Rookie Coop Building Mistakes?

[Blarneyeggs]

[COLOR=blueI am loving the idea of a 'poop board' in my next coop.

And I thought the word chooks originated in Australia, but has now been high jacked by we US chicken enthusiasts as a term of endearment toward our flock. At least it has by me. [/COLOR]

 

[fried green eggs]

We built our coops up on stilts so the hens can go under it for shade. We stapled plastic feed bags on wind side for snow protection. They love going under the coop when it's raining or snowy.

 

[wilbilt]

When using something like a gate latch or gravity latch on the coop or run "people door", provide some means of opening it from the inside.

Before you go inside.

 

[fried green eggs]

Putting a spring on the people door is a great thing to have.

 

[Heidisue11]

thanks so much!
8x8 is definitely a do-able plan!
I just finished a storage shed, and behind the shed will be the coop and the run..
I can't wait to get my girls home.
Heidi

 

[2Old2Crow]

I'm a newbie, but I'm currently building a coop, as my feathered friends are growing a little too quickly. I designed my coop based on many ideas and photos from this website. The biggest piece of info I can give you is to use screws and not nails, 'cause I guarentee several pieces of lumber you put down will not be in the right place!!! Sounds kinda screwy,,,yes????

 

[ScottLovelandCO]

Measure twice and cut once!!! My dad used to say "I cut it three times and it was still too short!"

I found galvanized hardware cloth on craigslist for free. There were 8 sections of "30 inch x 8 feet" pieces. So I built my coop with the run having verticals at 30" on center (2x4's the wide way). Which, in theory, should have provided enough room to staple the cloth. HOWEVER, the cloth was only 27" wide! You would think that a guy would measure something like that before starting huh? In my defense, I am a commercial/industrial demolition guy by trade. I am not claiming to be a builder!

 

[SunnyAlberta]

...coop should be 4 sq ft per bird so 10 birds and a 40 sq ft coop minimum.

Is that 4 sq ft of floor space per bird? Hi to Kim! I live near you.

 

[mcjessen]

Make the coop tall enough that you can comfortably bend to clean it out.
Build bigger than you think you need, cuz' you'll end up with more chickens.
The deep litter method works really well.
In windy, snowy and wet weather, make sure your run is weather proofed. My girls hate the snow - they're afraid of "white" so snow is a no no. Before I put up plastic on the run, they avoided the snow covered ground at all costs.. Picture kids playing "the floor is lava game". LOL!

 

[nuchickontheblock]

I would definitely make a covered run and set it up so you can put plastic or tarp around to keep it snow free in the winter -- my girls really dislike walking in the snow, and when the weather is bad having a run that is enclosed really extends their usable space to move around. Our original coop had one side that lifted up to access the coop interior, food, water, clean it out, etc. and to me it was a giant pain. Standing out in the snow, rain, wind, etc. to access the girls, having the snow and rain go into the coop and sometime having to chop ice off to even open the access panel . . . you get the idea.

If you do cover your run, you could set it up so that you can walk into it and make your access to the coop under cover on the run side.

And yes lots of windows for light and ventilation in the nicer weather.

Good luck!