Questions About Building My Coop

[cullenf27]

I have began to build my coop so far I have built the base it is 4'x6' raised 16'' of the ground. I was wondering about building the nesting boxes. My plan is to get 4 chickens and then as I get accustomed to them maybe add two more. I want the chickens to have as much space as possible. I want to get my coop placed before I build the run.

Thank you for the feedback.

 

[patandchickens]

It would be a lot easier to get all 6 chickens at once -- chickens are very prehistoric in their treatment of newcomers and the way they hash out their social arrangements. It is not called "pecking order" for nothing, and can often be bloody, occasionally fatal. So if you have a *choice*, it would really be best to get them all at one time.

As far as nest boxes, if you were going to stick with only 4 hens, 1 box would be adequate, but for 6 hens you'd want two. If your coop is high enough inside, the ideal arrangement is to have the boxes mounted so the bottom of them is at least 14" above the bedding (so hens can walk underneath) but the roost is signficantly higher than the lip of the nestboxes (so hens are not so tempted to roost in the boxes, which results in pooey nestbox bedding and thus pooey eggs). Although that may not always be possible in shorter coops.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[cullenf27]

Okay thank you it's a big help my coop is going to be 6' high and I live in Florida so I don't have to worry about the snow.