cityeggs
Songster
We are new to chicken keeping and are currently building our coop. We're using the basic Garden Coop (https://www.thegardencoop.com/chicken-coop-plans.html) design, which is an enclosed run with an integrated raised hen house. We have 4 chicks of med/large breeds currently (Australorp, Wyandotte, Ameraucana (seems legit so far?), RIR/RIW sex-linked cross) and don't expect to have more than 6 at any time, since that's all we're allowed to have in our city. Adding any will be a few years down the road (I hope!) when our current mini-flock slows down on laying.
The coop floor is approx 3' off the ground and is 3'x5'x3'h. We will put two exterior nest boxes (entrance 18" tall) on one of the walls of this configuration to maximize space, and it has a large access door to aid in clean-out. Despite the fact that that seems pretty easy to clean, I'm still really tempted by the idea of putting in dropping boards/hammock to help keep things clean. My problem is whether I can fit them in somehow, which is where feedback would be helpful.
The wall that fully opens can be changed - doesn't matter which side at this point, as is the wall where we build out the external nesting boxes - can either be the open 3' or 5' wall. We will use 2"x4" for the roosts. While we could drop the floor 1' to make a 4'h hen house relatively easily at the moment, making the 3'x5'/sf larger would be difficult, since we're short on space in our yard, we've already bought the lumber for this size coop, and we are inexperienced builders, so too many modifications has the real potential for making expensive mistakes.
1. With the coop being only 3' high, is that enough room for full sized chickens to get under a dropping board at 12", and enough headroom with 12" above the roosting bar to get up/down and feel comfortable roosting? I'm leaning towards modifying the plans to lower the floor and make the house 4' tall, which would also mean dropping boards would be easier for me at 5'6" to reach and clean.
2. Is that enough room to make a long enough roosting bar for 4 - 6 hens to roost, while giving enough floor space for them to get up and down from the roosting bar with a 2' wide dropping board? I know we could always modify things down the road, but it would be so much easier to build it the way we want it just once, and with a city backyard coop set up, we have to choose our site/space carefully. I read on one thread here that chickens need a space for landing/getting up that's 2x the height of the roost - I don't see a way to do that without a ramp or something in any of these configurations. I'm also trying to keep the roost(s) closer to 18" from the walls to minimize droppings there. Here are the configurations I'm considering - does one look better than another? Is there a better one you can think of?
3. If I do configuration B or C, it seems like the only way they could safely get up/down would be a ramp/circular ladder up - would that work? And if I do a ramp, would you put it up to the dropping board and assume they'd hop from that to the roost (somewhere between 8"-10" up is what I've read is good for that distance?), or will that encourage them to walk in the poop and roost on the dropping board?
4. Will a big, low dropping board over most of the coop cause the problem of encouraging them to nest under it instead of in the nesting boxes? And/or, not use that space at all?
5. Is it silly of me to consider a dropping board in such a small, waist-high coop?
Thank you!!
The coop floor is approx 3' off the ground and is 3'x5'x3'h. We will put two exterior nest boxes (entrance 18" tall) on one of the walls of this configuration to maximize space, and it has a large access door to aid in clean-out. Despite the fact that that seems pretty easy to clean, I'm still really tempted by the idea of putting in dropping boards/hammock to help keep things clean. My problem is whether I can fit them in somehow, which is where feedback would be helpful.
The wall that fully opens can be changed - doesn't matter which side at this point, as is the wall where we build out the external nesting boxes - can either be the open 3' or 5' wall. We will use 2"x4" for the roosts. While we could drop the floor 1' to make a 4'h hen house relatively easily at the moment, making the 3'x5'/sf larger would be difficult, since we're short on space in our yard, we've already bought the lumber for this size coop, and we are inexperienced builders, so too many modifications has the real potential for making expensive mistakes.
1. With the coop being only 3' high, is that enough room for full sized chickens to get under a dropping board at 12", and enough headroom with 12" above the roosting bar to get up/down and feel comfortable roosting? I'm leaning towards modifying the plans to lower the floor and make the house 4' tall, which would also mean dropping boards would be easier for me at 5'6" to reach and clean.
2. Is that enough room to make a long enough roosting bar for 4 - 6 hens to roost, while giving enough floor space for them to get up and down from the roosting bar with a 2' wide dropping board? I know we could always modify things down the road, but it would be so much easier to build it the way we want it just once, and with a city backyard coop set up, we have to choose our site/space carefully. I read on one thread here that chickens need a space for landing/getting up that's 2x the height of the roost - I don't see a way to do that without a ramp or something in any of these configurations. I'm also trying to keep the roost(s) closer to 18" from the walls to minimize droppings there. Here are the configurations I'm considering - does one look better than another? Is there a better one you can think of?
3. If I do configuration B or C, it seems like the only way they could safely get up/down would be a ramp/circular ladder up - would that work? And if I do a ramp, would you put it up to the dropping board and assume they'd hop from that to the roost (somewhere between 8"-10" up is what I've read is good for that distance?), or will that encourage them to walk in the poop and roost on the dropping board?
4. Will a big, low dropping board over most of the coop cause the problem of encouraging them to nest under it instead of in the nesting boxes? And/or, not use that space at all?
5. Is it silly of me to consider a dropping board in such a small, waist-high coop?
Thank you!!