Questions about coop interior

[paintwife]

Ok I'm trying to be patient and smart, building the coop before I get any chickens. I have an electrician coming to put a couple outlets in the coop. Two outlets should be plenty, right? The coop is 8' X 8' My question is, after the electrician is done, I plan on adding a paneling on the interior walls, should I also insulate it?

Hubby says "Whatever you want" (well trained hubby lol) Also, I was going to put a motion sensored porch light on the front, good idea?
Also planning on building a run of about 20' X 30' off the back. I ordered my automatic door (ADOR1) this morning. Do I need a feeder in the run as well as one in the coop? My original plan is for 4 hens but have also been reading about chicken math!

 

[Judy]

I don't see any reason to insulate an interior wall. A run that size would be OK for 4 chickens, but your coop would hold more, so you may want to make it a bit larger. I'm concerned about ventilation, though. You may have plenty of it, and it's just not visible in the pic.

I had a motion sensor light by my coop door and turned it off. It would get set off when the wind blew nearby vegetation and became qquite annoying. I also have a large coop and have never kept food or water in the run, only the coop. Much more convenient. I have two outlets in the coop and this has always been plenty, even when we ran an electric fence out of there.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

 

[MoonShadows]

When you say "a couple of outlets". Do you mean boxes? If so, 4 plugs is more than enough. Even if it is only two plugs, you'll be good to go.
Nix the motion detector light.
Forget the paneling and insulation. They are not needed....just wasted money.
20x30 is plenty big. You'll run out of coop room before you run out of run room.
Don't put food in the run, just the coop. Food in the run can attract pests.
Do you have ventilation near the top of the gables? If not, put some in...the heat and moisture from the birds will rise.

BTW....beautiful looking coop, and you are going to love the Ador1 door. Best of luck with the coop and your birds.

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

Gorgeous! Your coop should hold up to 16 birds so you have plenty room for chicken math lol

 

[Chickens R Us]

Being from Michigan I would insulate, especially if you get lake affect in the winter.

 

[paintwife]

When you say "a couple of outlets". Do you mean boxes? If so, 4 plugs is more than enough. Even if it is only two plugs, you'll be good to go.
Nix the motion detector light.
Forget the paneling and insulation. They are not needed....just wasted money.
20x30 is plenty big. You'll run out of coop room before you run out of run room.
Don't put food in the run, just the coop. Food in the run can attract pests.
Do you have ventilation near the top of the gables? If not, put some in...the heat and moisture from the birds will rise.

BTW....beautiful looking coop, and you are going to love the Ador1 door. Best of luck with the coop and your birds.

Yes I mean 2 boxes (4 plugs) You can't tell from the angle of these pics but there is a big 22" round gable vent in the front gable, there are also vents along the soffits on both sides of the coop.

 

[paintwife]

Gorgeous! Your coop should hold up to 16 birds so you have plenty room for chicken math lol

Being from Michigan I would insulate, especially if you get lake affect in the winter.

I'm up in the pinkie area of the mitten, about 12 mi. from the lake shore. We get a LOT of lake effect. I think I am going to add insulation, keeping plenty of ventilation at the same time.

 

[Grey Roo]

For me insulation doesn't do much in winter because my vents are 75% open even at -20. In summer the insulation keeps my coop so much cooler for the hens, and easier for me to do anything inside. In fact it was while i was building the inside feeling the heat i decided i needed the insulation. My coop doesn't get much shade, building near a tree wasn't an option.

 

[aart]

Nice little building. Pics of inside please?

Insulation can't hurt, especially with the wind you'll get there.
Make your ventilation closeable so you can close the side the wind hits leaving the other side open.

Got anything in mind for keeping water thawed? Chickens can take the cold as long as it's ventilated well, but the water source can't.

 

[Mtn Laurel]

With regard to the motion sensitive light, I have one of the corner of my coop and love it. I think how successful it is depends on how much plant life you have near it as well as how you have it positioned. We're in the woods but our trees are behind the light and it doesn't pick up their motion. It will come on if we are walking towards the coop or are in the run, which is great as that's the area we wanted protected. In fact, we're thinking about getting another one.