square footage for hen house

[littlelune810]

Very nice. Incorporating vines that they will not eat will produce nice shade and make it an attractive addition to the property. Having a structure tall enough to walk around in is very helpful. I would put only 5-6 hens and that's pushing it.

Thanks. Do you happen to know what might work as far as vines the chickens will not eat?

 

[Percheron chick]

I don't have many but they don't touch the climbing roses or clematis. You can plant squash, beans, peas...yes they will eat the fruit they can reach but will leave the leaves alone and there should be plenty to share.

 

[izziebean]

Mine pecked like crazy at my grape leaves this summer.. just the ones on the ground. My pepper plants.. laaaaaaaaa... they liked to just do one chop down at the base and the whole plant would fall over.. leaving just a stump lol. I tried to banish them from the garden but failed this year.

I do like the coop plans. I was trying to figure out how much square footage is for the actual inside part of the coop. I think it is 3' x 6'.. which is 18 square feet. The run is nice because it is covered so the rain won't make the ground so soaking wet. The hardware cloth is nice.. it goes all the way around. Make sure to use hardware cloth instead of chicken wire. Predators can tear through chicken wire easily.

I like the idea of the vining plants growing up to provide shade. Chickens like to fall over and enjoy the sun, but mine love to stay in the shade more. Depending on where you put the coop.. you might need to add in a little bench in front or something just to give a bit more shade. You'll know once you get the little ones what they will want by their behaviors. You'll want to make sure that the coop is nicely vented. It looks like they have a window at the top on the right side (inside the run) that gives some ventilation. You may want to add a bit more.

Also.. the door swings out. There is some discussion about whether a door that swings out is better than one that goes up and down. Since I'm assuming you aren't going to automate the door opening in the beginning, I wouldn't worry about it too much.

Another thing to consider is.. is there a side door or back door that opens so you can easily clean out the coop or get one of the birds out of the coop if they are sick. That is very important. Keeping the coop clean is a regular thing and you'll want easy access to all areas.

I do think that you could fit 5-6 comfortably in there. Please keep in mind that there is such a thing as 'chicken math'. You can google it if you want. I think I may have seen your flock grow slightly as this thread progresses.. which is perfectly normal. We all start with wanting one or two chicks but then.... CHICKEN MATH. **sigh** I think the chicken chick said in a recent blog to always build a coop bigger than you plan to use. I wish I would have taken that advice. It is very easy to start with the intention of just 4.. maybe 6.. and then there is this darling thing down at the local feed store.. but you have to buy them in pairs because they fit into the flock better that way... and o wait.. that nice breeder on facebook is finally putting up some of her fancy birds that lay the dark green eggs.... and soon... there are more. It's easy to rationalize getting a couple more.. because a 'coon could take out a couple and then you wouldn't have eggs....................... yea. guilty here. i have no eggs to throw...err stones.

When thinking about materials, you might want to consider coops that utilize 4' x 8'. Most plywood, osb board, and 2x4s come in that size, therefore you don't have to cut it to fit. If the plans are made properly, you wouldn't be adding on cost and your coop would be bigger... just in case........

I like the idea of ordering with a friend from a hatchery. Just make sure to decide in advance who gets what in case some of the babies don't make it alive. DO NOT let you kids open the box when it arrives from the hatchery. It's an exciting day and mine have all arrived alive in the mail, but some don't make it. This could be very upsetting for kids so just be aware. Also, if you are just wanting hens, make sure to order "sex'd chicks" as opposed to "straight run". There are a couple of breeds that actually show different colors at birth so you know for sure that they are girls. If they are called "sex'd".. that term is used lightly. It's not science.. it's an art form. The businesses try to look and see what sex the baby chick is, but 90% of the time they are right. 10% of the time they are wrong. They will usually refund your money or give you a credit for the next purchase, but be aware that you may end up with some roosters when you hear the crow.. and it might not happen for several months. I went with "straight run" which is unsex'd. Out of the 24 baby chicks.. only 4 were hens. I did a lot of rooster selling and giving away this summer. It's good to have a backup plan with what you are going to do with a rooster if one turns out to be a boy. My last order was from MyPetChicken. They allow for smaller orders and will sex out more of the different breeds. I ended up paying three times the price, but to avoid the heartache of my cute little hens crowing was well worth it. They are about 8 weeks old. One has spurs so I'm thinking that I have at least one rooster. **sigh**

I do prefer getting chicks as opposed to pullets who are laying or about to lay. The ones I raised from day one have been such a joy. The look at me as if I'm their mom. They run to me in the yard when I go in. The ones I've bought that were older just keep to themselves. That's just a matter of preference. I am trying very hard to work with the new girls to get them to like me. It has been a challenge so far.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

We bought a pre-fab coop the same day we bought our chicks, the coop had 8.66 sq. feet of forage area and advertized to accommodate 6 chickens. Being newbies we figured we were set. Even before the chicks were moved out of the brooder we realized that coop was w-a-y small and not very predator proof.
We used it a couple of times for the chicks to have time outdoors during the day but crawling in to retrieve them was not fun. Even with the ramp out, Hubs had to crawl on his belly. Cleaning would have been a nightmare. There was no place to have a water or feeder much less ample room for the chickens.

We sold it on Craigs List and repurposed a shed on our property. Worked out so much better. Those pre-fab coops look great in the magazines but are usually made with cheap materials and not realistic for more than 1 or 2 full size chickens, especially if you live in a climate that they need to be protected from the weather.

Here's what we had bought...

 

[littlelune810]

Izziebean it says it has 15 sq ft in the hen house and 48sq ft in the run. We have decided this is the one we will be building. Yes, chicken math. I have wanted up to 6 chickens but my husband though closer to 3 would be good. I convinced him that 5 or 6 would be better in case we lost one or two, then we would still get enough eggs for our family. We are renting at the moment and we can't do more than 6 chicks. When we buy a home later on I would like to hopefully get enough space to have 2 coops going so we can have two flocks at different ages. Thanks for all your help on this! I still have a lot to learn but I've been reading all the books I can find. I have 3 books out right now from the library on chickens and one on gardening. I have holds places on about 3 more chicken books. Haha!

 

[izziebean]

YAY! The decision on the coop has been made. That one is actually a hard one to make. It is very cute and a great start to the chicken world. The learning curve is actually pretty high for this, but worth it. It is sooooooo awesome that you are exposing your kids to this while they are young. I'm trying to learn biosecurity this week which I had not implemented. I lost my favorite hen and I should have been doing this but it's a learning experience.

Once you get to the point where you are getting eggs, it's okay to charge for them even for family members. Feed is not free. The eggs are not free and to be honest, it's a lot cheaper to buy them at the store. Yours will be fresh and the money will help buy more feed for the chickens. OOo yea.. if you are starting from chicks, it'll be about 4-5 months before you start getting eggs.

Chickens for dummies (the book) has been recommended to me by several people. I've skimmed through it and they have a lot of great information in the book. Also, this forum has great information.. especially the predator section and the coop design. Good luck on your new adventure!

 

[shortstack04]

Have you purchased this yet? I was wondering what you thought of it and how its working. We have a small dog house we added a run to and converted to a chicken coop but it still needs some add on space because its just too small for our 3 hens. I am desperate to get something added on asap as its already getting cold out here on MD. Considered ordering one of these prefab coops....


Cat

 

[izziebean]

I think they decided to buy building plans for building a coop rather than one of the pre-fab coops. Those little coops aren't very predator proof and will fall apart pretty easy. You could probably buy a shed on craigslist and convert to a chicken coop for less money and it would last a lot longer.

 

[Pork Pie]

I think they decided to buy building plans for building a coop rather than one of the pre-fab coops. Those little coops aren't very predator proof and will fall apart pretty easy. You could probably buy a shed on craigslist and convert to a chicken coop for less money and it would last a lot longer.

I agree totally! They are so flexible in terms of accommodating more chickens, cleaning, storing feed, being predator proof and roosts and nesting boxes can be done for almost nothing. I use branches for roosts and plastic basins for nests - works perfectly.

CT

 

[littlelune810]

Have you purchased this yet? I was wondering what you thought of it and how its working. We have a small dog house we added a run to and converted to a chicken coop but it still needs some add on space because its just too small for our 3 hens. I am desperate to get something added on asap as its already getting cold out here on MD. Considered ordering one of these prefab coops....


Cat

We decided against the kit/prefab. I linked to plans for The Garden Coop above which is what I would really like to build. However we are also onsidering starting smaller and building a Catawba style tractor or similar a-frame tractor, and then going bigger late next spring. As of right now I am gathering building materials. My father has donated quite a bit of wood- 2x4s, plywood and such and we are keeping an eye on Craigslist for free or cheap used materials to build with. Construction of any type will most likely not be started until January so we will see what we end up with. My husband is pretty handy and I've gotten him pretty excited about building our own coop.