So we still have quite a bit of exterior work to do - the rest of the trusses and roofing goes up this weekend - but now that the structure is coming together I've begun planning the interior of the coop. I used Google SketchUp to come up with some designs. At one point I was thinking of dividing the coop into three pens but have revised that to divide the coop into two. My laying flock and my SQ BR flock will reside in the large coop. My Silkie flock will be housed in a separate small coop that I'm currently using to house my layers.
Here are the interior features of the big coop:
- Two pens, each 6' x 12' can house about 14 birds @ 5sf per bird. 28 birds total.
- Ample roost space with poop boards for easy cleaning and to reduce shavings use.
- Bulk feeder that will hold at least one 50 lb bag of food, likely 2 bags.
- Two 55 gallon rain barrels hooked up to gutter system that will provide chickens with H2O. Extra will be routed to the Silkie coop and garden.
- Spouts from rain barrels will be routed through the wall to waterers for quick and easy watering.
- Pop doors lead to large run area.
- Wall mounted roll away brooder boxes in each pen (only one is shown in the model) with front collection areas. These will be open nest boxes to start but could be divided into 3 with partitions pretty easily if the girls aren't fond of the group design. Eggs roll forward into the box on the front which has a hinged top for collection. There will also be a barrier (like the one in Opa's design which this was adapted from) between the collection box and the nest to further discourage egg eating which I'm having an issue with right now.
And my favorite feature...
- Four 2' x 3' brooder cages for raising chicks. These are raised off of the floor to maximize floor space for the adult birds.
Here are the Models:
Overview of the coop interior. Roost, 2 level brooders, and waterers on the back wall. Feeder on the opposite wall with the pop doors, and roll away nest boxes on the right hand wall.
Exterior view of the rain barrels. These will be raised off the ground so that the flow heads downhill from the bottom of the barrel.
Close up of waterers. I'll be running PVC pipe through the wall to a PVC spigot w/ shut off valve. The waterers are 12" ground feeders similar the ones I use for feeding the horses grain out in the field. They are set under the poop board which is 3' wide and should provide ample protection from the roosting birds above.
