We built a new coop for our 12 chickens after we increased the 7 we had that are a year old with 5 more that were born in April of this year. We built an A frame coop that is 8' X 4' with roosts on both sides, and attached their lay boxes (that open from the outside) to the back of the coop. It has a vent cap at the peak covered with hail screen and 4 playhouse windows (18" X 24"), two on either side for light and ventilation. The older chickens use the roost bars we transferred from the old coop - 2 bars they were use to using. The younger ones got an old ladder from a playground that we tore apart (after our kids outgrew it) and we set it up on the other end of the coop. When we first put the new chickens in with the older ones, we put a gate between the two groups and kept the little ones separated for a couple of weeks so they could get use to one another inside the coop without concern of injury. We haven't had any problems since we waited until the young ones were more than half the size of the older ones to take the gate down. They all free range during the day and I haven't seen any pecking or chasing around the yard. The younger ones spent some time at first under the coop when they were let them out during the day. Even after several weeks of free ranging, they seem to spend more time under trees and bushes, while the older ones roam all over the yard out in the open. We are in the process of building another pen to attach to the new coop, so if we don't get home before dark, they will still be safe from predators. We are using chain link fencing that we will cover with 1/2" hail screen to keep out the bad guys. I think the best predator protection is prayer. We actually haven't had any predators or lost any birds to predators in over a year. We have a border collie that we leave outside when we are gone to help guard the flock.
The old coop that is 4' X 4' is now occupied by our new ducks, two Pekings and two Ruins. The coop has a drawer in the bottom (lined with plastic laminent for a floor that pulls out for cleaning. It has a run and pen attached to it that we made out of our kids old trampoline after the top was destroyed by the weather. We covered the sides of the frame with 1/4" hail screen and used the netting that came with the trampoline like a tent top gathered on a post in the center to protect the birds from something getting in from the top. My husband put a gate on one side of the circle, and an opening that connects it to the run on the other. The trampoline frame is a 12' diameter circle. It makes a great pen for our ducks. The run to the pen is about 8' long and is covered with a tarp for shade.
We insulate floor, walls, and ceiling of our coops with either foam board between exterior siding (it matches our house) and OSB board on the inside, or we use pink fiberglass insulation between the double walls. Kansas winters can be bitter cold with wind chills last winter that were 20 to 30 degrees below zero. We put hail screen or chicken coop wire over the the floor to keep predators from getting in from under the coop.
I have a very handy and talented husband who can build about anything. I do the research and he designs and builds it. I can run a drill, so I screw things together after he tells me what to do. I can measure and cut with a chop saw and run a skill saw when I need to, but he does all the design work. I'm an extra set of hands to help get the project done. I'm content to use scrap material, but he wants it to look good. He's an engineer, so I think he sees any structure on our property as a reflection of his building skills. It costs more and takes more time, but it looks good when he's finished.
Hope that helps - Rosie in KS
