Project CoopDeVille

[FarmerJordan]

Hi all

FarmerJordan here, im new to the site and new to farming chickens, but after coming accross your wonderful community it has diffently built my confidence up on wanting to get started

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My Hens and Roosters will arrive May 19th. Mean while i have done got a brooder for them ready with a refrigerator box and few 55 gallon fish tank boxes..

Im wanting to go ahead and start Project CoopDeville My plan is build a small Town for my chickens.. Starting with the Town hall , My thoughts are ... 6ft in height 4ft wide and 16ft long.. Will also be incloseing my huge run for the chickens as well

burring the wire 1ft underground with top cover as well .. Any suggestions would be gr8full and very helpfull ... Like i said im new and im really wanting to get help with designs and ideals from this very experienced community ... Cant wait to get started..

Thanks so much again for a wonderful website and community ..

FarmerJordans (Chad & Rose ) [email protected]

 

[wynedot55]

heres a few helpful hints.build your henhouse 10 to 12ft high.6ft high has you bending over an stooping as your in there working.an thats no good.plus the hens have to have a roost to sleep on.an 6ft tall would be cramping them on the roost.oh an you need to make it something like 12ft or 16ft wide by 16 ft or 20ft long.because they need 2 to 4ft henhouse space pre hen.an you need nest boxes.im sorry but you cant turn around or move in a 4ft wide henhouse.

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Quote:
Dont know how thats going to work for you, but my wife would never go for it.

sorry I couldnt resist!

How many birds are you building this coop for? and what breeds, Banties need less room than full size.

What are your temperatures like? Big coops are nice for indoor space if there going to be cooped up due to heavy rains or snow. but if you get sub zero temps more space means more heat required to prevent frostbite.

 

[@migocontodos]

"Im wanting to go ahead and start Project CoopDeville My plan is build a small Town for my chickens.. Starting with the Town hall , My thoughts are ... 6ft in height 4ft wide and 16ft long.. Will also be incloseing my huge run for the chickens as well burring the wife 1ft underground with top cover as well .. Any suggestions would be gr8full and very helpfull ... Like i said im new and im really wanting to get help with designs and ideals from this very experienced community ... Cant wait to get started.."


The only problem I see is what I have made bold...that's going to get you in some deep chicken doo in Virginia!
lol I had too!

Welcome fellow Virginian!
I also agree with wynedot...high will be better for YOU and the higher they girls/boys can roost the happier they will be! I'd only build about 8ft though. That way you can reach any chickens you want most likely that are located on the top roosting pole if you need to catch any at any time and it will cut your coop cost.
I'd put the roosting poles on the back wall of the coop and come off them as far as possible to put my nest boxes and feeders. Many make the mistake of putting the nest boxes to close to the rossting poles and that entices them to roost in the nest boxes. You will NOT want that. It's a mess! But with 16' you'll have ample room to space the nest boxes away from the roost as well as place your feeders. Put a couple windows in the wall to allow light in, but put the nest boxes under the windows where the light does not shine directly into the nest boxes. A dim nest box is a laying hens dream.
Sounds like you did a lot of research and are indeed on track!
I did not place the wire in the ground and todate (knock on wood) I have never had any preditor enter the coop other than cats who were mouse hunting and I had left the door open that time. I extended the wire off the bottom just like you plane but I left it on top of the ground. My coop is totally under trees so the leaves and such that fall make a nice cover for the wire. I check it often for signs of digging, but I've yet to see any.
How many chickens are you getting to being with?
@migo

 

[FarmerJordan]

Thanks for the correction im not a very good speller or typist. Yes the wife would diffently not go with that plan.. I diffently couldnt raise chickens by myself... for sure..

To answer a few questions.. temps here now is about 65 degrees... at night around 35 i would say... dipping to around 30 ... early mornings.. The winters are cold at times but for the past 5 to 7 years really havent got alot of snow any were between 3 to 8 inches max.... maybe 3 to 4 times a winter..

Im thanking after seeing a few suggestions diffently going to change the height of it to 8ft.. not sure about the width of it though not really wanting to build huge buildings... want to try and keep everything looking like a small town.. i agree that with a 4ft wide is going to make it a little tight ... im really wanting the town hall to be the biggest building though so i may go with 8ft wide ....

but still really stuck on 4ft wide ... so with 25 chickens ( 11 white pearl leghorn hens, 11 Rhode Island red hens, 3 Brahma roosters.) at 4 ft wide 8ft high and 16 foot long wouldnt be enough space for the winter months... really is what it boils down to ... ?
Again thanks for all suggestions and comments

 

[luvmychicknkids]

Well, it sounds like they are going to be cherished which, in my opinion, is the most important first step.

Good luck and welcome.