So . . . how 'bout THIS one? :)

[Whitewater]

Not-yet-chicken owner (me) is considering all angles of chickendom, doing research, and asking questions. Probably won't have birds this summer, probably next spring, unless hubby and I can wrangle everything by fall and get it to work out. We're not rushing, we want to know what we're getting into!

Been looking at coop designs and I quite like this one -- it's based on The Garden Coop's big coop but has a 3rd of it chopped off. Would this be enough space for 3 hens, in a very harsh winter climate (also a pretty warm summer climate, it's been known to regularly get to 90' F and above with high humidity)?

I'd put it slap up against our 4' high back yard chain link fence (the other side of the fence is our garden, so it would be easy to stack straw bales against the back of the coop for some snow protection/insulation) with the human door facing north, so that I could look into the coop from my kitchen and office windows.

I need a totally enclosed space because we have predators (hawks, raccoons, eagles, and a feral cat who could easily kill a hen) and hubby and I have two dogs who will need to share the back yard.

Here's a link to the picture that I found of somebody else's coop, using the Garden Coop's design (and like I said, they modified it).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mantid/3691800601/

Opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!


Whitewater

 

[tazcat70]

I think it looks pretty good. But if you have a way to check it out in person I would.

 

[merryberry]

I am really new at this too, but I think there is definitely enough room for 3 hens. Honestly though, unless space is so tight you have no choice, I'd just build the back third of the plan anyway, so you have enough room to expand if you want. If you are going to all that trouble to build the coop, bury the wire, etc, you might as well give yourself some leeway for the future.

We are building a coop based on the same designs, with a few modifications as well. The main one is that we are making it bigger, so that it is a 10'x10' square, and adding another section to the henhouse. Hopefully I'll have some pics up in a week or so.

 

[Whitewater]

I would love to see pics of how yours turns out! Or even the process, since I'm rather more handy than my hubby, but neither of us have built anything like this before. Luckily, though, my brother-in-law, bro, and a good friend have their carpentry degrees and yet another friend is a professional handyman and builds all the time, so we can probably get help

The Garden Coop has an e-book you can buy ($20, not bad for 40ish pages! and color pictures) to tell you how to do it and what materials you need.

I think, next paycheck, I'm going to buy the book. For $20, it's a minimal investment. And in my city, you have to have the coop first anyway so the animal control guy can put his stamp of approval on it.


Whitewater

 

[mikecnorthwest]

I don't think you can go wrong with the garden coop. Great design, great plans, and the designer will answer your emails. Go for it.

 

[Whitewater]

That sounds pretty good, Mike, that's one of the things I was wondering about. On his website the Garden Coop guy says 'Email with questions' but I know sometimes companies that say that never actually answer, or if they do, it's weeks too late or they don't answer your actual question!

I think we're going to go with the Garden Coop plans. They seem like a decent company and I always like supporting independent companies.


Whitewater

 

[merryberry]

Whitewater, we bought the e-book, and it is really worth the money. Also, I emailed the author with a question and had a response within a day.

I am taking pics of the whole process and plan on putting some of them up on a BYC page, and maybe doing a thread (we'll see how well it goes!).

 

[WoodlandWoman]

That is a beautiful coop and run combination. I do like that basic style of coop. I like the playhouse coop, too, especially if you make the housing part a little larger.

You might want to look at the make it your own pages, to see other people's modifications, too. There's also a video on the blog page, from a man in Wisconsin. For harsher winter climates, I like the modification of the solid roof for the coop. It keeps in more heat, when it's -20 or -30 at night. It also keeps snow from blowing in, when you have blizzard conditions and even a covered run has to be shoveled out. You do have to have some type of vent opening along the top, then, for air flow. Having the big opening in the side is good for the summer ventilation needs.

This design seems to be designed for the coop to be open to the run 24/7. I would make sure to use a heavy gauge 1/2" hardware cloth to build it and make sure to put down wire on the ground around the outside, to prevent digging.

I see some people have changed the floor entrance and put it in the side wall. That would give you more coop floor space for winter and also allow you to add a little door you could close at night, if you wanted to do that.

You definitely need a lot of ventilation in the summertime, when it's hot and humid.