Tacticoop Design: embrace the box

[InvertGang]

And that section below the higher end would be hardware cloth (don’t know if that can be easily rendered in your program)

@Ted Brown, a fellow Canadian (Quebec?) built an open Woods coop, and his chickens did very well in the cold. I’ll see if I can find the thread and post it.

Edit to add: I’m still looking, but Woods coops are much deeper than 4 feet, so the back can stay warm. Wiser heads will need to chime in here.

Yeah, I'm thinking about changing it so the ventilation hole is on the short left side, and adding an additional roost to the back right to make it more protected in the winter. I'm worried there isn't enough buffer area for them to be out of the cold.

 

[aart]

I'm worried there isn't enough buffer area for them to be out of the cold.

Why it's a good idea to have a coop taller than 4'

Here's some tips about heights:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coop-stack-up-how-high-stuff-works-well.73427/

 

[InvertGang]

I ended up building this from a free play fort that I got on Facebook marketplace. I swapped out one of the sides with 8 foot boards to make the floor space 4'x8'.

I will be building a fancy roof later (before winter) but for now it gets a tarp on top.

The bottom of the roof wood has hardware cloth attached and there's a piece of OSB (like plywood) on top of the roof wood. The OSB is not attached or fixed in any way. This means I can take chunks of 2x4 and slide them under the panel to adjust the ventilation as I prop the top up. This will let me play around with what works well for them.

I used a pneumatic staple gun for all the hardware cloth. I did a test and tried to yank it off and even with all my strength I was unable to pull the hardware cloth off.

Here's it before I put the sides on where you can see the roosts:

Here's the front with the pop door. The run is going to be the swing set and going to attach to those braces above the door. I've closed the gap at the top left with a 2x2.

I've got some extra panels to put over the front ventilation to reduce it if needed.

I'm finishing the run this weekend. I'm keeping the hens inside the coop for the first few days to get them used to it since they were from a big commercial hatchery.


Here's the side with the hinged flap down on the right. I'm having issues with it currently because it isn't holding tightly and the panel can be pried up.

You can see here that even though I've latched it with a hasp on the left, I can pry it away a couple inches.

We got the hens today so I've got a ratchet strap all the way around the middle of the coop to keep the panels closed until I come up with a better solution. I'm very open to advice on how to better hold them closed!

 

[paintedChix]

Finished pictures? What solution did you come up with for the hasps? I was going to suggest a 2nd one near the top.

 

[InvertGang]

Finished pictures? What solution did you come up with for the hasps? I was going to suggest a 2nd one near the top.

Hey! I fixed the hasps with some bolts with washers and wing nuts! It works super well and keeps stuff tight so weasels can't get in.

For final photos, I got the run and everything put up! I put roofing underlay on the top piece of OSB (it's like plywood) so it's waterproof. I put a tarp on top to shade the roofing underlay since it's not UV resistant.

The top OSB board isn't screwed down and the inside has hardware cloth as a ceiling. The whole board can be lifted and propped up in different positions based on how much ventilation is needed.

You can see the inside and the board here. It's getting cold at night so it's still down, but we had a hotter spell last week and I had the ceiling propped open for the week for ventilation.

I still need to build a proper door. For now I'm clamping a screen door on to keep the chickens in. I'm only letting them out when I'm around since it's not predator proof.

The entire front of the coop is hardware cloth for ventilation.

The pop door latches on the inside so it can be opened from the side panel so it can be done while collecting eggs and you don't need to go into the run to open the pop door.

I'm planning on also putting hardware cloth to set up underneath the coop so they can go there too.

I've got a rooster since I'm hoping to free range them in the future. He's doing a good job.