Planning stages - Coop Design

[fasbendera]

My doors swing into my coop and the threshold is at floor level. I am always pushing against bedding or clearing bedding to close the door. In hindsight I would either have my doors swing out or raise my doors to create a 4-6" lip to hold the bedding in. After dealing with this design I now realize that all the animal buildings on the hobby farm growing up and on my grandmas farm they opened out not in.

 

[AndrewH]

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My initial thoughts were to design an auto-waterer. Having a background in aquariums and ponds, a small trough with toilet guts connected shouldn't be too hard nor expensive, very similar to your design (though much larger).

LOL, great minds think alike... my rain water collection system will be several hundred gallons (probably 5000-10000 gallons once it's finish) and will include every roof on my property

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Again, coming from an aquarium background I wouldn't drink city water (processed water) if I had another choice.

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

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Two words for you Very Awsome I would love to see pics after it is all done and built for sure Good luck in getting it built.
I see some great ideas here but no vents be sure to put those in some where and cover your run with some sort of netting rather it be wire or plastic.

 

[AndrewH]

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I will have the incubators in the coop with brooding heat lamps as well. Inside the house is definitely a possibility, too.

Yeah, some of the "permanent" looking walls will be adjustable walls. They'll be updated on the next sketch.

Damn good idea bout the people door and pop doors being one in the same

. Owe you a rootbeer for that one!!!

 

[AndrewH]

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Now that I think about it, our doors always opened out and not in as well.

Good catch, thanks... rootbeer for you, too!

 

[AndrewH]

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Two words for you Very Awsome I would love to see pics after it is all done and built for sure Good luck in getting it built.
I see some great ideas here but no vents be sure to put those in some where and cover your run with some sort of netting rather it be wire or plastic.

thanks for the kind words and encouragement...

I know I've been rambling on throughout this thread so I completely understand some of the ideas getting lost. The next sketch should help gather all the ideas in one place

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Definitely will have a long series of pics and hopefully,

, some vids as it's built and once complete. Just have to get through this design phase then I'll go pick up the lumber

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Vents a must have in Texas! And definitely going to have netting over the run since there will be no other shade for them out there.

 

[patandchickens]

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LOL

I'll have an auto sprinkler system so the runs stay nice and green. Fingers crossed.

Sorry, but an auto sprinkler system is not going to help you keep the run "green" and may in fact accelerate it turning into a mud pit slash moonscape. It is not lack of water that kills grass in chicken runs, it is the CHICKENS

If you have a HUGE area (like on the order of many hundreds of square feet *per chicken*) then you may be able to avoid having *all* of it go to dirt, but the part around the coop and popdoor certainly will, and most people can't afford that big a run anyhow (not to mention it can't be hawkproofed and is harder to proof vs other predators)

Just so you know what you're getting into

If you really do have vast space, and vast budget, you could consider making a decent sized run adjacent to the coop as a 'sacrifice paddock' with one or several separate grassy runs beyond that, so that you can only let the chickens into the grassy paddocks as much as the grass will GRACEFULLY tolerate and keep the chickens confined to the sacrifice paddock the rest of the time.

Pat

 

[AndrewH]

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LOL

I'll have an auto sprinkler system so the runs stay nice and green. Fingers crossed.

Sorry, but an auto sprinkler system is not going to help you keep the run "green" and may in fact accelerate it turning into a mud pit slash moonscape. It is not lack of water that kills grass in chicken runs, it is the CHICKENS

If you have a HUGE area (like on the order of many hundreds of square feet *per chicken*) then you may be able to avoid having *all* of it go to dirt, but the part around the coop and popdoor certainly will, and most people can't afford that big a run anyhow (not to mention it can't be hawkproofed and is harder to proof vs other predators)

Just so you know what you're getting into

If you really do have vast space, and vast budget, you could consider making a decent sized run adjacent to the coop as a 'sacrifice paddock' with one or several separate grassy runs beyond that, so that you can only let the chickens into the grassy paddocks as much as the grass will GRACEFULLY tolerate and keep the chickens confined to the sacrifice paddock the rest of the time.

Pat

Good point. Budget over space is my problem. We have 3 acres, so plenty of room, but I think I like the sacrificial paddock idea (kinna like a lock system for ships). Might look into that a little more.

I'm planning to have adjustable fences within the runs, so that might accomplish the same thing.

Thanks for bring that to my attention

. Save money on the sprinklers and invest it in more adjustments in the runs... sounds reasonable.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Might I suggest you look through these links? I think they will help you. Especially on the lessons learned one, pick and choose the recommendations that apply to your situation and don't wory about the rest.

Pat’s Ventilation
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

Coop lessons learned
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=140561

I'd consider keeping all the coops, or at least all the feeding stations, near the food storage. Could save you a lot of time and steps.

I put outside access to my nest boxes but find I don't use them. It's easier for me to go inside and check things out when I gather the eggs. I've found an injured hen, a dead chicken, and a possom inside, all at different times. I can better tell if I need to rake it or clean the droppings out from under the roost. Many people use them, but for my specific situation, I would not put them in again. You can avoid the problems with proper design and construction, but to me they are a potential weak point with regard to predators, a potential source for water to get inside, and a potential source of a draft. You also spend extra money for hardware and more construction time. Some people really like theirs, though. Whatever suits you.

I made my roosts removable. Drill a hole in the roost and in the support then drop a 4" or 5" nail in it as a pin. This has come in handy a few times.

Don't forget a poop management plan. I see you are considering a droppings board. Where are you putting the poop? And when you clean out the litter, where do you put that? I suggest a compost heap. You'll be surprised at how much poop a few chickens can gift you with.

When situating your coop and run, consider water flow. You need to position them so water does not run into them and, from your coop roof, it drains away from the run.

 

[AndrewH]

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Thank you for the links... still reading

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(reserved for a response

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