* Updated wit PICs!!!* Chicken Coop Adventure

[Celtic Hill]

So before we ordered our chicks my mother and i had designed the coup. 4 Nesting boxes easy access from the out side, it was going to be 4x4, then we changed it around and made it 4x6 with six nesting boxes. Just a little hen house for our hens...

So tonight we bring our plans to my grandfather who were going to build the coup with. He was a contractor for years and has built dozens of houses. First he want's to put a wire floor in it for easy cleaning. Me being the animal rights vegetarian was like "NOOOOO!!!" (okay so i wasn't exactly like that) So we decided to do a wood floor. Then he wanted to put skids on it to move it around easy, make sense. Then he was like well why don't we put another set of nesting boxes on top of each other so that doubles it to like 12, or 10 if we make them big.. So then we were like okayy...

He goes out smokes a cig and comes back in

Well why don't you make the grain room (which used to be a coup for our pigeons) into a chicken coup. And i was like

(i have this fear of walk in coups...don't ask me why!) So then i was shaking my head and my mom was like...No,

So right now all we know is its going to be lifted 2 feet off the ground on skids! lol, By the time my grandfather gets done it's going to be a palace! Our chicks are coming in at the end of the month

and i would *like* to have the coup done by the time they get here...That is if we can settle on a design!

Im done

 

[Whispering Winds]

Good luck, it sounds great no matter how its finished out!!! Wish I had a grandpa to build me one!! How many chickens do you plan on having?

 

[Celtic Hill]

Yea it will come out amazing, no matter what it is. lol. Were getting 5 Crested and 4 Hamburgs This is just a small coup for us for now untill we move to the "farm" (my grandfather's) then this coup will turn into a bantam coup <3 and we'll build a bigger more permanent coup for the bigger breeds.

 

[MissJenny]

I know you can't wait for your chicks -- I know this because I also can not wait for my chicks.

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger on the "Ever Changing Coop Design." Mine plays out much like yours has. I show my boyfriend what I want and he asks why don't I do it this other way, with the door over here and the nesting boxes over there and don't forget a cupola. On and on it goes... Oy, just build the thing, I've got chicks coming!

It sounds like your grandfather is at least on board with building something -- that's a start.

When you get it built we need pictures! (And pictures of the chicks too, for sure!)

Jenny

 

[Celtic Hill]

Omgosh! i forgot about the cupola !!! Omg how cute would it be to have a little mini weather vein!!!

Im def going to post pictures! Everytime i see pictures of peoples chicks, im like "Omg! i can't wait for mine!"

 

[TajMaChicken]

That's what happened to me! LoL! My 6 ducks, 4 chickens and 1 adopted goose have lived in my unfinished slab floor basement for almost 9 months, well just at night - they free range all day. I know....I know....It's crazy. I had a design then I scratched it and designed a new one. We started building and it got bigger and bigger. Then it got cold and the ground got hard and no body wanted to work outside. Finally aside from a few asorted trim pieces it is a home. Everyone moved in last week. Psssst.....That's how I got my member name....my DBF calls my coop the TajMaChicken. Despite the extensive - no ridiculas - amount of time it took to build, I love it! Point is.....design and build what you want and your feathered friends will love you and their new home.

 

[Celtic Hill]

Yea! I would rather put time and thought into it and get what i want then just throw something together and not be happy with it! And i know if i told my grandfather i need a coup by the end of the week he would have it done by tomorrow! lol, but it's always and "adventure" with my grandfather!

 

[bantybev]

Our coop changed at least a hundred times on paper before we actually started building it. Changed at least a dozen during construction and is still a "work in progress". What a great Grandfather to help you build

Was just wondering why in the world you would want 10 or 12 nest boxes for 9 chickens, when they will more than likely only lay in 1 or 2??? The standard is 1 nest box per 2 or 3 hens. Some even say 1 for every 3 or 4. (At least that's what I've always heard and read) Just thought the extra room for perches and such.

BTW...hope you plan on using a "poop board" under the roosts. You will be glad you did

Good luck with the coop and your new chicks.

Bev

 

[Celtic Hill]

Well yea that's alot but if i add to my flock, like i want to. 2-3 birds a year i will have the room! and what do the poop boards look like? I probably know but just not getting the visual!

 

[bantybev]

Well, you can do a search for poop boards, but it's just a removable board, or tray, under the roost, usually covered with linoleum or something easy to scrape. You just scrape it into a bucket every day or so with a putty knife or some flat tool into a bucket. Most of the droppings in your coop will be under the roost. It REALLY helps keep the coop clean, odor free and less humid (chicken waste has a high moisture content). There are lots of posts about them with pictures on this forum