Plans and/or material lists

[audioguy]

I am very new. I have been trying to convince my wife to raise a few layers and I think I finally have her won over. Now I need to built a coop. I really like the picture of the coops on the site, but not many have dimensions and or plans for the build. I have a great fenced in area that is inside or my garden. I don't use the entire area for veggies, so why not use it for a few chickens.
Is there a way to find specific plans listed somewhere?
We are only looking to house 3 or 4 hens. I was thinking something 8 X 10?
Thanks

 

[patman75]

8X10 will be more than enough for 3-4 chickens. Which is probably good because you will want more once the chicken addition kicks in. Plus the bigcoop will be good for them in the winter, making areas for chicks or seperating a broody hen

I built an 8X8 because the lumber is pretty much cut to length you need and it is big enough for 15 chickens. See my BYC page

 

[My6Chicks]

Audioguy,

Welcome to the site, you wil find it filled with great suggestions and wonderful people. Take a look at my coop (see BYC page) which is similar in size to what you have in mind. I do have some rough lumber diagrams (very crude) and I can easily reconstruct the materials list or help you come up with an estimate if the size is different. There are some other fantastic coops, so you should take some time looking around and see what meets your needs.

Let me know if I can help...

 

[elmo]

I have the drawings and materials list for my new 8' by 8' coop on this page:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=32217-the-just-right-coop

I love the design and it's working out really well.

 

[TajMahalChickens]

Exact building plans are hard to find. Like you realized, most people just post pictures. You probably will just have to find a picture of a design that you like, and then build it off of a sketch that you draw (that's what I did).

One book that does have some rough design scetches is Chicken Coops: 40 plans for Housing your Flock by Judy Pangman. It has many nice plans.

I haven't read it, but Building Chickens Coops for Dummies seems like it might be useful.

If you are just housing a three to four hens, you don't need a big or extravagant coop. Something like a dog house will work. I have a wooden 4x4 crate that was used for transporting oil barrels that would be perfect for five hens. Since you don't necessarily have to walk in a coop with so few hens, building shouldn't be hard.

if you want a large walk in coop, just build a regular shed. If you are not a builder, any regular storage shed that you can buy at home Depot will do.

As far as size, the recommended space is two-three square feet per bird.

Good luck, and happy coop building.

 

[patandchickens]

If you want to build something walk-in (shed) sized, there are a number of excellent books on the market about how to build a backyard shed. Try your library, interlibrary loan,or bookstores. Many of them have plans and materials lists and very detailed step by step photos. All you need to do to adapt for chicken housing is add more ventilation, a roost, a popdoor and fence in a run.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[audioguy]

Thanks to everyone for their replies. Very helpful! I am very handy, and looking for specific plans are tough. I can build anything, with a plan! I thought about the dog house as a coop, and had a few ideas in my head. But being new to raising chickens, I wanted to make sure I did it right. I would hate to use something that would injure or kill them. No so much for me, but my two girls 8 & 10. They are very excited about getting them. I think they have some name picked out also!!
Again, thanks for all the help. I will make sure to post pics of the project to post here!

 

[audioguy]

Quote:
I checked out your coop and it looks like its just about the right size for our needs. I think I can use your dimensions and create my own to fit our space! We might just copy your design since everyone has told me that once you get the chicken bug I will want more! Leaves room for more guests!!

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Chickens need way more ventilation than dogs, and they also poop constantly throughout the night, so a dog house style coop really should have modifications to take into account these realities. Figure about 1 square foot of vent per chicken, ideally high up on the top of one or more walls so that during the winter cold air won't blow in the vent onto the birds on their roost. It's tricky to manage this in a coop that is less than around 4 feet in height. During warm weather, ventilation in addition to this (lower down) will help keep chickens cooler, since they can't take off their down coats and can suffer in the heat. If you live someplace that gets hot summers, you'll want to pay particular attention to designing your coop to manage the heat (siting it someplace in your yard that gets afternoon shade, for example).

I'm a big advocate of poop boards, or trays in my case. I built a shelf under the roost with a tray that collects the night time droppings. In the morning, these trays are easy to remove, dump out in my composter, and replace. Morning chores take less than five minutes, and the coop stays clean this way.

 

[My6Chicks]

Quote:
I checked out your coop and it looks like its just about the right size for our needs. I think I can use your dimensions and create my own to fit our space! We might just copy your design since everyone has told me that once you get the chicken bug I will want more! Leaves room for more guests!!

Audioguy, Just let me know how I can help. It might be best to send me an email, I will get to that much quicker than a posting. And, yes, you will want more....