review my first coop plans...

pittsbirder

In the Brooder
7 Years
Apr 10, 2012
31
0
35
ok so i'm ready to build by first coop in the city for 3 hens. my goal is fresh eggs, friendly and quiet birds. I plan on a permanant coop 6 or 7 ft by 3ft with coop above the run. is one community nest a good idea or 3 seperate? I understand you dont want chemicals in the wood but i want it to last at least the support post. can i use treated 4x4 post to frame around? and for the plywood wall and roof should i use untreated and and stain it on the outside to prevent it from rotting? i need these birds to be as quiet as i can so should i use thin plywood and put foam insulation in between or just use a thicker plywood to start with. Also the run is going over a grassed area. will i need to cut the grass there or will they take care of that? how high should the coop be over the run ( 2 or 3 ft?) I live in pittsburgh so we can get snow and cold weather in the winter so I wanted them to have enough room in the coop if that becomes home for a few months or weeks. For the floor I was planning on wire and in the winter putting a wooden floor over it to keep it warmer in winter. also considering a catch pan of sand under the wire to catch the poop or at least some of it. This is my first coop and there is so many ways to go, I would appreciate anyones suggestions. byw I got my pullets from TSC, they look young but any idea how old they probably are? they look like tail featers are starting already. i heated the box to 95 degrees and they hovered in the corner away from heat so i backed it off and they still sit in the corner away from the heat so maybe they were not newly hatched as i thought. well thanks all, I appreciate your help
 
Hello and welcome! Congrats on your new feathered kids!

You will get some excellent ideas about coop building from the coops section of the page. I don't think you will have to worry about mowing the grass where your chickens are! They are pretty notorious for turning grass into dirt, if you aren't rotating their run to different spaces.

One thing you might want to look into is the deep litter method of keeping chickens through the cold months - you just keep adding bedding and it compresses and keeps them warm as the poop decomposes. Then you clean it out in the spring.

Your dimensions sound nice for three chickens! People usually say one nesting box for every three or so chickens, so that will hopefully work out for you. I guess if they end up fighting over it you will have to modify your plan.

Good luck!
 

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