Thoughts on beginner coop/run

[ssteiner]

Hi everyone,

I've built a coop (see below) and attached a run to it. The coop is about 6 inches off the ground, sitting on four cinderblocks. It's 2 feet high, by 2 feet deep, by 4 feet wide. It has a slanted, hinged roof, along with a hinged side door that I can open to let the girls out to free range. The run is 2 feet high by 2 feet wide by 6 feet long. And it attached to the coop's open door, which is about 10 inches high by 6 inches wide. The run is covered top, sides and end with standard chicken wire.

I have 3 hens that are still babies but I wanted to have this ready to go and would appreciate any input, since there's so much great experience here. Thanks.

-Scott

 

[@migocontodos~]

Hi Scott,

About the only thing I might would have made larger would have been how how high everything was. Especially if you have roosting post in the coop area.
If they pullets are standards you might see them as being cramped as far as having head room.
BUT...what you have there certainly will work.
I only wish I could build something that nice!
Todd

 

[Mahonri]

I agree that the height is a little small. I'd call this a starter coop. You are going to want to make a bigger one. You'll be able to use this one in the future for breeding or isolation.

 

[coffeelady3]

My coop is about 2 feet high. I made a roost that sits just a couple of inches off the ground. It has it's own dropping boards attached and is removable. It works fine for my two girls.

Here's a pic of the roost.

If you're going to have 3 in there you might want to widen the run a bit. Mine has the same square footage for my 2 girls and it's fine. (I let them free range when I'm home), but I'm wanting to get one more bantam. The one thing I know I'm going to have to do before then is add to my run. The more room they have the less aggression you'll have.

 

[LynneP]

What is the gauge of your chicken wire? Chicken wire will keep birds in, but young one can get hung up in the openings. Predators can reach or crawl through. You might want to add some 1/2" hardware cloth, to be safe!

 

[digitS']

It's really small for 3 hens. I like small flocks and small coops but this seems to be really tight, Scott.

You haven't said anything about feed, water, and nest. Can these things go on the exterior? Could the run be roofed and the feeder & waterer located out there?

How 'bout this? Set the coop on a wooden box rather than cinderblocks. The chickens' entrance to the run could be either thru an open wall in a 3-sided box or thru a door in a 4-sided. The birds could roost and nest upstairs. Just setting the coop on a table would provide a protected area underneath. Legs as short as 18 inches would be sufficient and netting could be secured to them.

Varmint issues may need to be dealt with.

Steve

 

[ssteiner]

An excellent suggestion. If I understand it correctly, you're suggesting that I make use of the vacant space underneath the coop? It would be easy enough to build a wooden frame and place the coop on it, thus giving them access to the area underneath the coop. Please let me know if I'm understanding you correctly.

Also, 1/3 of the run is covered, and this is where I keep the feeder and waterer. Also, I was thinking of building the nesting box so that it's on the outside of the coop. By this of course I mean attaching a box to the outside of the coop and having it accessible only from within.

What do you think? I'm REALLY tight for space and will likely have to make do with the current floorplan, so creative ideas for maximizing space are great. Thanks.

-Scott

 

[digitS']

It looks like you have all the bases covered, Scott.

I like coops that are just big enuf to fit. It keeps ‘em warm in the Winter

.

Steve