post your chicken coop pictures here!

[timothyyoung]

How finished is your coop? I ask because (ASSUMING the nest boxes are in the coop) 13" isn't enough room for a chicken to walk under. If they could be raised to 18" you gain that floor space for the birds. 

To answer your specific question, they don't need an access perch for 13". They might not even open their wings for that height. I have an access perch at 18" on mine, the "lip" of the nest boxes is about 6" higher. They hop up with maybe a flap. They can get on the 4' high roosts with 3 flaps, including my big Black Australorp. 

The roosts should always be higher than the nest boxes. Chickens will typically roost as high as they can get. Mine totally ignore the 2' high roost except as a "halfway" step to the 4' high roosts. 

The coop is about 90% done. The nesting boxes are mounted on the outside. A row of 3 at 13 inches and a row of 3 at 27 inches. The ones at 27 I have a roost in front of for them to land on before entering the boxes.

 

[FarmerPhronc]

Given the 4 sq ft/bird rule (6x8 since the floor level nest box areas don't count), that is a 12 hen coop with 16 nest boxes. 12 hens likely won't even use 6 nest boxes. I would block off AT LEAST half of them (all of one side) and use that space to store stuff like feed, BOSS and scratch

Nice looking coop, looks well built.

I have 5 hens and 2 nesting boxes in my coop, they all lay in the same one.

 

[bruceha2000]

My personal opinion is that this Barn Coop will comfortably accommodate only 4 to 5 hens for both health and safety of the hens. I can't possibly imagine the manufacturer's suggested 15 chickens inside this 4x4 space with 5 total roosting bars where chickens can get pooped on from chickens sleeping on higher roost bars! My personal opinion/formula for how many chickens can be accommodated in a coop is to count the number of nest boxes. If there are 8 nest spaces, then 8 chickens would fit safely, if 4 nest spaces, then 4 chickens would fit safely and be healthy, etc. Now, only ONE nestbox is really needed for 4 to 5 hens to lay eggs but I just use the number of nestboxes in a manufacturer's coop to give me the proper number of chickens that will safely be accommodated in the coop space. Manufacturers always exaggerate the number of hens that will fit their tiny coops!

But Sylvester, you are ignoring the fact that some coop manufacturers stick WAY more nest boxes in the coops than the coop can properly hold in chickens. Coopmaster's coop is a recent example. 6x8 bird space = 12 chickens but there are 16 nest boxes. Given that 4 birds will easily use one nest box, the coop could accommodate 48 hens ... as long as 3/4 of them live somewhere else

I would go with - Measure the floor area. Subtract any square footage that is under something less than 18" high. That includes roosts, nest boxes, feeders and waterers. Divide the remaining area by 4. That is the number of chickens the coop can house AND there must be at least that much lineal footage of roosts.

IF and ONLY IF your chickens are NEVER locked in the coop except when they are asleep, you can get more birds in if you have the roost space.

The coop is about 90% done. The nesting boxes are mounted on the outside. A row of 3 at 13 inches and a row of 3 at 27 inches. The ones at 27 I have a roost in front of for them to land on before entering the boxes.

Perfect!

 

[timothyyoung]

But Sylvester, you are ignoring the fact that some coop manufacturers stick WAY more nest boxes in the coops than the coop can properly hold in chickens. Coopmaster's coop is a recent example. 6x8 bird space = 12 chickens but there are 16 nest boxes. Given that 4 birds will easily use one nest box, the coop could accommodate 48 hens ... as long as 3/4 of them live somewhere else 

I would go with - Measure the floor area. Subtract any square footage that is under something less than 18" high. That includes roosts, nest boxes, feeders and waterers. Divide the remaining area by 4. That is the number of chickens the coop can house AND there must be at least that much lineal footage of roosts. 

IF and ONLY IF your chickens are NEVER locked in the coop except when they are asleep, you can get more birds in if you have the roost space.


Perfect!   

Coop floor space is 4' x 8'. No roosts or anything lower than 18". 6 nesting boxes that are 12" x 12". Front wall is 7'6" tall back wall is 6'2" tall. Front wall has full size man door and a 36" x 36" window. We are planning 5 - 6 hens.

 

[beautifulpirate]

Here is our in progress. I designed it, drew out the blueprints and plans and did all the math myself. The husband and I are building it together. Should be done in another week or two. We only get an hour or two every other day or so to work on it.

 

[ChickenMami6]

Some of these are SO pretty! I am a first timer and right now our feather babies are inside in their "tub" and heating lights and I just drew up the plans for our coop yesterday. I am so excited to get it going!

 

[bruceha2000]

Quote:
Terrific, you even have room for a little "chicken math".

Some of these are SO pretty! I am a first timer and right now our feather babies are inside in their "tub" and heating lights and I just drew up the plans for our coop yesterday. I am so excited to get it going!

I would stop being excited to get going and GET GOING!

As a first timer you have NO IDEA just how fast those little birds grow. I know NOW because when I got my first ever chicks in 2012 they were brooding in a bathtub in the house while I was converting a horse stall. Really small at a couple of days. Still pretty small at a week. By 2 weeks they were getting out of the tub and onto the bathroom floor but couldn't get back in. They went in the coop at about 3 weeks. What seemed like a decent size space for chicks ran out of room! They were in the tub, they were on the edge of the tub, they were on the floor.

 

[gaitanm24]

Mine had to go to the big kids coop sooner than expected as well! We did have the coop first though, thank goodness!

 

[bruceha2000]

Mine had to go to the big kids coop sooner than expected as well! We did have the coop first though, thank goodness!

That is SO backwards!! Where is the fun and excitement when the coop is ready ahead of time?

 

[timothyyoung]

Terrific, you even have room for a little "chicken math".


I would stop being excited to get going and GET GOING!   As a first timer you have NO IDEA just how fast those little birds grow. I know NOW because when I got my first ever chicks in 2012 they were brooding in a bathtub in the house while I was converting a horse stall. Really small at a couple of days. Still pretty small at a week. By 2 weeks they were getting out of the tub and onto the bathroom floor but couldn't get back in. They went in the coop at about 3 weeks. What seemed like a decent size space for chicks ran out of room! They were in the tub, they were on the edge of the tub, they were on the floor.