Soliciting for the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[sunflour]

I'm raising the coop where the floor will be 24 inches of the ground so that will give the full 16' by 20' run. I thought that the 100 sq ft under the coop would add some shade. plus I plan to add some removable wind breaks around the north and west sides to give them some protection from the wind

My coop is smaller 5 feet by just under 5 feet and a little over 24 inches elevated - it can be a back breaker to rake/clean under that. And if you have to catch a chicken under there ,you get to lay in the area

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If possible you may want to give it a little more height to ease those chores?

But they love the under the coop part of the run - a safe place from sun/rain/winds. And often a favorite place to dust bathe.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree with sunflour! And 10'x10' will be awful to crawl under. No way! Also, I would be using standard dimensions for plywood and siding, so 4'x8' building units instead. Also, a square coop isn't as useful as rectangular. Use the money spent on flooring to roof more or the run area instead, and plant trees and shrubs for more shade around the coop.

 

[aart]

Best thing I did was build my coop with 2 people doors so I can split coop into 2 sections with a temporary chicken wire wall, and later added another pop door and a separate run.

Works great for segregating a rogue cockerel, a broody hen, growing out chicks, injured bird, egg laying check.

Only regret, not being able to go bigger and roofed run....everything else worked out pretty darn good.
But I did loads of research for a good year before building and I used screws on everything because I did have to go back and tweak a few things.

Check out My Coop page, linked under my avatar.

 

[Blooie]

Head room! Plan for it, insist on it! Our original coop plan was one of those little boxy things standing on legs, built within the run. But it just looked too small. Plan B was to buy a pre-fab coop that looked like a little red barn. Cancelled that order the same day, after finding some reviews that outlined how small and flimsy it was. Ended up building a shed type structure, 6'x8'. It's also 6 feet high at the back and 8 feet high at the front. That was a mistake on my part when I wrote dimensions for the shed on the plans twice in two different areas and hubby thought that was how tall I wanted it in addition to how big I wanted it. Turned out to be a blessing because that high roof allowed for lots and lots of really good ventilation. My original goal when deciding on a shed-type building was that I wanted to be able to work in it without having to crouch or bend over. I got that!

If you make a run, (strongly advise!) try to make it separate but attached. By that I mean don't stick your coop inside your run. Have a door between the coop and the run so they can go from one to the other. If you adequately predator proof your run, you can leave the pop door open 24/7 like we do - the chickens go in and out at will without having to wait at the door for me to come let them out, and it gives some down low ventilation. Space, space, space! And again, you want to be able to stand up in it.

What do I wish I'd done? Like many others, I wish I'd made the coop bigger. Very happy with the run - wouldn't change a thing. But I do wish the coop was larger. And if at all possible, run power out there, using weather-proof fixtures! It's been a lifesaver for us. I have a light and an outlet with two receptacles in the coop, and another receptacle in the run. With our short days in winter, it's nice to be able to flip a light switch in the coop and see what I'm doing with chores I couldn't get to earlier in the day. I put a mobile home exhaust fan out there and it can either just have the cover open for passive ventilation, or have the cover open with the fan running on hot days. I can plug in a stock tank heater to keep water in the bucket from freezing in winter. And I brood chicks out there in the run, so I love the outlet in the run as well to plug in the heating pad I brood chicks with. We hear it over and over again - someone on BYC sees an idea they'd love to incorporate, but they'd have to run 200' of extension cord out there to do it. Sure, it adds to the cost (I am lucky and happen to be married to a professional electrician) but it's one of the best things about our setup, I think.

 

[sunflour]

I agree with sunflour! And 10'x10' will be awful to crawl under. No way! Also, I would be using standard dimensions for plywood and siding, so 4'x8' building units instead. Also, a square coop isn't as useful as rectangular. Use the money spent on flooring to roof more or the run area instead, and plant trees and shrubs for more shade around the coop.

Very good point about the size plywood comes in. Mine was built by a friend retired builder and he adjusted my plans to accommodate sizes materials come in.

 

[SoonerFan918]

Here are some pics to show my progress to date.

16' x 20' perimeter with 4x4x16 perimeter blocks.

Used pressure treated 4x4's, 2x6 floor joists on 16" centers and 3/4 " PT plywood decking

 

[sunflour]

Here are some pics to show my progress to date.

16' x 20' perimeter with 4x4x16 perimeter blocks.

Used pressure treated 4x4's, 2x6 floor joists on 16" centers and 3/4 " PT plywood decking

Nice start.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I agree with sunflour! And 10'x10' will be awful to crawl under. No way! Also, I would be using standard dimensions for plywood and siding, so 4'x8' building units instead. Also, a square coop isn't as useful as rectangular. Use the money spent on flooring to roof more or the run area instead, and plant trees and shrubs for more shade around the coop.

Looks like you are planning a nice setup!
There is no "wrong" but I agree with sunflour as well. I would not want to crawl under the coop to retrieve a chicken and it's possible you may have someone(s) decide to start laying eggs under there as well.

What I'd do again: Have a walk-in coop, makes it easier on my old bones. Mine is approx. 8'x12', for 7 chickens, but I would like a bit more room to set up a small separate area to hold a broody, a cockerel, or even an injured chicken (not sick) if ever needed. We've had a ton of rain so having 12'x12' of run covered (metal) and then another 5'x12' just covered with hardware cloth on top has been nice. The run stays fairly dry except when the wind is really blowing too. The uncovered part, they love when it's not raining. Mine too do not like a lot of direct sunlight (which surprised me). Early morning, they want sun when its in the 20s, but as the day warms they get in shadier areas.
Roosting: That one is hard. I like the ladder roost that I have. It hinges, so I can lift it up and attach it to the ceiling so I can walk under it to clean etc., I have poop tubs with pdz so sifting the nights droppings is easy and quick. The ladder does take up quite a bit of space, so if I ever built again, I would probably put in one long roosting pole/bar and poop boards underneath.

I also have cameras in the coop/run. Even though I'm mostly home and can look at them through the window, the camera lets me see inside the coop and I can see whats going on.
Something to consider: I really didn't think about wind blocks outside. I focused more on the coop with proper ventilation and being free of drafts. The coop is on the NW side and I get a lot of cold wind from that side, so I temporarily add some wind block on one side, but hopefully will come up with a better plan for next winter.

Always go bigger. I think I will always wish for more room.
Have fun and enjoy!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Oh, I might add using "second hand" or free materials are always fun. Most of our lumber was rough cut oak that had been sitting for years and a family member wanted rid of it. He had about 5 stacks. The tops layers couldn't be used but we found enough really good planks and beams to actually make a 26 x 26 shed and use the other part to put the tractor, etc. under. (Free lumber, I didn't mind sanding some of the rougher pieces to make it a bit nicer). Also someone had a spare window in their garage, so that was free, found a couple more at the salvage for under $20, metal roofing some was new, some was salvaged, some we had from another building we tore down. Also sturdy branches work well as perches and roosts.

 

[Folly's place]

Habitat for Humanity has 'Restores' many places, great for windows and doors, and sometimes other stuff. Mary