Renovating my coop

[crzychickenlady]

I wanted to get some opinions on a few things. I built this last summer and didn't get to add everything I wanted to at the time. Sooooo....I'm planning a few modifications and trying to decide what is best to do and to not do.
I built this for Bantams and am going to be housing standards in it this year, so I need to free up some space on the inside.

Here are some pics of what it is now, these are the pics I took just after finishing the build:

Double pad locks for added security. (We have raccoons that come out day and night)

Pop door secured with this garden post. Thinking there may be a better way to do this...

This is the run, it's made up of 2X4's and a dog kennel. It feels predator proof, as much as they can't get in, but I know little hands can reach in.

This shows the door to the kennel panels into the run. I have it clipped and latched at night.

Here's the inside, nesting box. These were taken before chickens entered it, it is much dirtier now, lol

And the roost.

Here is the heat lamp, I have it anchored in 3 different ways to prevent it from falling, LOL

Ok, so the plans I have in my head and scratched out on paper are as follows:
-Move the nest box to the outside of the coop to make more room inside.
-Move the roost out a bit to accommodate larger birds.
-Frame out the windows and attach the heavy duty hardware cloth from the inside, rather than outside.
-Make hinged, framed windows with plexi to go over the existing windows, so I can open and close them, rather than put plastic up in the winter.
-Make PVC feeder and waterer to mount on the walls to make more space.

This one is the doozy and I'm not sure if it will work because of the weight of the coop.
-Make a framed platform to raise the coop up about 2 feet and give them more room to roam during the day. This area would be fenced in with heavy duty hardware cloth like I used on the windows.

Anyone have any suggestions or advice? Especially on whether or not I can safely make the platform and raise the coop?

 

[AtholCoop]

Shouldn't be too big of a deal to tip it back and just slide it onto a prefabricated base. I routinely load 4x4 coops into my truck alone that way. So long as the base is low enough that you can safely get a couple inches of the coop on top of it while it's tipped back it should be easy for a couple lads to get it on there.

 

[crzychickenlady]

I was told once before that I should have built it raised up, rather than making a base to sit it on, as it would not support the weight. So, my main concern is that whatever I build, be able to safely support the weight. I would be devastated if it collapsed on my babies while they were under it.

I'm not exactly sure how much it weighs, but when I finished building it, me and one other person were able to pick it up just enough to move it a few feet to where it sits now.

 

[Judy]

Looks like you could move the nest onto the wall next to it and raise it up under that high vent. Saves making another hole in the wall for water and coons to find a way in. Agree that putting it high enough for them to walk under is a good idea, not too big a deal, just build the base first and lift it up there.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

Nice coop!
If you have raccoons, I would recommend changing the run fencing to hardware cloth so they don't get ripped out of there but if you have had chickens in there for a year and they are ok, it might not be neccesary but I would anyway, it would be horrible if it happened.

My personal preferences would be to put a divider in the nesting box so they have a more secure area for laying and paint it a darker color which makes them more comfortable in that area.

Your other modifications sounds great!

 

[AtholCoop]

Quote:
A couple of 4x4's for posts a top perimeter of 2x4's and you'll be fine, that'll support a bunch of weight.

 

[crzychickenlady]

I was thinking I should run some of the hardware cloth on the inside of the run. I like the look of the kennel panels, so I think adding it on the inside would look better.
I have been lucky with no incidences in the last year. I watched a raccoon walk right up to the coop in broad daylight a few weeks ago. It was snowing and I had them locked in the coop at the time tho. He walked around the coop, sniffed and left out the way he came.

I was thinking of moving the nesting box to the back side of the coop (where ddawn said), raising it up a bit and making it just a little bit bigger with a divider. Maybe 3 sections? I'll have 5 hens. I can't decide whether I want to move it to the outside or leave it in. I just want as much room inside as possible.

I haven't decided yet where I will put the feeder and waterer. I got the idea from someone here. It would be a huge space saver to use these, rather than the big ones I have now. Here's the link, scroll down a bit and you can see them.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=30865-coop

AlthoCoop, that is exactly how I was planning to build the support. I feel a little more confidant now, that it will hold the weight.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

Mine is raised up on 2x3's and has been no problem so if you use 4x4s, you will be SOLID. Taking the nesting boxes ot the outside creates a lot of space so I think that is a great idea. The feeder and water look good for saving space but the waterer seems like kind of a pain to fill it sideways and cap it to retain the pressure but it would still be better than a standard waterer.

You should post pics when it is done so we can see the transformation.

 

[BellevueOmlet]

I like your coop but probably because it is almost the same as mine, just mine is already raised and has the external nesting boxes.

 

[crzychickenlady]

Thanks for the compliments. I worked really hard and did all of the work myself.

I'm going to be doing the changes over the next few weeks and will certainly post pics when I get it done.