Small Coop Design v1.0

[offworld]

Here is my first stab at a coop design for our 4 chicks, months away from needing one fortunately. My initial primary goals on the layout:

• ease of cleaning
• ease of access to collect eggs
• storage area for food and other supplies that are handy to keep "on site"
• feeder system made of pvc piping - having an adequate supply of feed always available seems like a grand idea
• watering system - lots of great idea on this site, probably something utilizing the nipples? How to keep from freezing in the winter is something still to solve
• something I can build for well under $2k (boy do those coops look awesome though, maybe on coop #2)

After reading countless posts and blogs other considerations I've attempted to account for:

• ventilation - denver has plenty of hot and cold days and making sure the coop has adequate ventilation is a major concern
• roosts - a place where out flock is comfy at night and in a self-contained area that can be easily cleaned often

And then there's other touches which I haven't come up with solution yet, but I don't expect to affect the design:

• material to use on the floor - pine shavings or sand or deep litter, oh my. Undecided so far, happy to hear what folks find both easiest to maintain and is a healthy solution for the flock
• curtains on the nest boxes - Ive read stories of cannibalistic, egg eating chickens. Curtains seem like a super easy solution I hear, any downside?

So much learning to do. Anyway here is the idea, feedback welcome!



SketchUp is such a wonderful tool for thinking over the layout, even with my limited ability to use it. http://sketchup.google.com. For the roof I figure Ill cap off the 4' x 5' space with plywood and put a corrugated metal roof that's slanted away from the egg-access side, which puts the snow sliding away from both the egg-collecting and the chicken run itself.

Materials are likely to be:

• 2"x3" for framing
• 1/2" OSB for walls, ceiling and floor
• cedar fencing for siding
• metal corrugated roof
• 1/2" hardware cloth for vent and window coverings
• 1" cedar trim for window and vent
• overall dimensions: 4' wide, 5' length, 4' height

 

[4 the Birds]

Here is my first stab at a coop design for our 4 chicks, months away from needing one fortunately. My initial primary goals on the layout:

• ease of cleaning
• ease of access to collect eggs
• storage area for food and other supplies that are handy to keep "on site"
• feeder system made of pvc piping - having an adequate supply of feed always available seems like a grand idea
• watering system - lots of great idea on this site, probably something utilizing the nipples? How to keep from freezing in the winter is something still to solve
• something I can build for well under $2k (boy do those coops look awesome though, maybe on coop #2)

After reading countless posts and blogs other considerations I've attempted to account for:

• ventilation - denver has plenty of hot and cold days and making sure the coop has adequate ventilation is a major concern
• roosts - a place where out flock is comfy at night and in a self-contained area that can be easily cleaned often

And then there's other touches which I haven't come up with solution yet, but I don't expect to affect the design:

• material to use on the floor - pine shavings or sand or deep litter, oh my. Undecided so far, happy to hear what folks find both easiest to maintain and is a healthy solution for the flock
• curtains on the nest boxes - Ive read stories of cannibalistic, egg eating chickens. Curtains seem like a super easy solution I hear, any downside?

So much learning to do. Anyway here is the idea, feedback welcome!



SketchUp is such a wonderful tool for thinking over the layout, even with my limited ability to use it. http://sketchup.google.com. For the roof I figure Ill cap off the 4' x 5' space with plywood and put a corrugated metal roof that's slanted away from the egg-access side, which puts the snow sliding away from both the egg-collecting and the chicken run itself.

Materials are likely to be:

• 2"x3" for framing
• 1/2" OSB for walls, ceiling and floor
• cedar fencing for siding
• metal corrugated roof
• 1/2" hardware cloth for vent and window coverings
• 1" cedar trim for window and vent
• overall dimensions: 4' wide, 5' length, 4' height

For 2 grand you should be able to build a VERY nice coop and probably one much larger than what you have designed. Your coop size will be good for 4 or 5 chickens. I don't see an access door on the coop. It will be important to have a large door to access inside for cleaning and feeder/water access if they are inside. You may consider only 2 windows for a coop that size since the 4 windows will heat things up quickly on sunny days. For the money that you are spending a walk-in coop would be the way to go. Good Luck!

 

[Judy]

Offworld, a lot depends on where you live. If you have a lot of snow, they will want to spend blizzardy days indoors, and while your dimensions meet the minimum recommended to prevent pecking and cannibalism, they won't be much for those long days. If you live in a climate like mine, I'd recommend a completel different, three sided type design, set up so it gets maximum breeze. A small coop will be warmer inside than the outdoors, which is barely tolerable to a chicken on a hot summeer day in many areas, even in the more northern US..

I would also strongly recommend a walkin coop, even for just a few chickens. Much more comfortable for them, lets you store feed and other items, lets you interact much more easily when you may occasionally want to, as in checking for parasites, etc. A coop onl needs to be a simple 8x8 shed with good ventilation. Adding a roost bar is simple enough, and nests can be most any old container you may have. I would not have external nests for several reasons: You need to check elsewhere for eggs not laid in the nest anway, and they are prone to problems with predators and weather, as a partial list.

You can add a general location to your postbit quite easily, just edit from your profile. Location helps others with answering a lot of questions.

 

[donrae]

I agree with Judy, knowing your location would help a lot for advising on coop design. Mississippi and Michigan have pretty different ideal designs

Also agree on making a full height walk in coop. So much easier all around. With smaller coops like this, it would be quite difficult to catch a bird that needed treatment, etc.

Another thing right off...it doesn't look like enough roost space. 4 hens, I'd plan on having 6 feet or more of roost space, to give them the option to spread out and not get on each other's nerves quite so much.