Underneath coop run question

[ScottandShani]

Hello all, first time poster here.

My name is Scott. My wife Shani and I are getting our first chickens in a couple of weeks (7 Light Sussex, 5-6 months old) and are now designing and building a coop.

I have a question about a partial underneath coop run. Our plan is to have an overall coop footprint of 4' x 8'. Half of that will be totally open run area. The other 4' x 4' will be a raised nesting and roosting area. I would like to utilize the underside of that space to continue the run area for the whole 4' x 8' space with half of it covered by the roost/nest space. My question to you is this: How much height/clearance does there need to be under the nesting area for a Sussex chicken to feel comfortable using the area as a run? 18"? 2'? More?

Thank you all in advance!

-----Scott

 

[PAChickenChick2]

Truthfully 18" would be fine...you could round up to 2' to make the wood math easy

Mostly the only thing to keep in mind is how YOU want to deal with the ground under there.

There will be poop...lol...so you will probably want to hose it out...rake it out...or something like that. So, decide on THAT and then from there you can decide how high up you want your coop part to start. Another consideration is if you are going to put food/water out for them in the run. Some folks like to hang feeders/waterers under that area so it's out of weather...but again...that is up to YOU. Chickens generally aren't picky.

 

[thecoopbuilder]

My Coops are 20" high with the run extending underneath the coop, many of my customers have said that the chickens love that area. Especially in the spring for shade. 18-20 inches would be perfect. Here is a photo example.

 

[joan1708]

You will likely want to have access to it, to get a chicken or clean it out. Higher is probably better.