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Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to join our flock. X2 on the dimensions that drumstick diva gave you and those are the bare minimum (more is definitely better). Also, definitely use hardware cloth, not chicken wire, as there are too many predators that can either tear through chicken wire, or squeeze through the openings in the mesh. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck in building your coop.
 
Hello,

Thank for your reply. I had already thought about airborne predators. We even have bald eagles in the area.

I have one question that I hope is not to silly, but when you say 4 sq ft per bird, does that mean 4 sq ft of floor space? So for 4 birds you would need 16 sq ft of floor space so a 4 x 4 coop?

Thanks again
 
Alright
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Nice of you to take concern for your chickens
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ProjectChick said:
Hello,

I have one question that I hope is not to silly, but when you say 4 sq ft per bird, does that mean 4 sq ft of floor space? So for 4 birds you would need 16 sq ft of floor space so a 4 x 4 coop?
Click to expand...
Yes, 4 sq. ft. of floor space per bird (minimum, more is better), so you need 16 sq. ft. of floor space for 4 birds, and 10 sq. ft. of ground space per bird in an enclosed run (again more is better).
 
We are going to start the coop this weekend. Little ones are growing quickly. I will post picks as we complete the coop. We are thinking we have one roo. Not sure though. :
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We are not even sure what breed they are. Maybe I will post pictures for opinions?
 
ProjectChick said:
We are going to start the coop this weekend. Little ones are growing quickly. I will post picks as we complete the coop. We are thinking we have one roo. Not sure though. :
idunno.gif
We are not even sure what breed they are. Maybe I will post pictures for opinions?
Click to expand...

There is a "What breed or gender is this" forum where you can post pictures.

My husband built me a pallet coop. I think most people dismantle the pallets and use the boards, but he just nailed the pallets together and then put plywood on the outside. Leaving the pallets intact left a little space to put insulation inside and then I "wallpapered" the inside with a paper machine wire.
 
Your coop sounds just like we had planned. We are going to leave them intact and then use left over privacy fence pickets for "siding". Since we are in Iowa I wanted a way to insulate a little too.
 
Here are some pictures of my "outhouse" coop in progress. I don't have any actual finished pictures.
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It is 2 pallets high and 1 pallet wide and 1 pallet deep. This is before we finished the plywood "siding". We also put some metal roof scraps on the slanted roof pallet to make a nice roof. We moved it after we took these pictures and I can say it was ridiculously heavy already at this point. I only wish I had made it larger...perhaps 2 pallets deep and/or 2 pallets wide. But I only ever wanted 4-6 chickens so I didn't need a huge coop. The gap between the top and bottom of the pallets along the walls was perfect for stuffing batted fiberglass insulation on a roll. Then I covered it with paper machine wire (a synthetic woven mat, basically) so the walls could still breathe a little but the chickens can't get to the insulation. I left the gap between the top of the walls and the metal roof open as a large vent around the top and it works great. I just put hardware cloth on the outside of the vents to keep out predators/wild birds. I like that it is tall enough to stand up inside (not that I spend much time in there!).


 

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