So do I REALLY need a walk-in coop?

[BigBlueHen53]

I don't understand why I'd be crawling around in chicken poo and dust, if I have a slide out tray, or if I have a big access door where I could rake out the "stuff" into a bin. I must be missing something.

Hi, I'm late to this party and have not read the whole thread obviously (I will, though!). But here's my thinking so far. Ben, you are thinking of having a slide-out tray. Would that be the only floor in your coop? When would you pull it out? I mean, when could you be certain none of the hens would be in thd coop so you could pull it out, leaving a big gaping hole, dropping the hens into the run, or would that be okay? Or would you have a hardware cloth floor above the tray so you could pull it out even if the coop were occupied? The drawback to that option is that "hwc" is hard on their feet, so no, that might not work. Hmmm. But if you just have the tray, you need a big enough gap so when you pull it out the poop doesn't gum up at the opening. Should be at least a one-inch gap, I'm thinking. For four hens you'll need a tray 4' x 4', that's going to be a bit awkward to take out and clean off every day or so. Will it be bare besides the poop, or will it have bedding on it too, like wood chips or shavings? Could get very messy, walking that over to the trash bin or dumpster. Especially in a high wind or rain. And you have to maneuver this poop-laden tray out the run door to the dumpster without letting the hens loose. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I'm seeing some difficulties here.

 

[Ben Lynnsy]

Hi, I'm late to this party and have not read the whole thread obviously (I will, though!). But here's my thinking so far. Ben, you are thinking of having a slide-out tray. Would that be the only floor in your coop? When would you pull it out? I mean, when could you be certain none of the hens would be in thd coop so you could pull it out, leaving a big gaping hole, dropping the hens into the run, or would that be okay? Or would you have a hardware cloth floor above the tray so you could pull it out even if the coop were occupied? The drawback to that option is that "hwc" is hard on their feet, so no, that might not work. Hmmm. But if you just have the tray, you need a big enough gap so when you pull it out the poop doesn't gum up at the opening. Should be at least a one-inch gap, I'm thinking. For four hens you'll need a tray 4' x 4', that's going to be a bit awkward to take out and clean off every day or so. Will it be bare besides the poop, or will it have bedding on it too, like wood chips or shavings? Could get very messy, walking that over to the trash bin or dumpster. Especially in a high wind or rain. And you have to maneuver this poop-laden tray out the run door to the dumpster without letting the hens loose. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I'm seeing some difficulties here.

Yeah, I see how that could be a problem, LOL. Actually, I have decided on building a coop, and using the deep bedding system. So no slide-out tray, LOL. But when I *WAS* thinking of that, I knew I would't have far to go with it because my coop is going right next to my compost bin. AND I had planned to put a piece of linoleum in the bottom, so I'd just have to bend it up at the edges and lift it out. I had planned to chase the chicks out of the coop and put them in the run, in order to pull the tray out. But now all that is moot. DBS is a much better idea. Thanks for pointing out those issues, tho. Never hurts to rethink.

 

[ILoveDaffy]

As a previous newbie who had no clue what she was doing when she built her first coop, I say walk in! You have no idea how much you want it till you don't have it. My second is walk in, and the chickens and I much prefer it.

 

[DebbieMarler]

I have 4 and we thought we’d be perfectly fine without a walk-in one. We’re still young and thought crouching over would be no big deal….wrong! We’re only 3 months in and deeply regretting not getting a walk-in one In fact, we’re having one built Because we’re fed up with the crouching one we have currently. Not only does it suck cleaning the non-walk in coop, but if they don’t lay eggs in the nesting boxes, they’ll be harder to get to. Our girls would be totally fine in their current coop, but we hate it.

I agree with a walk in coup, I'm not for crawling around on my knees

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks for letting us in on your thought process, this is fun! I have a walk in, but I still made SOOO many mistakes! I'm still fixing them, lol. Not having poop trays was my biggest. I'm finding I don't really need a "deep litter system" at all now that I have poop trays under the roosts! The floor is bedded with shredded paper, but it doesn't get poopy. It just gives them a soft landing when they jump off the roosts, protects their feet from bruising and possible bumblefoot.

 

[arion]

I built a 8'x10' walk in coop a few years ago. The only regret is that I didn't make it bigger. In fair weather it's no big deal as the birds free range but living in the far north they are stuck inside all winter unless it's really nice out but I'd still like to give them more room.

 

[Melissa67137]

I do NOT have a walk in coop and am very happy with it 1+ year later. I built for 4 hens. 1 went Roo on me. The girls have 24-7 access to the run. The coop has all sweet pdz flooring (pine chips in the nest boxes). It gets scooped like a litter box each day or so with a more thorough complete sifting a couple times a year.

This presents no back challenges as the chickens do not have access to under the coop.

I have a 6 hen limit by township ordinance ... so my chicken math is capped. Still you do have to think long-term. Are you planning on culling older hens? Are you going to mind when their production drops? Will you replace any that die? How will you safely replace and integrate them? Can you handle some place to isolate a sick hen?

Bigger walk-in coops can make those question easier, but they can still be managed, depending on your goals.

After one of my hens died, I'm planning on adding two more. That will be my plan moving forward, replace with 2 when I'm down to 2. I'll let older ones live out their lives as practical. I'm planning on building a sort of hoop tractor coop for isolating prior to integrating any new birds. But, lots of other things have interrupted that project.

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I would love to see how you made your coop.....it looks like what I have been picturing doing but hadn't seen one like it to see if it work.

 

[CrazyChickenTeen]

We have one of the little tools sheds you can buy for your yard and converted it so half is chicken coop and half is used for storage with an insulated wall dividing them. The chickens love it and we can access it easily, we also installed a nesting bot on the side with outside access and a fligh pen protected from predators. My only regret is the fligh pen can only be accessed through the chickens door, it’s a tiny fit when I need to get in there.

 

[kodster]

Ok, I'm late to the party, but here's a suggestion that will probably help... an A-frame chicken tractor style that is tall enough that you would have the headroom to walk into, but not so large that it wouldn't fit in the space you want, and would have minimal interference with the tree limbs above it. I like the tree idea; it provides shade and protection from overhead predators that can't swoop in and snatch, so I understand your reluctance to harm it in any way. Put the nest boxes on the outside of the A-frame, so you don't have to bend every day to get the eggs, change the bedding, etc, but low enough in height for the hens to jump in. With the height being a walk-in for headroom, you can get in with a coop rake to clean out the floor regularly. Also, the slopes of an A-frame, if you're in a snow area like I am... a couple of feet can accumulate over the course of a winter, as it gets too cold for it to melt off fast enough before the next wave comes in... the snow would slide off easily enough, so you don't have to worry about snow load, or any birds getting on top of it, or predators using it to get into the run. Being a tractor-style would allow it to be moved out, too, away from the tree limbs, if you need to move it for easier cleaning/maintenance.

Just a thought to ponder over.

 

[lisacraig]

Its more about how accessible the coop is for cleaning. If its small you dont need to get into it as long as you can reach into it to easily clean. The pull out tray also isnt really needed in a small coop (i have one w a pull out) and sometimes i use it and sometimes i just clean from the side door. Mine holds 7-9 chickens. Also if you r not free ranging double or triple the size of the run. They are only roosting and laying eggs in the coop, its the run that you notice is never big enough.

I also think the comments here are confusing walk in coop with a combo run/coop.