to recalculate but so far it’s close to what I thought it’d be and more than my husband had dreamed I think to get chickens, supplies & our coop we have $1,000 so far. These eggs better taste amazing!!! Lol. We still want to get a coop auto door & have windows to cut in for coop...so need to buy polycarbonate window supplies if we go that route & we need to make the water & feed containers.