Hello all. I have been lurking a bit and finally decided to write. I moved this summer to a nice 8 acre property this past summer. I already keep bees and attempt to grow my own veges and hopefully soon my own fruit. The next step on my journey is chickens. I have read quite a bit and I am starting to formulate ideas. I know I want to get orpingtons. I live in minnesota so a big breed is desirable. I also want eggs, broody hens, and to butcher. I also have kids so a friendly breed is important. So the Orpington seems perfect.
Anyways back to coop design. I am torn between one of two things. First building a new building. My second option is using one of my current buildings. In my far back yard I have an old dirt floor pole barn. It's rather large. I believe its 35x70 or so. Clearly to big and not predator proof with that dirt floor. But whose to say I couldn't section off a corner of the building. It already has electric so that's a big bonus. Cons are distance and cutting holes in the walls for their entrance/exit. Pro is reduced expense due to minimal materials required and electric already in place. Any thoughts? I may temporarily place them there until I can build their own coop.
Another issue is coop size. I've read everything about sq ft per bird and everything, but I am not sure how many birds I want. I will probably start with around 10 but I can see this hobby expanding rapidly once I get a broody hen. All hobbies seem to expand. I am thinking about an 8x12 building. It's also important to note that in the winter they will likely spend considerable amount of time in the coop. It gets very cold with strong winds here on the minnesota west central plains. So I'm figuring that I better go bigger than smaller. So not sure if I should maybe just go 12x12 or if something smaller is ok. I'm not yet sure about a run. I have zero neighbors and am considering free ranging.
I guess my only other question is about insulation. It's easy enough to insulate the ceiling and walls, but does everybody here do anything with the floor? Also is it common to use cement for the floor or cement footings or just lumber?
That's it for now. Thanks in advance!
Anyways back to coop design. I am torn between one of two things. First building a new building. My second option is using one of my current buildings. In my far back yard I have an old dirt floor pole barn. It's rather large. I believe its 35x70 or so. Clearly to big and not predator proof with that dirt floor. But whose to say I couldn't section off a corner of the building. It already has electric so that's a big bonus. Cons are distance and cutting holes in the walls for their entrance/exit. Pro is reduced expense due to minimal materials required and electric already in place. Any thoughts? I may temporarily place them there until I can build their own coop.
Another issue is coop size. I've read everything about sq ft per bird and everything, but I am not sure how many birds I want. I will probably start with around 10 but I can see this hobby expanding rapidly once I get a broody hen. All hobbies seem to expand. I am thinking about an 8x12 building. It's also important to note that in the winter they will likely spend considerable amount of time in the coop. It gets very cold with strong winds here on the minnesota west central plains. So I'm figuring that I better go bigger than smaller. So not sure if I should maybe just go 12x12 or if something smaller is ok. I'm not yet sure about a run. I have zero neighbors and am considering free ranging.
I guess my only other question is about insulation. It's easy enough to insulate the ceiling and walls, but does everybody here do anything with the floor? Also is it common to use cement for the floor or cement footings or just lumber?
That's it for now. Thanks in advance!