Total newbie asks "Does this coop design seem ok?"

[Urban Chaos]

Dont forget to check Craigslist - you can sometimes find great deals on materials or even sheds, kennels etc... that can be modified for use as a coop.

 

[kestrel42]

Quote:
You would almost certainly regret that design... there will be no way to reach all the way across the coop (to clean, to retrieve a floor egg, to catch a chicken you really need to catch e.g. b/c injured) without lying on your belly in the pooey bedding. Seriously.

I would suggest either making the coop narrower, no more than 4' across (even 4' is a pretty long reach and can result in some poo on the front of your waist), or rethinking the whole thing and going with a walk-in shed-style coop.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

Ok, so here is the big question: would a smaller henhouse be big enough? I doubled the size of the house because I thought the original dimensions would be too small for my current flock...

 

[kestrel42]

Quote:
Yeah, I've been looking at CL. But I don't have a truck to haul a used coop in, and most coops in my area are designed for the max three hens allowed in the city. I'm very lucky-I live 1/4 mile from the city line, and my city unusually allows up to 50 backyard chickens!

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:

Wow. I would be legal there!

Back to your questions... Most folks use the term "coop" for the hen house and "run" for the enclosed pen surrounding the outside area around the hen-house. Trust us when we say you would NOT want to have to reach across anything more than 3 feet to clean your coop/hen house!

The MINIMUM recommendation for "hen house" size is 4 usable square feet per chicken. For the enclosed run, not counting the hen house inside it, it should be 10 square feet per chicken.

6x5=30/4 = 7.5 chickens.

 

[patandchickens]

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No no no no no, I would NEVER try to talk someone into a smaller coop! What I would suggest is keeping the same square footage but making the house portion narrower -- perhaps 4x8 instead of 6x5

Pat

 

[Momagain1]

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Where in IL?

 

[Dixiedoodle]

one thing to remember when building is --Lumber sizes! Comparing coop sizes might cut down on waste, sawing, handling, money, time and energy... think about the best use of your materials.. Good luck..BUILD it as large as you can afford..lOL

 

[momsflock]

Quote:
I am in Joliet, west side. I am expecting 2 Eggers, SLW, and GW. I am still looking for a RLW. I am limited on how many I can have in my area. Nice to see someone in Illinois

 

[wsdareme]

First, we need to get everybody on the same page with terminology.

"Coop" and "Hen House" are the same thing. They are the structure that the chickens live in at night, lay eggs in during the day, and hang out in when the weather outside is too lousy. "Coop" is not the same as "run"...

"Run" is the term for the area outside the coop that is usually enclosed with some kind of fencing. The run is where they like to spend their days when the weather is nice. It may or may not have a cover, but some kind of cover (netting, wire, etc.) will make the chickens less susceptible to aerial attacks.

"Free ranging" is when the chickens are outside their "coop" and "run" and when they are most susceptible to all types of predators, especially dogs.

Okay, now we're all talking the same language here. Now everyone can lend advice and the OP will understand what they're trying to say.

 

[Fox&hen]

One thing I personally got from everyone on BYC is make it bigger than you think you need, (if you have the space)