Started 1st coop yesterday!

[4theBirdz]

Hey everyone. So , 1st timer with chickens and building my 1st coop. I work in construction so the building part isnt too difficult. We have 9 chicks. Im making a 6×8 coop with an attached 10×12 run. Does this sound sufficient? Heres a pic so far. I covered the floor with laminate flooring fir easier clean up

 

[JoannaJ]

Awesome, post some more pics so we can all get 'coop envy' as your going along!

My only draw back with the floor was we had rats get in a chew the laminate to hell! That was just our bad experience however. Plus yours is off the floor, which is great.

Size wise - 4sqft per bird of coop space [min] for standard size chickens ie not bantams. So for 9 chickens you'd need 4*9= 36sqft or in other words a coop measuring 6ft*6ft. So your 6*8 sounds fine. Room for more!!

More space is required in the run than in the coop, probably 8sqft per bird, again for standard chickens. https://www.poultrypages.com/best-large-chicken-coop-for-10-chickens/

What breeds do you have as some wont tolerate confinement? My icelandics for example are free range free spirits and cant wait to get out the run in the morning!

Ohhh, one more thing about 8-12 inches of roost space per bird. More if you have Large breeds like Orpingtons or Austra's. Been a while since hubby built ours, all this coop talk, maybe we are due an upgrade....

 

[4theBirdz]

Awesome, post some more pics so we can all get 'coop envy' as your going along!

My only draw back with the floor was we had rats get in a chew the laminate to hell! That was just our bad experience however. Plus yours is off the floor, which is great.

Size wise - 4sqft per bird of coop space [min] for standard size chickens ie not bantams. So for 9 chickens you'd need 4*9= 36sqft or in other words a coop measuring 6ft*6ft. So your 6*8 sounds fine. Room for more!!

More space is required in the run than in the coop, probably 8sqft per bird, again for standard chickens. https://www.poultrypages.com/best-large-chicken-coop-for-10-chickens/

What breeds do you have as some wont tolerate confinement? My icelandics for example are free range free spirits and cant wait to get out the run in the morning!

Ohhh, one more thing about 8-12 inches of roost space per bird. More if you have Large breeds like Orpingtons or Austra's. Been a while since hubby built ours, all this coop talk, maybe we are due an upgrade....

Thanks for the feedback! We got 9 chicks, 3 tetra tints, a barred rock, buff orpington, light brahama and three I have no clues, lol

 

[DobieLover]

Hey everyone. So , 1st timer with chickens and building my 1st coop. I work in construction so the building part isnt too difficult. We have 9 chicks. Im making a 6×8 coop with an attached 10×12 run. Does this sound sufficient? Heres a pic so far. I covered the floor with laminate flooring fir easier clean up

Your coop and run proportions are very good for the size flock you have. I feel the minimum space between the coop and run should be 15 sq ft per bird. Most others will quote 10. If you build it that small, you can tell from the beginning it just isn't large enough.
So don't get crazy with this chicken math stuff! Your birds will be the ones to suffer for it.

 

[4theBirdz]

Your coop and run proportions are very good for the size flock you have. I feel the minimum space between the coop and run should be 15 sq ft per bird. Most others will quote 10. If you build it that small, you can tell from the beginning it just isn't large enough.
So don't get crazy with this chicken math stuff! Your birds will be the ones to suffer for it.

Thanks, that puts my mind at ease.

 

[Acre4Me]

Looks good. Our coop is elevated, and the birds like the shade. Looks like yours is elevated a decent amount. Know that the chickens will hang out there and may lay an egg or two under there, especially when they are young/new layers. So, if you are fencing it in, make sure you can get all around the entire perimeter of the coop bc you may need to retrieve egg or bird a time or two.

we built an access deck that was long so that the stairs were far over to the side. This way we can roll a wheelbarrow up to thedeck, and toss soiled bedding right into the wheelbarrow.

Add lots of upper ventilation: easy way is to elevate the roof onto 2x4s so there is 3.5” of ventilation all around the upper walls of the coop. Adding roof vents are also helpful. Try to put as much ventilation above the roosts as you can.

what is your general location? What is your climate like through the year?

 

[4theBirdz]

Looks good. Our coop is elevated, and the birds like the shade. Looks like yours is elevated a decent amount. Know that the chickens will hang out there and may lay an egg or two under there, especially when they are young/new layers. So, if you are fencing it in, make sure you can get all around the entire perimeter of the coop bc you may need to retrieve egg or bird a time or two.

we built an access deck that was long so that the stairs were far over to the side. This way we can roll a wheelbarrow up to thedeck, and toss soiled bedding right into the wheelbarrow.

Add lots of upper ventilation: easy way is to elevate the roof onto 2x4s so there is 3.5” of ventilation all around the upper walls of the coop. Adding roof vents are also helpful. Try to put as much ventilation above the roosts as you can.

what is your general location? What is your climate like through the year?

Thanks for the tips. I live in MA. Nice this time of year, hit and humid summers and cold winters( fall is great). I plan on having a large access door on one side, I put down laminate flooring, both to help with cleanout.iwas going to block in between my rafter boards and cut a vent in, maybe Ill only block every other leaving them for more ventilation as well as cut in a ling vent bear the top of the front wall ( and back)

 

[aart]

iwas going to block in between my rafter boards and cut a vent in, maybe Ill only block every other leaving them for more ventilation as well as cut in a ling vent bear the top of the front wall ( and back)

Leave them all open, cover with 1/2" hardware cloth.
12" roof overhangs, all around, with fascia. to protect all vents and windows. year round.
See My Coop Page for more pics.

 

[4theBirdz]

Thanks

Leave them all open, cover with 1/2" hardware cloth.
12" roof overhangs, all around, with fascia. to protect all vents and windows. year round.
See My Coop Page for more pics.

Thanks, I didnt get much more done today, did some stuff with the kids and some cleaning to make my wife happy while she was working

 

[4theBirdz]

Thanks

Leave them all open, cover with 1/2" hardware cloth.
12" roof overhangs, all around, with fascia. to protect all vents and windows. year round.
See My Coop Page for more pics.

Thanks, I didnt get much more done today, did some stuff with the kids and some cleaning to make my wife happy while she was workingView attachment 2143920