Thoughts on this coop?

[sharkerbaby]

Might need more coop ventilation ....

That's sarcastic right, kind of a play on the "go to" answer for all coop suitability questions? Because it looks to me like half of the back wall is open, half of one of the side walls is open, about 1/3 of the front wall is open, and there is decent size top vents on the only two walls that go floor to ceiling.

 

[Acre4Me]

THANK YOU for all of the feedback and replies.

This model is just a sample of one that I pulled from his previous builds.

Price on this coop is right at $1000 delivered/setup, so while not cheap, the quality appears to be higher than most that I've seen around here.

- He does build a model with a slanted roof. I'd request that with overhang and to orient the metal roofing in the direction of the slope.

- I noticed the same thing with the roost/nesting boxes. My thought would be to build a roost bar on one of the side walls to provide a higher space. Simple to do with some 2x4s...

- Privacy of the nesting boxes is a good thought. Maybe it would be worth removing all together and doing a couple makeshift nesting boxes lower on the wall? I've seen some done with milk crates that would be easy enough to do. Or add a bump out for the nesting box.

Sounds like a good plan! At least he can customize a bit for you. You are paying for his time and skill and materials...sounds ok, price wise for the size. However, like with anything that you have done for you, go over the details with him...thickness of wood on sides, type of wood (resist rot in hot, humid GA - do you have sea/salt air to worry about?) type of fasteners (screws, nails, galvanized, coated, etc), number of fasteners and supports. For 1K for a relatively basic build, you should be getting something that should last well. Good Luck!

 

[aart]

He does build a model with a slanted roof. I'd request that with overhang and to orient the metal roofing in the direction of the slope.

That's good.
The design of the interior, nests/roosts, is tricky with that small a space.
Many coop sellers lack decent designing for chickens (and keepers) skills.
I might put 2 covered nests on short wall at floor level and a poop board with roost on the long wall. Might need a ramp. Gonna take some good planning and drawings then ask him to build to your design.

That's sarcastic right, kind of a play on the "go to" answer for all coop suitability questions? Because it looks to me like half of the back wall is open, half of one of the side walls is open, about 1/3 of the front wall is open, and there is decent size top vents on the only two walls that go floor to ceiling.

Not sarcastic....it's Georgia, so tho lots of open space there, still might want more.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is that built remotely and transported to you or will it be built on site? If remotely that may be the size you need to avoid transportation permits but if it is built in place you might get a better price going with an 8' x 8' since most building materials come in standard 4' or 8' dimensions. Less cutting and waste. Both are about the same size and should be adequate for 6 chickens.

If that is built as well as it looks you should never need to lock them in the coop section itself as long as you provide dig protection. I'd suggest an apron, which you can easily add yourself. Basically you have an 18" to 24" apron around the outside so a animal goes up the the wall, starts to dig, hits the wire, and does not know to back up. Very effective and easy to do. If you never lock them in the coop section they have the use of the entire area at all times so coop-section size is not relevant as far as containing them. The whole thing is the coop/run.

I don't see a lot of reason to even have that interior wall. I like flexibility and having the ability to lock them into or out of the coop section only might come in handy, but I'm not seeing any other benefit. Why do you need it if the whole thing is predator proof? It would sure open up the inside and you would need only one exterior entrance door, could reduce costs.

Unless you have a good reason to gather eggs from outside the coop I would not bother setting that up. Putting nests accessible from outside the coop/run adds to the complexity of the build, increases your costs, provides a possible weak spot in your predator protection, and may leak if not done carefully. Many people have good reasons for having nests accessible from outside, I'm not arguing that good reasons don't exist. For some coops it is necessary. Just something to consider for this one. You will have plenty of room either way.

I think someone mentioned this. It looks like rain could come through that wire and get the nests wet. You do not want that to happen.

I cannot tell if that roof has a slope or not. You do need a slope and you do not want the rainwater to run off over a door you are using to go in and out.

This may be more personal preference than anything else, but I prefer a hasp-type lock on the doors with something like a carabiner to lock it closed. I just feel it might work better to stop a raccoon. I do like the heavy hinges he is using, hardware needs to be robust and can get expensive.

I suspect your winters and especially early spring might be a bit cool and moist. That's a recipe for you to get a lot of condensation on that metal roof which can drip inside. My metal roof did that when I was in Arkansas but my overall coop was so dry and the ventilation was good enough that it was not a problem, it soon dried out. A lot of outbuildings have metal roofs like that. For some people it is a real problem, for some it is not. You might consider having it insulated to start with or watch it to see if you need to do something if it is a problem.

I see that the coop has a dirt floor, so does mine. When you position that coop you need to put it where water drains away from it, not to it. Putting it in a low spot where water collects is a huge mistake. You may want to haul in some dirt or sand to put it on so it stays dry.

Overall I like it. It looks solidly built and is tailored to your climate. Good luck!

 

[ssramage]

More great feedback. I had a long call with the builder today. He actually prefabs these coops in panels, and then assembles on site. Since he's building on site, we'll tweak my specific requests the day he installs.

Overall, it's 10x better than what I currently have and I think will be a good fit with a few tweaks for our small scale chicken operation. I also like that a 6x10' is relatively small enough that we can move with us at some point since we're renting our house now.

 

[paneubert]

Since he's building on site, we'll tweak my specific requests the day he installs.

Just be careful with this.....lots of people are told that all their custom wishes and dreams will be seen in the final project. And then on delivery/build day there is suddenly an excuse as to why the roof cant be extended or sloped. Or why the nest boxes HAVE to be where they have them and that they misunderstood what you wanted. Since it is a high pressure time of the transaction and you are super excited, the buyer caves and accepts whatever the seller claims is possible. A lot like buying a car....

I would hold back some of the money until it is 100% finished.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Definitely get a pitched or slanted roof.

I think the nest boxes and roosts could be easily fixed or modified, I'd actually just ask the guy to leave them off or leave them uninstalled and install them myself to a location of my liking.

Overall it's a nice looking build for the price. In my area this would be a major bargain. Sounds like this guy's been doing this a while and is willing to customize so that's a plus.