Revamping The Coop

[ChickensForEggs2500]

All of the above.

Keep in mind that, by code, the ground should slope away from your house. All the rain falling on your house has to go somewhere, start by ensuring its not being directed at the coop.

Then, looking at the coop itself, recommend raising it a few inches, and sloping the ground away from it, so what water does come from the sky doesn't rush in, and what gets blown into your run can quickly exit.

Overall, your space is too small for your flock size - but that's a different subject.

I'd save the money you were going to put to concrete, repurpose it for enlarging the run and the coop, using the effort to re-grade the land in and out to encourage water to flow away from both. Oh, and add ventilation to the coop when you do. Your birds may not sleep inside either because they prefer sleeping outside (will often be the case, even on cold days (to us) so long as its not also raining on them or windy), or because they find the coop wet/stuffy - which is often the case when the hen house looks like a dark, poorly ventilated box.

Then, a few inches of leaf litter and/or straw will help your bird keep their feet dry even when it does rain, and as it slowly composts down, it will continue to shed water and provide you an excellent soil amendment for the rest of your yard. Cold composting like that will also help with smell. And its free (apart from purchase of a rake, and some manual labor gathering it in the yard).

Thank you! I understand that the coop is too small, so we are also building a 10x18' run in addition to the coop. We'll put wood chips/mulch in that. They have never liked sleeping in the henhouse, even when there were only a couple of them and it is ventilated. Thanks for your advice! I think I will work on sloping the surrounding ground away from the coop. I (unfortunately) already bought my concrete, so I think I am going to pour a slab to help raise the coop as well. Appreciate it!

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

I also would not do concrete. As a quick solution you might try sourcing some free wooden pallets to use as a "floor" in your run. It would be a cheap fix, readily available for free (I can find them on Craigslist anytime for free in my area), and easy to replace.
I assume you are working on a different coop and putting it up off the ground is a good idea in a wet climate. As long as they have a dry and ventilated space to sleep in they will be fine.
Before they get much bigger I would do something about enlarging the run. The whole set up is just too small for the number of birds you have. Can you move it elsewhere in the yard where the drainage is better?

I like the pallet idea! The area where it is located, it gets pretty good drainage, I just think I need to install a few temporary walls in the winter while it is rainy. Thank you so much!

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

So, in my coop, the chickens live in the open area all year, so I want them to have a soft-ish litter like that of the ones most people would use in the 'henhouse' part of the coop. Also, I will be installing temporary walls for the winter (with ventilation of course) just to help keep the rain out. In the larger run that I am going to build, I am going to put woodchips and things like that. I feel kinda stuck right now, just because I have 800 lbs of concrete, and I don't know if that is best. The chickens will be let out in the larger woodchip run during the day... Please help!

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

So, in my coop, the chickens live in the open area all year, so I want them to have a soft-ish litter like that of the ones most people would use in the 'henhouse' part of the coop. Also, I will be installing temporary walls for the winter (with ventilation of course) just to help keep the rain out. In the larger run that I am going to build, I am going to put woodchips and things like that. I feel kinda stuck right now, just because I have 800 lbs of concrete, and I don't know if that is best. The chickens will be let out in the larger woodchip run during the day... Please help!

I'm wondering if I can put in a cement floor in the coop (please note that I call the entire structure the coop, and the enclosed area is the henhouse), and just always have a thick layer of bedding/litter. The coop will have temporary plywood walls to cut wind and rain in the winter (with proper ventilation of course). Then I can have a large run that they will always have the option to go in during the day with wood chips or mulch. What do you think? I really don't want my cement to go to waste. Thank you!

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

So I think my final plan is to put in a cement floor in the coop (I don't want to waste the concrete). I will make sure there is always clean, dry bedding/litter on top. The coop will have temporary plywood walls to cut wind and rain in the winter (with proper ventilation of course). I am also going to build a large run that is 50ishx10 (I measured it wrong the first time haha.) That will have bark/mulch/woodchips on top f the dirt. Please weigh in and share your opinion, I want to make sure that what I'm doing is best for my ladies. Thank you so much!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I am also going to build a large run that is 50ishx10 (I measured it wrong the first time haha.)

With your run, do you have room to make it more square and less narrow? 10' isn't bad at all, so this isn't essential, but having more width gives you a lot more options as far as throwing clutter in and birds being able to give each other wide berth when passing.

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

With your run, do you have room to make it more square and less narrow? 10' isn't bad at all, so this isn't essential, but having more width gives you a lot more options as far as throwing clutter in and birds being able to give each other wide berth when passing.

I unfortunately cant go much further than 10ish feet because I have a storm drainage ditch on one side and an enclosed blueberry bush area on the other side. The run will have hardware cloth type wire netting on all sides, and it will be at least 6' but no waterproof roof. Is that a good idea?

 

[Rldad1]

I unfortunately cant go much further than 10ish feet because I have a storm drainage ditch on one side and an enclosed blueberry bush area on the other side. The run will have hardware cloth type wire netting on all sides, and it will be at least 6' but no waterproof roof. Is that a good idea?

If you are in a wet area like you said, then you need a covered run or it will always be wet. Considered using plastic roofing panes. They are available in clear which will help if you are in a cooler area.

 

[ChickensForEggs2500]

If you are in a wet area like you said, then you need a covered run or it will always be wet. Considered using plastic roofing panes. They are available in clear which will help if you are in a cooler area.

I was thinking of doing roofing on maybe half of it, but leaving the rest open, but I don't know. Should I cover it all? @rosemarythyme what do you think?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I was thinking of doing roofing on maybe half of it, but leaving the rest open, but I don't know. Should I cover it all? @rosemarythyme what do you think?

A roof is a good idea if you have the budget for it, both for rain protection and for predator protection. Mine is unroofed. My run is going to get wet no matter if there's a roof or not due to high groundwater and the fact that it's close to a creek.