space under coop

[spotstealer]

Diddo. 24" off the ground. easy to herd the girls out if I need to. It seems to be their favorite dusting spot, even when I let them range in the yard. 20-24" seems like the ideal height for a smaller coop like mine. If I went with a coop that was considerably larger, I would have to think about either on a slab or raised.

 

[53convert]

Quote:
Is it not enclosed? If it's a problem, I would suggest you fix it by enclosing the bottom area into the run and making sure you use some really strong wire. If predators are digging under it- and you've already enclosed it, there are some really great pictures on this board of people's aprons that they have layed down to prevent digging! I'll try to find the link for you! It should be a really easy fix for you!

I hope you get your problem solved quickly so that you don't lose any more birds! That is really sad when it can be fixed so easily! Good thing this board has so many invaluable ideas on here!

yes it is enclosed...............and has an apron around the outside fence which is 6' chainlink...............they climb in through the top cover...............which I am gearing up to totally rebuild...............

It is frustrating but coons are brillant in their line of work.

Thank you for the second post...............

 

[Bleenie]

My small coop is 2ft off the ground so the chickens have a cool place to hang out and I have a dry place to hang the feeder. My coop is enclosed in a yard so there's plenty of room for me to get under there to hang the feeder or take it down to fill it up.

 

[auto5man]

I'm a newby, so I make decisions based on what I've seen others do on this site for the most part. Mine is raised 24inches my thinking was for two reasons: Extra run space for the girls (I live in the city) and because I don't want to bend over to clean the coop as someone else posted, just seems like it would be easier.

 

[Hawkeye95]

Quote:
Is it not enclosed? If it's a problem, I would suggest you fix it by enclosing the bottom area into the run and making sure you use some really strong wire. If predators are digging under it- and you've already enclosed it, there are some really great pictures on this board of people's aprons that they have layed down to prevent digging! I'll try to find the link for you! It should be a really easy fix for you!

I hope you get your problem solved quickly so that you don't lose any more birds! That is really sad when it can be fixed so easily! Good thing this board has so many invaluable ideas on here!

yes it is enclosed...............and has an apron around the outside fence which is 6' chainlink...............they climb in through the top cover...............which I am gearing up to totally rebuild...............

It is frustrating but coons are brillant in their line of work.

Thank you for the second post...............

ooooh, sneaky coons!! I haven't made my run yet- so that really confirms my earlier thinking that I'll screw down some nice welded wire for the top. Geez! Sorry about your problems! It sounds like you know what to do to fix it though. Good luck on your new project! I hope it works out great for you.

 

[BigRedNZ]

I thought I might re-invigorate this post rather than start a new one. I'm in the process of designing a coop for 6-8 birds in an urban back yard. We're lucky enough to have several raised beds for veggies which the birds get to enjoy on rotation. I am going to raise the coop for summer shade and added run space. I really like the idea of access, so will add a ground level gate to get under my new coop. I was going to lift the coop enough to have it still mainly hidden by the fence, but I was wondering what people might consider the minimum for birds to access. I was also going to put the low pressure water nipples under there to keep them out of the sun (cool water).

Thanks.

 

[ddorsey]

I thought I might re-invigorate this post rather than start a new one. I'm in the process of designing a coop for 6-8 birds in an urban back yard. We're lucky enough to have several raised beds for veggies which the birds get to enjoy on rotation. I am going to raise the coop for summer shade and added run space. I really like the idea of access, so will add a ground level gate to get under my new coop. I was going to lift the coop enough to have it still mainly hidden by the fence, but I was wondering what people might consider the minimum for birds to access. I was also going to put the low pressure water nipples under there to keep them out of the sun (cool water).

Thanks.

I think you may not want to base it on minimum height for chickens but what minimum height would be for you to be able to crawl under there if necessary. I have mine at about 20" and that allows me to crawl under it if I have to repair a watering nipple or clean out a feeder. I have my feeders and water under coop and there have been a few times I have had to crawl underneath it.

 

[BigRedNZ]

Very good point, thanks.