So do I REALLY need a walk-in coop?

[TeresaGmn]

Yeah it's me again, the hesitant, coopless newbie. I do "get it" about chicken math, and my intent is to have 3 or 4, but the math says I could double that, altho I really don't want to. My space is limited and I am working with a 9x9 area that is bounded by a tree on the right, my "barn" on the back and a ramp from the barn on the left. There will be a predator protected run that extends out in front of the coop for another 8 feet. The space is small, and the overhanging of the tree limits me even more. I do not want to trim my tree, but there is a nice niche between 6 o'clock and 11 o'clock where a 4 ft roof would fit. I was thinking a flatter style would allow a bigger horizontal space, and a nice pull-out drawer for cleaning would work. For those few chickens, do I REALLY need a walk-in coop?

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0bb2wIgTJTqcqizEs0BS-WUyA

we have three chickens and this 5x4 coop works great. We have a tray under the inside perches to catch the poop….no bedding on it, just PDZ, scrape it out daily and the inside stays super clean. They love the outside space.

 

[Ben Lynnsy]

My run is walk in, but coup not. It’s so easy to clean ( no bending required) and there are several doors and windows I can open to access and socialize with my flock. I have 6, more than I orig planned for but it’s working

BEAUTIFUL coop set-up!!!

 

[Ben Lynnsy]

https://share.icloud.com/photos/0bb2wIgTJTqcqizEs0BS-WUyA

we have three chickens and this 5x4 coop works great. We have a tray under the inside perches to catch the poop….no bedding on it, just PDZ, scrape it out daily and the inside stays super clean. They love the outside space.

Love that coop and run! My son has volunteered to help me build, so I may do a run like that, instead of the 8x8 one from TSC.

 

[bethnlee]

I don’t have a walk in coop and it works great…my run is walk in though. My coop is raised about 3 feet off the ground on legs and is easily cleaned by opening the front doors (my automatic pop door is in one of the big front doors). My coop is 4x5 x5 with the roosts at the back. I have a poop board under the roost and it is easily slid ward the front for scraping poop into a bin…there is very little poop in the rest of the coop as they only go in there to sleep. I don’t put food or water in the coop. The area under the run is easily cleaned of poop with a cat litter scoop attached to a broom handle. I just squat to reach under there. The rest of the run poop is picked up with just a cat litter scoop and a paint spatula to push it into the scooper (I use that paint spatula to scrap the poop board Nader the roost in the coop. Keeping the coop and run clean is easy peasy. I have 3 girls, with room for 5 (2 of my original 5 turned into Roos and had to find a new home). Good luck!

 

[Ben Lynnsy]

I don’t have a walk in coop and it works great…my run is walk in though. My coop is raised about 3 feet off the ground on legs and is easily cleaned by opening the front doors (my automatic pop door is in one of the big front doors). My coop is 4x5 x5 with the roosts at the back. I have a poop board under the roost and it is easily slid ward the front for scraping poop into a bin…there is very little poop in the rest of the coop as they only go in there to sleep. I don’t put food or water in the coop. The area under the run is easily cleaned of poop with a cat litter scoop attached to a broom handle. I just squat to reach under there. The rest of the run poop is picked up with just a cat litter scoop and a paint spatula to push it into the scooper (I use that paint spatula to scrap the poop board Nader the roost in the coop. Keeping the coop and run clean is easy peasy. I have 3 girls, with room for 5 (2 of my original 5 turned into Roos and had to find a new home). Good luck!

That's kinda what I have planned. Not walk in coop, because the chickens will only sleep and lay eggs in there. Most of their time will be in the run, and that will be Walk-in, because I want to be able to hang out with my chickens some. I'll use poop boards under the roost, PLUS deep bedding, so it should never get really too dirty.

 

[wamtazlady]

I wouldn't want a walk in coop. Would be too hard to clean for me. I'd have to shovel the old bedding which means bending over and lifting a shovel. With my big doors I just stand outside and rake the old bedding into a wheelbarrow that is right there. No bending needed. At least for my case I can not see even one advantage to having a coop I can walk into. If I were younger and had poop boards and was anal about cleaning the boards every single day then yep, a walk in would probably be best. As it is I am old. The coop gets a thorough cleaning once or twice a year using the rake into wheelbarrow then dump method.

 

[Krugerrand]

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.

At some point I'll write up a coop page. (Looks like I'm already too late for this contest round.) I wanted to be sure I liked it enough myself before I was sharing everything.

I bought these plans off of Etsy:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/688674271/small-flock-chicken-coop-plans-simple

I made a number of modifications. It's a shade bigger, my roof is much bigger with a saltbox style overhang ... I went with way more ventilation than it originally had. I added some extra windows (that I still have to finish) Plus, I put the doors on the back side compared to the instructions. There are a number of reviews that show pictures with modifications that people made. I guess there are some other odds and ends I did differently.

Here's the website for the etsy store owner:
https://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2019/03/07/small-flock-chicken-coop/

If you're handy enough, just by looking at what they did, you can just put something like it together.

Also, I improvised a platform to raise it up based on some different things I saw here and elsewhere.

 

[McChooky]

Your coop is adorable.

x2

 

[Se7en]

You should build according to your needs and comfort for sure. In Louisiana, we have to consider lots of summer rain and hurricanes or at least strong storms. So we added our coop to connect to our shed to keep it from moving. We also reversed it to have the run behind the coop so it would be furthest away from any neighbors. (We live in a neighborhood with large lots.) We put the nesting boxes to the front and made the doors open down for easy access and cleaning. Our coop is just tall enough that we can stand and do what we need to do but we also created a shelf under the perches so that we can use a long rake that my husband made from wood so I can just scoop everything into a bucket for easier cleaning. So, I can stand on the outside if I want to when I clean the shelf. We also put sand on the floor and I use a long-handled cat litter scooper so that I can reach in without entering. Sometimes I need to go in for deep cleaning but otherwise, I can clean by standing outside. Our run is much taller so we can easily go in and fill the hanging feeder and suet cage. It is also large enough that I can separate a chicken if necessary which I had not prepared for so I am glad we made it larger. The reason our run is taller is that we needed the coop to be off the ground due to heavy rain so we have to step up to go in. The run is on the ground but we were able to raise the ground and slope it to drain. We are newbies so we learned by watching youtube videos about how people built their coops and why. Then we took all that info and created the best coop for us. So, don't be intimidated, and don't worry if your coop is different compared to the others you see. Just make sure it works to your advantage and your environment. I would definitely prefer a walk-in coop and I am very agile. Good luck.

 

[karenm52]

Yeah it's me again, the hesitant, coopless newbie. I do "get it" about chicken math, and my intent is to have 3 or 4, but the math says I could double that, altho I really don't want to. My space is limited and I am working with a 9x9 area that is bounded by a tree on the right, my "barn" on the back and a ramp from the barn on the left. There will be a predator protected run that extends out in front of the coop for another 8 feet. The space is small, and the overhanging of the tree limits me even more. I do not want to trim my tree, but there is a nice niche between 6 o'clock and 11 o'clock where a 4 ft roof would fit. I was thinking a flatter style would allow a bigger horizontal space, and a nice pull-out drawer for cleaning would work. For those few chickens, do I REALLY need a walk-in coop?

ask yourself - how flexible am i today; how flexible will i be in a year or two?