Our new coop for a newbie

[thisdman]

Hello everyone and thank you for all your comments and suggestions. We are new to chickens and use this site a lot to help us learn. This is my first post.

Our girls have moved into the coop today, we have 6. I really hope I built this right. Please let me know your thoughts and if you see something out of place or something I could improve please let me know.

Ok here it is. It's total size is 8x8 (I know that's big for 6 chickens but I also know my lovely wife so I'm sure this is only the start). It's built on 4x4 treated posts sunk and concreted into the ground. The entire foundation is built on pressure treated lumber. I used 2x4's and a 3/4" plywood floor.

On this side the windows are 18x18. I used glass in the windows and built all 4 prior to coop construction. The door to the nesting boxes are offset to allow for a small closet in the coop.

Here's the side with the pop door. The door looks funny because it has an extra flap hinged onto the actual door. With the coop up 2 feet off the ground I wanted the walkway a little less steep. The windows here are 18x24.

Here's the back. Only the ventilation hole here.

Inside the coop. We are using sand on the floor. 4 nesting boxes, each 12" wide by 15" long and 15" high. They will have a tub inside to make it nice and comfy.

Roosting bar. This is removable for cleaning. I also have a way to raise it once the babes get a little bigger. We plan on using the poop canopy.

Here's the utility closet. It's about a 2'x2' space.

All the holes have locks like these. You would need apposable thumbs to get past these babies. The main door has 2 of them.

Finally here is a photo of our 330 lbs. of protection, you know once they get used to "all the single ladies".

What do you think!!!

 

[chfite]

You need more ventilation than the small vents that are visible in the photographs. Replacing them with openings about 24" x 24" would be much better for the chickens.

Chris

 

[Mac14]

You need more ventilation than the small vents that are visible in the photographs. Replacing them with openings about 24" x 24" would be much better for the chickens.

Chris

He has the windows though, wouldn't that be enough? Or did misread something, and there is no screen on the windows?


To thisdman: I have to say it's beautiful! Great job!

 

[BrendaJ]

Beautiful coop - love it. You did a really nice job
Ventilation is very important - drafts are what you want to avoid. You could add more vents or make the ones you have bigger. You can find great articles on ventilation on here - talks about ventilation needs per sq ft of coop.
Love the coop & the Great Danes !!!
Are you going to build a run or just let them free range?

 

[MoonShadows]

Great job. I would suggest you enclose the utility closet with wood or everything you store in it will have a coating of white dust from the chickens. (My girls have been in their coop for 4 weeks now, and all the flat surfaces must have a 16th of an inch of white dust.) If you don't mind it, the chicken wire will do just fine.

 

[thisdman]

Thanks for all the compliments and suggestions. I am concerned about the ventilation, however, we live in upstate NY and our winter temps go below freezing for months. It can get down into the single digits and even below zero. So it's a balancing act. I was not planning on opening any windows in the winter even though they all have screens and hardware cloth. It would be easy enough to make those vents bigger. I don't know what to do. I suppose I can make bigger vent holes and have some plugs handy if I need them or I can pull the caps off and put in a roof vent. Suggestions?

 

[thisdman]

Thank you Brenda. We are putting in a run. Lots of woods and predators. I'll build Fort Knox so the babes can thumb their noses at them. No bears around here. That's good, I can't beat a bear.

Thank you too Moonshadow. My wife takes over from here. I will be sure to tell her about your suggestion and I would be happy to enclose the closet if she wants.

 

[drumstick diva]

Raccoons have apposable thumbs and know how to use them. About the only locks they can't open(yet) are combination locks.

PS recommend removing the pile of dirt from underneath the coop - it gives rats and mice a good leg up, so they can work at chewing into the bottom of your coop.

 

[thisdman]

I didn't know that about the coons. Do you think they will get past my clips? The pile under the coop is sand that we will be using to fill the floor further. We had to move it to have so

 

[thisdman]

Sorry, hit the wrong button. I'll finish. We had to move the sand so some work could be done to our yard. We are trying to dry the sand in the sun before we put it into the coop. We'll start back with that task tomorrow. Lots and lots of field mice around here. The red tail hawks we have living next door love them. Yeah, I know, I'll cover the run.