Water tight and height of coop

[xianshouston]

I have a few questions. I have 3/4" - 12" wide plywood planks that the previous owner of our house left. I have enough to cover 3 sides of a coop with 1 side having a 3' door and the 4th side being left open or cover with hardware cloth if I have a 6' in the front sloping to 4' in the back.

1. Will that height work?
2. Coop size would be 134"x92" - 85.5 sq ft; In addition we will have a 10x20 run. Will this be ok for 15 chickens?
3. When using the planks can I caulk or put some sort of filler between planks to waterproof? Do I need to worry about that? The roof will have plenty of overhang.
4. Should the open side be on the narrow side so it is deeper or should I make the longer side open?

I hope this makes sense. I may have enough to make it 8' sloping to 6' but not sure (haven't done the math yet)

We hope to start construction next weekend.

 

[Alaskan]

well......

what temperatures do you live at?

If it is super hot, and never very cold, you might really want to leave gaps between all of the boards, BUT, gaps means that predators and/or rodents can get in. So, then we need to figure out what predators you have in the area, or decide that the entire coop will be wrapped in wire.

Also, if that is enough space also depends on your climate. I really need close to 10 square foot per bird in my coop and covered shed areas, since for over 4 months of the year they refuse to go outside.

At BYC they usually say that the rule of thumb is 3 to 4 square feet per bird inside PLUS 10 square foot per bird of run. However, how much you will actually need to keep your chickens happy will be greatly determined by your climate. If in doubt, build it BIGGER. Can;t go wrong with bigger.

As to which side you want your door..... think through how you want the perch or perches set up (they say you need 1 foot per bird, but I only need that much space when I am introducing new birds to an established flock. If everyone likes each other, I think 8 inches is enough....hummmm... but maybe that is because I live where it is cold so they like to huddle.). Also, are you going to set up a poop tray under your perch (I highly recommend a poop tray or poop shelf). Also, where are the nest boxes going to be? Exterior, interior? Access from the outside? Last thing that will determine where you want to put your door is where you will put the feed and water. I REALLY STRONGLY prefer the feed and water outside, but some like to have those inside the coop.

 

[Alaskan]

Oh, as to height, how tall are you?

If you can walk in without smacking your head, then the height is perfect.

 

[xianshouston]

We are in Middle Tennessee. I am 5'6". I am pretty sure I have enough to go 7' sloping to 5'. At 85 sq ft for 15 birds - almost 6 sq ft per bird plus 200sq ft run - approx. 13 sq ft per chicken.

 

[Alaskan]

Well, it sounds like you can just build it to whatever height works the best with your materials, since you are short enough to be happy with the tall side only 6 feet. (depending on how far into the coop you will go).

So..... I guess you need to think through how you want the inside set up.

I think through where the poop tray can go most easily for the size I need and for easy clean-up, and then everything else gets put in around that.