Topic of the Week - Building a Chicken Coop

[Lspears218]

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Many of us found that building vs buying a chicken coop can be a better option for economic and other reasons. And with summer in full swing (for most of us anyway!) and spring chickens moving outside, it's the time of the year when many new chicken owners start thinking "coop". So this week I'd like to hear your thoughts on coop building. For starters:

- Do's and don'ts - What did you wish you did differently or knew when you built your coop?
- What materials would you recommend (or not) and why?
- Coop size(s)?
- Money-saving tips for coop builders?
- Anything you'd like to add?

View attachment 1047023

Pic by @bgchicken​

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

We built ours as a family and we’re fortunate to do it with all spare material from my husbands previous jobs as a carpenter. Keep in mind we built it suitable for our home, we have a fenced in yard and our pet cats / dog help protect our chickens also, so depending on where you live keep in mind the screen that we used for ventilation and access may not be right for you and protecting your flock. Everything we did was great although I must say the ONLY regret I have is putting their door to the bottom run on the floor of the coop. We framed it out so the bedding won’t fall out when it is open, BUT did not think that the chickens would actually kick the bedding all over it in the evening! So every morning I have to remove the dirty bedding from the access door to open it , and sometimes there’s a nice fresh chicken poop on it ! I am in the process of putting some kind of hook and eye system with a string to open it rather than having to touch the door itself. If you can build a coop I highly recommend it because it will be made perfect for your lifestyle and save a lot of money!

(We have 6 chickens in our flock - 1 male Easter egger, 3 sapphire gem pullets, 2 silkie pullets. They all get along great since they were raised in the brooder together and have a lot of space in their coop, we also free range them in our yard for 8 hours a day.)

 

[Back 30]

We inherited an old 8x8 chicken coop with 8x16 ft run in the yard when we rented this old farmhouse and was thrilled when the landlord said we could use it if we wanted. It only had 2 4 ft roosts and no boxes so I used 2 milk crates in on the floor, which was fine for my 4 hens. Now my question. We doubled the roosts and added 8 more feet to the run, as we got 10 chicks this spring for eggs in the fall. I still have the 2 milk crates as nest boxes, BUT, how many nests do I need for 12 laying hens?

I've heard 1 for every three laying hens. But I'm just starting out and had the same question.

 

[aart]

I've heard 1 for every three laying hens. But I'm just starting out and had the same question.

No.
1 nest for every 3-5 birds.
ETA: I have 4 nests and 16 layers, 1-2 fake eggs in each nest and they use them all.

 

[Lspears218]

I've heard 1 for every three laying hens. But I'm just starting out and had the same question.

I’ve constantly read 1 box for every 3-5 chickens , but also have seen in all of my neighbors coops (larger flocks than mine) they all wind up using the same 1-2 boxes anyways! (I bet it is all about pecking order and how well everyone gets along at the end of the day.)

 

[AnchoredHomestead]

View attachment 2707706​

Many of us found that building vs buying a chicken coop can be a better option for economic and other reasons. And with summer in full swing (for most of us anyway!) and spring chickens moving outside, it's the time of the year when many new chicken owners start thinking "coop". So this week I'd like to hear your thoughts on coop building. For starters:

- Do's and don'ts - What did you wish you did differently or knew when you built your coop?
- What materials would you recommend (or not) and why?
- Coop size(s)?
- Money-saving tips for coop builders?
- Anything you'd like to add?

View attachment 1047023

Pic by @bgchicken​

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

As someone building my first coop this year, thank you for this thread! What a wealth of info-

 

[AnchoredHomestead]

View attachment 2707706​

Many of us found that building vs buying a chicken coop can be a better option for economic and other reasons. And with summer in full swing (for most of us anyway!) and spring chickens moving outside, it's the time of the year when many new chicken owners start thinking "coop". So this week I'd like to hear your thoughts on coop building. For starters:

- Do's and don'ts - What did you wish you did differently or knew when you built your coop?
- What materials would you recommend (or not) and why?
- Coop size(s)?
- Money-saving tips for coop builders?
- Anything you'd like to add?

View attachment 1047023

Pic by @bgchicken​

For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

Does anyone have a picture of their “top hinge window” they could share so I can see exactly what it looks like? TIA

 

[3KillerBs]

Does anyone have a picture of their “top hinge window” they could share so I can see exactly what it looks like? TIA

This coop article has them: https://countryliving.blog/2021/06/15/my-coop/

And this article about making a prop for them has good photos: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/window-support-for-top-hinged-windows.74810/

 

[Radena]

We inherited an old 8x8 chicken coop with 8x16 ft run in the yard when we rented this old farmhouse and was thrilled when the landlord said we could use it if we wanted. It only had 2 4 ft roosts and no boxes so I used 2 milk crates in on the floor, which was fine for my 4 hens. Now my question. We doubled the roosts and added 8 more feet to the run, as we got 10 chicks this spring for eggs in the fall. I still have the 2 milk crates as nest boxes, BUT, how many nests do I need for 12 laying hens?

2. Lol I have 10 nest boxes. 10 laying hens. They ALL pretty much lay in the same box.

 

[kathy2691]

We got 12 chicks. We’ve had them for 3 weeks and they’re almost fully feathered (which makes me believe they were closer to a week old when we got them). We’re new to this so we kept an inside brooder in our spare bedroom. My husband bought a 12’x8’ shed to use as the coop. It’s probably more room than they will need but he didn’t care for the chicken coop kits he looked at and we wanted to be able to walk around inside. He made a nice roosting bar and set up feeders using PVC pipes. Eventually he will be adding a watering system using a rain barrel.

My question is about ventilation. The shed has a window we can open and close but I don’t want to leave it open at night due to predators. I live in coastal NC so it gets very hot and very humid. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[3KillerBs]

My question is about ventilation. The shed has a window we can open and close but I don’t want to leave it open at night due to predators. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Welcome to BYC.

If you put your location into your profile people can give better-targeted advice because climate matters -- especially when it comes to housing.

The general recommendation for ventilation is 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per adult, standard-size hen. The way you protect vents from predators is to cover all openings with 1/2" hardware cloth.

Here's my article on coop ventilation: Repecka Illustrates Coop Ventilation