walk in or raised?

[Heathercp]

I love my walk-in coop. After having a walk-in, I don't think I would ever be happy with a raised coop. We've only had our chickens for a few weeks, but taking care of them is just so easy. Far easier that I'd anticipated. I don't use a poop board because I didn't want to have to clean it daily (though I know some people clean theirs less often, most seem to do it daily) - and because I don't really need the space underneath the roosts. If I was pressed for space, I'd use a poop board. But I'm really happy that I don't have to. It takes me less than a minute to turn over the shavings under the roosts. I use a cultivator that I keep in coop - I just grab it, rake, rake, rake, and I'm done. Finished. No scraping. No container of poop. I use DE in the shavings and will sprinkle more of it under the roosts as it gets warmer. It may just be my naivete, but I don't anticipate any fly problems. I've read that in successful deep litter management, flies aren't such a problem. Supposedly they prefer to lay their eggs on fresh piles of chicken poo rather than the stuff that's turned under the bedding. Time will tell, but right now I'm feeling pretty good about it.

The cultivator I use looks something like this one http://www.amazon.com/Ames-True-Tem...?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1268579733&sr=1-24 There's no bending involved in my litter management, and I don't plan to clean out the coop until next spring. It's once a year for me - and if all goes really well...I might not clean it out completely for two years. Gasp! Oh Horror! But really, it's going to take a very long time before my birds completely fill up the coop with poop, and there's plenty of time for their droppings to dry out and blend in with the shavings. I'm really going for that "dirt like" consistency that I've read about.

There's also no smell in my coop so far. I know, I've only had the birds for three weeks, but that's three weeks of poop from 6 adults and four little ones, and you can't smell anything. It's dry as a bone in there and smells nice. And I don't live in a dry climate, but I do have good ventilation in the coop. I hope I won't have to eat crow later on in the summer, but so far so good.

I think it's really nice that you're doing this for your mom. I hope she's going to enjoy her chickens as much as we do.

 

[Intheswamp]

Going with a walk-in will be *much* better. Pay attention to ventilation and life is good...but still go at least 4x8.

Poop boards are your friend. Your mother doesn't necessarily have to take the poop boards out. She could always get some type of scraping tool and scrap the poop off into a bucket. If she does it every day or two it shouldn't be heavy to carry.

Also, try to still build the coop at least 18" off the ground. This will give the chickens a shade/rain-cover. It will also discourage rats from building a housing complex under it because it is so high....they like coops that are close to the ground.

Lot's more head room, better/more ventilation choices, more room for hanging heatlamps, etc.,...just all around better with a walk-in coop!

Ed

 

[packmomma]

I would have to say walk in also. I have a walk in that is about 8 inches off the ground. I put 3 regular roosts in and I made it with hinges so I can lift it and then it attaches to the ceiling so I can clean out underneath it. I do that about once a month in the summer unless its really mega hot. Otherwise I have a kitty litter scoop and just reach under and scrape the top layer of sawdust with the poop during winter. In the summer I place a painted piece of osb board where most of the chickens poop and just scrape that. In the winter it freezes to the board..so I can only use it in the summer. I love my coop but am still finding things I'd like to change slightly. I have a chick area and I"m looking for a skinny tall window that I can use as a door to let them out but they would still have lots of light. Then I will attach a skinny run to the front of the shed and the side of the garden. That will keep them away from the other chickens. I would use a tarp to pile the stuff on and then drag it away. I cant do that with mine because I have a bigger shed and I've sectioned off the back half and put a 6 inch board to keep shavings inside the coop.

 

[gsim]

Quote:
I would do the walk in and definitely do the bumpout nest box to max out floor space. I would do a 24" wide poop board under a roost pole that is 12' from wall. Make the poop board removable. Use 1/2" osb and glue linoleum on it. By cleaning it daily

you will find that your litter may last up to a year before needing changing. They do 98% of their indoor pooping while on the roost and the balance of pooping outside. Bad winter weather can change that.

Regards standardizing plywood sizes to reduce cutting chores, consider a coop with a 4 x 8 footprint that is 8 ft tall all around. Then build a 6" tall frame to fit along one side at the top of that wall, and then frame a shed type roof overhead and use 4x8 sheathing to do the roof decking. Allow the larger overhang to be on the side to protect the bumpout for the nest box. Leave open all around the top to provide year round 24-7 ventilation. Very important.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Ok, I'm struggling with my coop design also and am wondering if you have a walk in, would that not attract vermint like mice and rats to take up residence underneath? I thought the idea behind raising it up 1 or 2 feet was to not give shelter to those kinds of critters. So from that perspective, what is better, and how do you vermint proof your walk-in if that's your preferred one. I see the advantages and disadvantages of both, so I'm just trying to decide what would work best for me and for the safety of the chickens.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
Well, if you're talking about a framed-floor coop then you still build it 18"-24" high.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[fiddlebanshee]

Ok, so a shed-like coop structure, 8'tall would not sit directly on the ground in any circumstance? I have zero construction knowledge, so I'm just feeling my way around.

 

[bagendhens]

were planning on sitting ours on a concrete pad and hardware clothing around the base and burying it before backfilling to the concrete pad, but were planning on overkill for that because we do have a mouse problem in our existing shed as well as a woodchuck living under there...

rats arnt realy a worry for us, they dont last long in my yard, my dogs have seen to that lol, but we do want to prevent mr woodchuck form making any burrows that go directly under the coop floor.

 

[Intheswamp]

Quote:
If you went with a framed (wood) floor then it needs to built on piers or at the very least skids. Skids will put the coop very close to the ground, though. Personally, I would opt to build the coop on piers (cement blocks) and have it raised up at least the recommended 18". A 24" height would be nice being as there may come that rare time when you need to crawl under the house to retrieve that stubborn (or dead) chicken. Framed floors sitting close to the ground do create a very nice place for rats and mice to set up housekeeping in and they're also more prone to rotting due to being to close to the damp ground.

An option is to build on a cement pad. You can bury wire around the perimeter or you can build the pad with a regular footer (deeper/thicker cement around the edges). The footer will also support more weight and makes for a stronger building.

I've been putting together a list of coop plans and added a couple of "shed building" instruction pages the other day. Not the greatest pages but might be worth a look. Here's the link to the thread here on BYC... A few walk-in coop plans/ideas if you can use'em...

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I've been putting together a list of coop plans and added a couple of "shed building" instruction pages the other day. Not the greatest pages but might be worth a look. Here's the link to the thread here on BYC..

Thanks for your answer, this clarified a lot, I had seen your page and perused the links somewhat this afternoon.​