The Coop we built this weekend...(critique please)

[WestKnollAmy]

You see I painted this one red.
My next one that I am building is yellow. DD already painted the boards for me. And the one after that is going to be bright blue.
All the little ones we built before were not painted at all. They are not built so well so no one stays in them at night.
Can't wait to get the wheels on mine. It is heavy, too! I know what you mean about that!

 

[EliteTempleton]

Nice, very nice.

Is there an egg door? You can see what I mean here if you scroll down its one of the middle pictures. That's the coop I have and it required alot of modifications(Securing and a run extension just to name a few..), but its what I bought so I made it work. Anyway I really like having an egg door. It would be easy to make one and add it.

To add security the the egg door I found a simple solution. I put in two eye hooks, one in the board and one in the door next to the edge. Then I take one of those cheap "not for climbing" carabiners and hook it thru the holes. As I am not worried about the squirrels figuring out the carabiner.

 

[Chirpy]

Very nice job... it will really look sharp once painted. I'd put a window on the south or east side for summer sun and, if you really want a second window and have room, then I'd put one on the west side for winter sun (you would want to be able to shade that one in the summer time though).

The general rule of thumb for the number of standard size chickens in an inside coop is 4 sq. ft. per chicken. That has to take into account the space taken up by waterers and feeders and nest boxes (if they are inside). So, I wouldn't have more than 4 chickens in that coop. That would be perfect for them and not have them overcrowded. Overcrowding leads to several potential problems including feather pecking.

The general rule for outside run space per chicken is 10 sq. feet.

 

[Cetawin]

Nice job. If you are going to have standards, I would put only 3 or 4 in there.

I would cut ventilation areas near the top and cover with hardwire cloth.

Putting in a window depends on how the interior is set up. Where are the nest box(es)? Roosts? etc. As long as it is well ventilated you would be fine without one.

I would also put hardwire cloth on the inside, under the frame and out a couple of feet and stake it down. That will help stopp diggers. I cannot tell from the pic if you have anything down there or not.

There is my 2 cents worth.

 

[redoak]

Nice looking coop and run, good use of space with the raised coop.

 

[SarahFair]

Thanks guys!

The nesting boxes are on the long end. I put 4...maybe 5 in there. They are 18x18 with...
Well hold on Im just going to go take a picture...

 

[SarahFair]

Ok here is the inside...

We are going to put up a wall that can be raised where the hing is. Then install another next to that with a cut out for the door..
Then leave and area at the top of that for venting

good or no?

 

[SarahFair]

Nothing??

 

[tackyrama]

quote=SarahFair -I live in Georgia. It gets cold here. Few days it can get in the teens. What should I do to insulate??

I thought about painting it the color of my house (white with black shutters) but it gets sooo dirty quick being out in the open as much as we are..

I can tell you definately not to use foam insulation unless it is covered over. Chickens love to peck it! I painted my brand new coop/barn barn red and forest green (trim and roof). Check it out.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=14471

 

[SarahFair]

Thats pretty nice!

I think Ima go with red with black trim...
A friend and I are painting it today so Ill take a snap shot and show yall!