Raised coop with run area underneath, or walk-in coop- Which is best?

[tmarsh83]

There are numerous ways to create shade in the run. But if you can't walk in the coop you are limited in how you can manage the inside of the coop.

My first coop was relatively small and raised, after a few weeks I said never again. I wanted a coop I could walk into, and not only that, but a coop that could contain the chicken items. I didn't want chicken supplies strewn all about the property.

For me, it will always be walk-in coops from here forward.

 

[coddledeggs]

Wow! Thanks so much for the well thought out advice! I hadn't thought of the possibility of having the coop raised and still be able to walk in before. And I am on my way outside now to lay out the floor plan of the coop and see about reaching all areas. The coop as currently planned will actually be 8 by 4 ft. The extra foot is for external nesting boxes. But I will check out how easily I can reach across that four feet distance even with wide access doors. Then it may be back to the drawing board. Thank you so much to everyone for your advice and ideas!

 

[CuzChickens]

I am going to post pictures of mine in a bit. It is walk in and raised!

 

[aart]

Wow! Thanks so much for the well thought out advice! I hadn't thought of the possibility of having the coop raised and still be able to walk in before. And I am on my way outside now to lay out the floor plan of the coop and see about reaching all areas. The coop as currently planned will actually be 8 by 4 ft. The extra foot is for external nesting boxes. But I will check out how easily I can reach across that four feet distance even with wide access doors. Then it may be back to the drawing board. Thank you so much to everyone for your advice and ideas!

Unless you're really tall/long limbed and strong, I doubt it.....
.....can you reach across 4 feet and grab something with both hands, like you would need to do to grab a chicken?

 

[tmarsh83]

Unless you're really tall/long limbed and strong, I doubt it.....
.....can you reach across 4 feet and grab something with both hands, like you would need to do to grab a chicken?

I was unable to do this with a raised coop just three feet across. I don't know that it's realistic.

Unless you're 6'4". Then it might work.

 

[coddledeggs]

I am still trying to figure out how to make the best of both worlds solution that aart has with her raised AND walk-in coop work for my situation. The coop floor will be 24" high, and the height of the coop is almost 9 ft at the peak. I wonder if I can reach across through the 4 ft wide by 4 ft tall access doors for regular maintenance, but be able to climb into the coop and get inside when I need to do a more thorough cleaning or reach a wayward hen.

 

[CuzChickens]

This is the front of the coop.

 

[CuzChickens]

As you can see, they love the shade.

 

[CuzChickens]

This is the inside of the coop. I used branches as roosts. Free and easy to use!

 

[CuzChickens]

Because everybody run electricity into the coop........