Thoughts on coop construction

[Spanishearl]

Awesome, thanks! I'm planning on making a ceiling to avoid the runoff, which will be more rain than snow in the winter. Last winter, it snowed about an inch, which lasted a day, it's the rain....

 

[Spanishearl]

Quick question however, for anyone living near large bodies of water, such as the ocean like me. Do you insulate your coops? The temp doesn't usually get below freezing here, but it is a "different" kind of cold because of the rain. Living on an island surrounded by the ocean leads to high humidity.
Would a well vented coop without insulation be sufficient?

 

[junebuggena]

I live in a similar climate. Right on the coast. Near constant rain. Severe wind. Never really properly warm, but never really freezing cold either. Venting at the roof line and at the gables works best. And you need a good roof overhang to keep any rain from blowing in through the vents.

 

[Spanishearl]

Thanks! Do you have insulation?

 

[junebuggena]

No insulation. Don't need it. And chickens love to eat that stuff. Just not worth the added expense.

 

[Spanishearl]

Good to know, thanks!

Also, so, I threw something together for a basis in sketchup. Turns out, the total area for running around (including under the coop), will be approx. 164 sqft.

I didn't add in the door under the deck, nor the sliding door on the deck, but this is a rough idea of what everything can look like. The dimensions of the ground are all accurate however. I didn't add in the fencing, as I'm certain that's something of a given, so no need to.

Thoughts?

 

[junebuggena]

Looks great. Just make sure you leave at least a 3 inch space between the walls and the roof, all the way around, to maximize your ventilation. Nice and sheltered location, with pre-existing wind blocks. Are your stairs open like that in real-life? If so, you will need to use something to keep the chickens from escaping through there.

 

[Isaac 0]

I'm kinda a freak about this but this but give your chickens as much space as possible just like im sure you would want space instead of a small area your coop looks good though

 

[Spanishearl]

The stairs are in fact open like that, and I'll be adding mesh along the bottom for sure!

@MasterOfClucker, I'm also going to be building a portable chicken run to bring them into the side yard for plenty of exercise and foraging for the enormous insects that seem to breed in this province!

 

[aart]

I love a good 3d model!

One thing I see..... lower the nests(so bottom of nest is even with, or a couple inches above, the floor),
so roost can be higher than nests or they will roost(sleep) in nests and poop them up.

Make sure you have easy reach access to all parts of the coop, eventually you will need to be able to grab birds off roost at night to examine them.

Also keep in mind that sometimes down the road you will want/need to add/replace birds, you'll need separate but adjacent 'extra' space for that.