*UPDATED* Building a new coop - New pics on Page 8

[Stevenson]

I am interested in hearing your ideas for my coop design. I am getting an older building (8'x12") that I will be converting to a coop. I have begun working on my BYC page with pictures. I'd love to hear your opinion of what I have so far. I'll post some pictures on this thread as well, but I'll get more detailed in my BYC page.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=79085

The old building I will be picking up as soon as the weather allows.

My design concept. I think I'll have to add more ventilation, but I am concerned with all the high winds I get on my property.

Edit for Note: I am changing the roosts and the door on the east side of the building.

All ideas are welcome! Thanks!

 

[aubreynoramarie]

i love that building!

 

[jenesis536]

I think it will be great!

With the high winds, maybe consider adding a piece of wood that comes down on each side at the end of each side of the roof so that it creates sort of an awning over the top ventilation spots. At least it will block the vertical wind and sideways rain.

 

[RiddleMe]

Which way will your coop be facing?

 

[Stevenson]

Quote:
I am planning on facing the front of the coop East (due to roof configuration). We have high winds (very few trees for several miles).

 

[RiddleMe]

Quote:
I am planning on facing the front of the coop East (due to roof configuration). We have high winds (very few trees for several miles).

Ok, so your nest boxes will be on the south side of the building, which means the majority of the daylight will go over the top of them rather than into them. Sounds good!

 

[Judy]

Great building! You are fortunate to have that space to work with.

Actually, my biggest concern is the number of chickens you are talking about. It will be fine for 25 or 30, but if you start adding more from a breeder or incubator, you could get overpopulated pretty quickly. You may already have a plan for the extra chickens, though.

The only thing I'd do differently is the nest boxes. Building them external or partly external involves a lot of extra work, materials and expense, and you end up with something that is difficult to keep weather proof and predator proof, and prone to water damage. If the external egg collection is important to you, I would build them inside, around 16" from the floor to keep the floor space available for the chickens, then add a simple door in the wall to access the backs of the nests. You could even build a shelf of sorts inside for them, then use plastic bins or milk crates or similar for the nests. Very simple to clean and change design as you see the need.

I particularly like that it would not be difficult to add a small pen inside, or even a crate or cage, for a broody or injured chicken, or for adding chicks, to brood and grow them out.

What is your plan for the base?

 

[elmo]

Very nice!

About the ventilation, consider rectangle vents up at the top of the front and back walls with hinged awning flaps. That's what I use, and they've been working beautifully.

This is a picture of the back vent that I shut down and insulate in the winter. I leave the front vent, well above roost level, partially open all winter. The awning acts as a sort of wind baffle, too.

For 25 chickens, figure on about 25 square feet of ventilation. Two 12" wide vents, one at the top of each of your long walls, will get you pretty close to that.

The only thing I'd question in your design is the roost space and poop board arrangement. What are the dimensions? You'll want to allow about 10-12" of roost width per chicken. Have you got enough?

How is the poop board going to be set up for cleaning? It's a pretty deep area with the parallel roosts, so think about how to make that easy to access for cleaning. You could make the board or tray removeable (that's what I have, and I love that arrangement), or just put shavings or something on the board and reach in with a rake.

P.S. I just noticed you don't have eaves to attach vent flaps to. You could do something like this, which is how I prop my windows open:

 

[Stevenson]

Quote:
My plan is to keep about 25 chickens. I am sure that there will be times in the future when I'll want to have more to find out which to cull, but I will hopefully be able to build another coop by then.

I may have to rethink my nest boxes. I understand what you are saying about making them weather proof. I would probably shingle the roof if I did do this design. I'll keep thinkng about this one.

I am still trying to figure out what to do with the base. I want to elevate the coop, but not sure how yet. Concrete blocks are always easy, but I am not sure that one concrete block would put the coop high enough in the air. Open for suggestions here.

 

[Stevenson]

Quote:
I have seen pictures of your coop before and I really like it. I do like your ventilation system. I read somewhere else that someone used 1 sq ft of ventilation space per 10 sq ft of floor space. I'll probably try to go somewhere in between the two figures. I definitely want plenty of ventilation. These birds will not be getting supplemental heat, so I need to keep humidity down in the coop.

I agree with the roost space. I am not sure how to pull this one off. Right now I have 15 linear feet of roost space shown...which is not enough for 25 chickens, based on your 10-12" per chicken figure. I really like the concept that yelim posted on the "poop board experts" thread...I am trying to emulate that. I am attaching pictures of his from that thread. I still need to figure out how to best make this work with my design.

Again, giving credit to yelim - these are his pictures from another thread.