Things you've learned while building your coop...

[mendogurl]

Quote:
Hi, can you tell us more about this?
This is so great for those of us who are starting to build !!!!!

 

[sewchick]

The only thing I don't like about my coop is the door swings in. It's a small coop. The door will be fixed this summer to swing out. What pita.

 

[mmtillman]

Be really sweet to DH about a week before you break it to him that he is goin to build you another coop.

 

[Zahboo]

All great advice keep it coming. If you have harsh winters, make the coop a little bigger since they may be inside for more than normal.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Before you build your coop, know what you want it to do. Are you going to feed and water in it year round? Are nest boxes inside or elsewhere? With your climate, are they going to free range every day so they will hardly ever be in the coop, just to roost and lay or will they spend a lot of time there? Are you going to hatch with broody hens?

Make it convenient for you. If you are going inside, give yourself room to work.

Have a plan to handle the poop. Not just cleaning, but what are you going to do with it. If relevant, make your door big enough to get a wheelbarrow in.

Assure the floor drains.

If you are watering inside, try to arrange so spilled water does not soak the litter.

I like having a way to enter the coop without going through the run. Most runs can get pretty muddy or you may be able to avoid stepping in pop.

Have a dry storage area for litter and food.

If you have chickens you have chicken feed. If you have chicken feed, you have or will have mice and maybe rats. Plan for a safe vermin control plan.

Read Pat's ventilation page. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

Have a chicken prison that keeps the chicken next to the flock to reduce pecking order issues. You may use it to break up a broody, isolate an injured chicken, introduce a new chicken to the flock, or who knows what else. It needs its own food and water, weather and predator protection.

Adopt the ideas you get from here and other sources to your unique circumstances. What you need will depend on your climate, size and makeup of your flock, rural or urban, purpose of your flock (dual purpose, eggs, meat, show, pets, breeding, just enjoying their silly antics, etc), and who knows what else that makes your situation unique. There are good reasons for doors to swing in. There are good reasons for doors to swing out. Which works for you?

Contribute to this forum with your lessons learned, whether success or failure. We all need to learn more.

 

[Zahboo]

AMEN!

 

[ausamerican33]

A space for a chicken time out (I prefer that over prison!) - I REALLY wish I had done that. I've got 2 broody hens that keep disappearing. Got one back today and I'm still trying to figure out how the heck I can get a dog crate in there without getting covered in chicken poop from bumping into everything. But I digress!

My best advice - start saving and drawing up your plans for your second coop as soon as the paint is dry on your first. You KNOW once you finish it, you'll have caught the chicken bug baaaaad.

Sure wish I had known about the chickens eating foam insulation before I covered my coop with it. Good thing you can't see insulation foam in scrambled eggs.

Figure out where you will hang your feeders and waters when you figure out where you'll put your roosts. My waterer is always getting poopy b/c it doesn't have enough clearance from the roosts.

I love this thread!!

 

[newchickmom]

Be sure to build nest boxes so chickens can't roost on top.

I also like the way my door to the coop is set up. The outside, solid door swings out and the inside, chicken wire door, swings in. There is also a 6 inch board between the 2 doors to keep the bedding inside the coop.

 

[briana1975]

Quote:
I got mine a new tool for the job of building a chicken coop this spring. He can't wait to use it.

 

[Zahboo]

Think about the cleaning method you want to use. Deep litter needs a higher space between the floor and door, wire floor needs supports throughout to keep the wire from bending. Also you may need a way to cover the flooring.