Struggling A Little with Sizing of Coop

[Kenny_]

I agree . the 2 main screws I use and keep on hand are 3" and 2 1/2". on our silkie coop I will be getting 3 1/2" too but that cause I'm cutting my own lumber so a 2x4 will be 2"x 4", which will look like a mini beam.lol
There are alot of smart builders on here. some did know more than the op when they started there own coop but now are a lot more knowledgeable.
if the op has more questions on this coop lets get some more info like accurate bird count and plans to add more? or is this 34 birds straight run and is this a hen house or will they keep roosters. location and area where they plan to build. a simple one pitch roof style shed should be easier to build. Oh a list of supplys would help other design what you have and what direction to go or at least help you out.

When we look at the chickens up the street and in town we always think wow they look awful. One reason we think our birds look as good as they do is because in town and up the street the birds have tight small runs and coops. Our flock free range and have a nice comfortable coop(28 birds in a 40 bird coop). So on them bad days we can leave them in the coop and their is room for them to do there chicken things.
Scott

Hen house only. 38 birds. I don't plan to add any more. I won't keep any roosters. They will either go to my aunt's or be given away. They are backyard chickens, in a semi-urban area. Houses all around. I have OSB subfloor x3, 2x4s, 4x4s, chicken wire, hardware cloth, welded wire for the fencing, posts, plywood sheets for walls and roof, 1 random thick wooden table top that i just was going to mess around with and see if I could use it if possible (doubt it.) Other various pieces of wood that will be helpful for the coop. The design is pretty liquid right now, not quite sure, but I know it's going to be simple, but I do want the nesting boxes to be on the "back side" with a flip up lid that we can access them from the outside without having to go in the coop and bother the chickens.

My aunt's chicken house is adequately sized. She has room for their roosting, and nesting boxes. She chose for no floor in the house. She is telling me that I am going way too far and building too big in this house, and maybe I am, I don't know. I want to build the house raised off of the ground so the chickens can walk underneath if they'd like. I'd just fence it in with either chicken wiring or hardware cloth or a combination of the two again.

 

[aart]

The design is pretty liquid right now, not quite sure,

Good to do a sketch on graph paper for planning.

 

[ScottandSam]

Plywood is better for a floor. Osb wont hold up to any moister. Osb will work on a roof if its finished with tar paper and metal or asphalt shingles. That is standard practice. Walls also can use osb if it sided with something that is water tight also standard practice in homes. I know your not building a home but osd will not last long to any moister.

My aunt's chicken house is adequately sized. She has room for their roosting, and nesting boxes.

So base on what she has and how many chickens she has what is the size you need?
Around here most will say 4sq' per full size hen in the coop and 10sq' in the run.
I had more hens in a coop than 4 sq' for a year and they free ranged during the day. but that 1st winter there were days they couldn't come out and they managed to live. but when I added to our coop that second year I saw a huge difference in there feathering. There was a lot less picking going on this summer than the first and I'd imagine I wont see it this winter either when there locked in for days. The room and the DLM will give them more to do than pick at each other. That is exactly what I see in the farmers flock up the street and in town. It is rough feathering all the time not just a molt. But all summer winter long rough looking chickens coats (if I can call there feather a coat).
Heck production hens are in tiny cages most the lives and it shows. It all depends on if your just needing eggs. or if those birds mean more than just eggs.

Scott

 

[Kenny_]

Plywood is better for a floor. Osb wont hold up to any moister. Osb will work on a roof if its finished with tar paper and metal or asphalt shingles. That is standard practice. Walls also can use osb if it sided with something that is water tight also standard practice in homes. I know your not building a home but osd will not last long to any moister.


So base on what she has and how many chickens she has what is the size you need?
Around here most will say 4sq' per full size hen in the coop and 10sq' in the run.
I had more hens in a coop than 4 sq' for a year and they free ranged during the day. but that 1st winter there were days they couldn't come out and they managed to live. but when I added to our coop that second year I saw a huge difference in their feathering. There was a lot less picking going on this summer than the first and I'd imagine I wont see it this winter either when there locked in for days. The room and the DLM will give them more to do than pick at each other. That is exactly what I see in the farmers flock up the street and in town. It is rough feathering all the time not just a molt. But all summer winter long rough looking chickens coats (if I can call their feather a coat).
Heck production hens are in tiny cages most the lives and it shows. It all depends on if you're just needing eggs. or if those birds mean more than just eggs.

Scott

I say OSB, but I don't know what it stands for. I know what I purchased has moisture protection - at least two of them do. (The subflooring.) My aunt's house is adequate for her not for me - sorry for not being more clear. I live in southwest Georgia, so we don't usually have extreme winters. The most worrisome thing I have to deal with is a hot summer. We like the birds and intend on treating them as pets, not just producers of eggs. We want them to be comfortable and live a pleasant life. I don't want to do things unnecessarily, however - at least, initially.

What would one use for walls then if the plywood sheets aren't being used? At this point, hundreds of dollars have been spent and I'm curious if I've spent them correctly.

 

[Kenny_]

Decided to blow the budget and ordered Ondura for the roof. Did you guys think anything about the artificial turf for the nesting boxes? Is that strange? Do you think they would react well to that possibly?

 

[junebuggena]

Lots of people use scraps of carpet for their nest boxes. Artificial turf isn't much different. You are going to need a bigger coop than you are planning on if you want to keep all 38. A general starting point for coop space is about 4 sq feet per bird. Some breeds do fine with less space. Some breeds need more space. That means your coop should have a sq footage of at least 152. 8x8 only gives you 64 sq feet. If you absolutely can't go bigger than that, then I suggest not keeping more than 16 birds.

 

[ScottandSam]

How did you order a roof not having a foot print? Are you covering the run? I'd probable wait to buy anything else till you have a better than Liquid plan.

Simple 8' x18' shed 4 sheets for floor. On the forth sheet you would cut off a 2'w x8' section cut that in half. the two 1'w x 8'L pieces are floors for the nesting boxes.so there is 12+ nesting boxes divided to different widths or all the same you will have 16 at 12"w.
Now id go to graph paper and draw where you want the roost. and what else where it takes up space in the coop to get your placement.
When you get that post up a picture and we can all help make it a functional space.

Scott

 

[aart]

I say OSB, but I don't know what it stands for.

Post a pic?

Oriented Strand Board...
looks like big chips of wood pressed together with glue,
which is exactly what it is. Not sure any OSB is moisture resistant.

 

[Kenny_]

Well, I had 10 chickens die overnight due to my error. I didn't realize it was going to rain and they were in a temporary shelter. It was a perfect storm of f-ups on my part. I was trying to start a chainsaw yesterday and I cut my leg. I was more concerned about that, and it had been an extremely long day, and I didn't value my 53 lives as much as I should have. (Clearly.) I'm brutally honest with myself. I'm not speaking cavalierly because the chickens don't matter, on the contrary, they matter a lot to me. I messed up and I'm angry with myself. My favorite olive egger chicken died in the melee. My niece named 1 tiny yellow chick Leo and would you believe she/he made it through? I hope it's a hen, because I'd like to keep her. Well, no matter what now I know I will have a big enough house. My concern now is will I have enough to give to my aunt, but I guess so since I ordered so many at the beginning. That really can give me a chance to order more later on, if I wanted to. I have to tell you, I do not enjoy the death of chicken raising.

 

[ScottandSam]

Well, I had 10 chickens die overnight due to my error. I didn't realize it was going to rain and they were in a temporary shelter. It was a perfect storm of f-ups on my part. I was trying to start a chainsaw yesterday and I cut my leg. I was more concerned about that, and it had been an extremely long day, and I didn't value my 53 lives as much as I should have. (Clearly.) I'm brutally honest with myself. I'm not speaking cavalierly because the chickens don't matter, on the contrary, they matter a lot to me. I messed up and I'm angry with myself. My favorite olive egger chicken died in the melee. My niece named 1 tiny yellow chick Leo and would you believe she/he made it through? I hope it's a hen, because I'd like to keep her. Well, no matter what now I know I will have a big enough house. My concern now is will I have enough to give to my aunt, but I guess so since I ordered so many at the beginning. That really can give me a chance to order more later on, if I wanted to. I have to tell you, I do not enjoy the death of chicken raising.

my dimension was for 36 ish birds . Again if I were you I'd build it to hold 40 -50. Reason being chicken math. If your like most you got what you think you want in chicks but there always be others you will want to add later.

Hope your ok. Chainsaws are very dangerous. Sorry for your loss.
Scott