Total Newb Coop Design

[bloomr]

I love the idea of building something, but I have never done this before. It took me almost 2 weeks to (kind of) get the hang of google sketch-up, and it seems like doing the mock-up could make the build a lot easier.

We currently have 2 barred rock hens, 2 years old. In the brooder, we have 1 buff orpington and 1 Rhode Island red, 4 weeks old, so the coop is made for 4 who will mostly free range. The back and left walls of the coop will be backed up against two solid walls of an existing, secured run.

Here is my tentative plan, having stolen ideas from a few different coops online...

I plan to add a poop hammock or a poop board under the the roost.

Waffle-type patterns indicate hidden components. The footprint is 5x3. I may switch these front two people doors, but I wonder if the chicken door will then make nest boxes too brightly lit. I'm also a bit worried that nest boxes look too large. I don't want the thing to "Titanic," haha.

There are 3 windows with shutters and 3 perpetual vents, 2 low and 1 high, which runs the length of the roof in the back. I hope it will work, and I don't go broke trying! I'd like to upload the whole sketch-up project, but the file is apparently too large.

 

[Percheron chick]

With 4 hens, you only need one nesting box. I would omit the nesting boxes and add that space to the coop. Just go with one covered litter pan on the coop floor. ,5x3 is tiny.

 

[PetesChicks]

Make it bigger. You’ll need a minimum of 4 sq ft per bird, and more than that for bad weather when they want to stay inside. Also for integrating the new chicks with your existing girls, they will need room to run & escape any bullying. And chicken math is real, if you want to add to your flock later, it will be easier if you have the room from the get-go. You should consider a walk-in, it will make caring for them much easier.

I wouldn’t worry about the nesting boxes being to bright, but you can add curtains.

Good luck!

 

[jthornton]

I built this coop before I knew anything about building coops and wish I had never built a raised coop every morning when I clean the poop up.



Starting from scratch go with a walk in coop and read @aart stackup article.

JT

 

[aart]

Nice model!
As a long time 3D designer, it's definitely good to ''mock it up' on the screen before building.

Ditto the 'go bigger'.
4 birds will barely fit in there....'mostly free range' helps but.....
They will have trouble getting up and down from the roost as it is,
tho the lower roost will help,
adding a poop board will make it impossible.
But you could just use the floor as a poop board.

What kind of coop do you have now for the 2 year olds?
How big is your run and is it weather proof?

What is your climate/location?
Adding it to profile is easy, then it's always there!

 

[Howard E]

If this is something you really want to do, and are willing to accept the outcome.....good or bad, by all means, have a go at it. I can assure you right now, there have been better designs and coops built, but also far worse.

Having said that, you mind find this helpful:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/purina-coop-plans-or-something-easy.1160855/

That thread references a coop design that at one time was offered by Purina Mills feed company. They put it together as a plan for a small backyard flock like yours. In practice, it was found to be a bad design and they have since taken it down. Bad in that they may have had someone who could draw, but that someone really didn't know anything about raising chickens, so the house was not well suited to raising chickens. A lot of very subtle things done wrong.

Even worse was a similar sized house built for a segment of "This Old House".

The guys did an excellent job of building a truly horrible design that lacked light and ventilation, a death trap in both summer and winter.......but did include 6.....count em.......6 next boxes. Again, whoever designed that plan had no clue what they were doing.

So that is the risk you take with something like this. Reinventing the wheel. There are a lot of subtle things that if you get right, will work well for you or if you get wrong, will blow up in your face.

Does this house look all that much different from the GOH or Purina design?


It is. A variation on a nearly 100 year old design in which every aspect of this house was designed and engineered from the ground up to be safe, comfortable housing for up to a dozen birds. Flooring, light....amounts and orientation, ventilation.....position and amounts, roost space and placement and on and on.

Lastly, I cringe when I see the word "cute". Cute is the sprig of parsley added to the plate as garnish to go along with a carefully planned and prepared meal. Do not put the parsley on first and build around that. You won't be happy with that meal at all.

 

[jthornton]

Good on you for submitting your design for review. Hopefully, you'll find some useful suggestions.

I'll have to disagree on this. I only have 3 hens, but it isn't uncommon to have two in the boxes at the same time.

I have 9 pullets and only one nest box, the record so far is 5 at one time in the nest box all sitting quietly while the magic happens...

JT

 

[cholland]

All good advice.
Good work with Sketchup, I love that software.

Personally I would not build a coop smaller than 4x8. Even for just 4 birds that's not too much room, they will hang out inside in bad weather.
For nesting boxes, I would provide two, or one large double wide communal box. Plan for good ventilation and light, your chickens will thank you.
I just keep 4-6 inches of pine shavings on the floor. Even with a dozen plus chickens it's not that much poop. Only need to clean it out 2-3 times a year.

 

[aart]

I just keep 4-6 inches of pine shavings on the floor. Even with a dozen plus chickens it's not that much poop. Only need to clean it out 2-3 times a year.

Do you use a poop board?

 

[cholland]

Nope. I just mix it up every couple of weeks. If there are some larger clumps I toss them out. I'll add more shavings after a while too. It might get to be 8 inches deep before I clean out. Kind of a deep litter system. It stays really dry.
Then I scoop it out into the run and migrates down the slope into the real deep litter compost at the lower end of the large run/chicken yard.

I've been considering using oak leaves in the fall in the coop but I haven't tried it yet. I have tons of leaves. They are great litter in the run. All of my leaf piles go in the chicken yard in the fall. Build up a good layer before the wet winter.

Don't mean to hijack the thread. Coop bedding and run litter maintenance are important for keeping a clean healthy flock. And plenty of space, bored chickens get into trouble like unsupervised children.