- Jun 1, 2010
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I've read several threads lately where folks were asking question about how best to build or convert a space into a coop. Until today, I could not login for reason(s) I still can't fathom or define.
One person was asking about insulation - and insulation can't hurt, of course, However, the ability to ventilate the 'coop' (very) well is even more important for chickens and their kin are far more likely to perish in a hot house than in a cold one. Also important in a brooder box - those chicks resperate all that water you give them so the humidity in an closed brooder box gets out of hand a corner for the heat and the rest for air circulation is a good thing to consider when building a brooder box.
Now, I titled this to get your attention and suspect someone was ready to respond with a formula tried and true to refute my assertion in the thread title. No problem, my point was not that the size of a coop is immaterial, just that coop dimensions are down on the list of considerations one needs address in coop construction, remodeling or re-purposing.
Having addressed these issues a number of times over a couple decades the first consideration in Coop Design needs to pay attention to Stephen Covey's admonition* to "Begin with the (rear) end in mind." Coops stink, literally unless they are kept clean. The chickens will not do it - they are indifferent housekeepers to be as kind as one can. They are pooping 2/7 and laying a whole lot less than they poop.
So, when attempting to contain them, look for designs that you will be comfortable cleaning. Understand that, the more difficult the design makes cleaning the poop off, the less you will clean it up, the more it will stink, the less you'll enjoy your birds.
Look for designs that 'feature' "Easy Cleaning." Floors that can be removed and cleaned in a convenient area (near your hose bib?). Access points a human can get into to get at (and remove) the removable parts. Nest boxes with a removable floor couldn't hurt 'cause they will need attention as well as egg removal.
Next, remember Chickens are a fowl bunch and raucous as well. As with little children, they can destroy just about anything - given time and access. I discovered this after installing a light fixture in the coop. I mounted a 'real' electrical conduit box and then the single bulb fixture onto it - it had a pull chain switch aqs part of the fixture with a long string attached so one might reach the string if the fixture was up on a ceiling. I figured to route that string to the outside of the coop to make it easy to switch the lamp on when needed. Bad idea - the chicken were always interfering with my pull switch string turning the lamp on and off randomly.
They also bump into the bulb. Well, the bulb is almost always loose. Often it won't light until I screw it back in. Amazing what twenty chickens can do!
The Lesson, Bullet Proof your coop. If you want a lamp in there, fine. Just make CERTAIN your fowl friends won't find it in their way. Same thing with switches, water heaters, anything electrical or mechanical needs to be installed with Chicken Proofing in mind.
Ah, insulation reminds me - chickens eat insulation. No idea why. First they simply went at the fam packaging Amazon sends us. Then, I found them pecking at our foam coolers - they literally ate/pecked the bottom corner of our incubator away - if you've foam somewhere they have access to - they will remind you of this warning.
When it gets cold, I take pity on our birds and put up a tarp or similar to one or two sides of their enclosures - maybe I should have designed teh coops with hinged 'shutters' that I could close up to block the wind during Winter and open up when the sun shines.
One heater you may like is that old griddle the non-tick surface has abandoned. They sell 'em every Thanksgiving for eight or nine dollars and we always replace them around November. Hey, the old units still get hot and come with a built-in thermostat. Plug it into a thermo plug and plug that into a timer and you've got a nata aluminium plate with an embedded heating element that (positioned right) can heat the coop from the floor up (and keep the water inside from freezing).
* Seven Habits of Highly Successful Fowl Raisers
One person was asking about insulation - and insulation can't hurt, of course, However, the ability to ventilate the 'coop' (very) well is even more important for chickens and their kin are far more likely to perish in a hot house than in a cold one. Also important in a brooder box - those chicks resperate all that water you give them so the humidity in an closed brooder box gets out of hand a corner for the heat and the rest for air circulation is a good thing to consider when building a brooder box.
Now, I titled this to get your attention and suspect someone was ready to respond with a formula tried and true to refute my assertion in the thread title. No problem, my point was not that the size of a coop is immaterial, just that coop dimensions are down on the list of considerations one needs address in coop construction, remodeling or re-purposing.
Having addressed these issues a number of times over a couple decades the first consideration in Coop Design needs to pay attention to Stephen Covey's admonition* to "Begin with the (rear) end in mind." Coops stink, literally unless they are kept clean. The chickens will not do it - they are indifferent housekeepers to be as kind as one can. They are pooping 2/7 and laying a whole lot less than they poop.
So, when attempting to contain them, look for designs that you will be comfortable cleaning. Understand that, the more difficult the design makes cleaning the poop off, the less you will clean it up, the more it will stink, the less you'll enjoy your birds.
Look for designs that 'feature' "Easy Cleaning." Floors that can be removed and cleaned in a convenient area (near your hose bib?). Access points a human can get into to get at (and remove) the removable parts. Nest boxes with a removable floor couldn't hurt 'cause they will need attention as well as egg removal.
Next, remember Chickens are a fowl bunch and raucous as well. As with little children, they can destroy just about anything - given time and access. I discovered this after installing a light fixture in the coop. I mounted a 'real' electrical conduit box and then the single bulb fixture onto it - it had a pull chain switch aqs part of the fixture with a long string attached so one might reach the string if the fixture was up on a ceiling. I figured to route that string to the outside of the coop to make it easy to switch the lamp on when needed. Bad idea - the chicken were always interfering with my pull switch string turning the lamp on and off randomly.
They also bump into the bulb. Well, the bulb is almost always loose. Often it won't light until I screw it back in. Amazing what twenty chickens can do!
The Lesson, Bullet Proof your coop. If you want a lamp in there, fine. Just make CERTAIN your fowl friends won't find it in their way. Same thing with switches, water heaters, anything electrical or mechanical needs to be installed with Chicken Proofing in mind.
Ah, insulation reminds me - chickens eat insulation. No idea why. First they simply went at the fam packaging Amazon sends us. Then, I found them pecking at our foam coolers - they literally ate/pecked the bottom corner of our incubator away - if you've foam somewhere they have access to - they will remind you of this warning.
When it gets cold, I take pity on our birds and put up a tarp or similar to one or two sides of their enclosures - maybe I should have designed teh coops with hinged 'shutters' that I could close up to block the wind during Winter and open up when the sun shines.
One heater you may like is that old griddle the non-tick surface has abandoned. They sell 'em every Thanksgiving for eight or nine dollars and we always replace them around November. Hey, the old units still get hot and come with a built-in thermostat. Plug it into a thermo plug and plug that into a timer and you've got a nata aluminium plate with an embedded heating element that (positioned right) can heat the coop from the floor up (and keep the water inside from freezing).
* Seven Habits of Highly Successful Fowl Raisers
