What Coop should I get?
- Thread starter PepsiCatt
- Start date
That all depends on how many birds you want, where you are located, what you are willing to spend.
The "no roost in a coop" comment I don't understand. The main purpose of the coop is for a secure place to roost at night.
MissE
Crowing
It depends on your climate, size and type of chickens, number of chickens, what you plan on doing with the coop, etc. Could you be a little more specific?
black_cat
♥♥Lover of Leghorns♥♥
Are these both prefab coops? I'd steer clear of both, especially the one with no roost.
It would help to know where in the world you live.
No matter what coop you get there are certain criteria. First you figure out how many chickens you want to have. Then you plan on 4 square feet of floor space per bird not counting nesting boxes or area where you might want to keep food or water. That will tell you how large your coop should be. For example I wanted 12 birds so built a 6' by 8' coop. No matter how large or small your coop is it will need plenty of ventilation. Figure on about 1 square foot of ventilation for each bird. The ventilation should be high above where the birds roost so that no breeze blows on the birds. If you live in a cold snowy winter area then you might want to have an even larger coop if you do not plan on having a covered run. You always want your birds to have plenty of room so they do not feel crowded. Crowded conditions lead to stress and fighting.
It is up to you and your circumstances as to whether you need an easy to move coop or a coop that is not moveable. A swing is an extra and not really needed. A roost is pretty important. You should plan on a foot of roost space for each chicken. Roosts should be above the nesting boxes. If the nesting boxes are higher than the roost the birds will want to sleep in them and that would make the nesting boxes dirty as they poop during the night.
No matter what coop you get there are certain criteria. First you figure out how many chickens you want to have. Then you plan on 4 square feet of floor space per bird not counting nesting boxes or area where you might want to keep food or water. That will tell you how large your coop should be. For example I wanted 12 birds so built a 6' by 8' coop. No matter how large or small your coop is it will need plenty of ventilation. Figure on about 1 square foot of ventilation for each bird. The ventilation should be high above where the birds roost so that no breeze blows on the birds. If you live in a cold snowy winter area then you might want to have an even larger coop if you do not plan on having a covered run. You always want your birds to have plenty of room so they do not feel crowded. Crowded conditions lead to stress and fighting.
It is up to you and your circumstances as to whether you need an easy to move coop or a coop that is not moveable. A swing is an extra and not really needed. A roost is pretty important. You should plan on a foot of roost space for each chicken. Roosts should be above the nesting boxes. If the nesting boxes are higher than the roost the birds will want to sleep in them and that would make the nesting boxes dirty as they poop during the night.
Hello and welcome to BYC.
Where are you located? You can add your general location to your profile so that people can give targeted advice to suit your climate conditions.
How many chickens do you have/plan to have?
Whatever coop you choose, for each adult, standard-sized chicken it should provide:
4 square feet in the coop,
10 square feet in the run,
1 linear foot of roost,
1 square foot of ventilation.
That's permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation -- windows that are closed in the winter and the pop door that's closed at night don't count.
Ideally, the nestboxes need to be far enough above the floor to allow for a good depth of bedding, the roosts need to be above the nestboxes, and the ventilation needs to be above the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roosts.
In general, a 4'x4'x4' cube is the smallest space that can fullfill those criteria for the coop itself, not counting the run. A coop that size will suit up to 4 standard-size chickens over the long term.
Where are you located? You can add your general location to your profile so that people can give targeted advice to suit your climate conditions.
How many chickens do you have/plan to have?
Whatever coop you choose, for each adult, standard-sized chicken it should provide:
4 square feet in the coop,
10 square feet in the run,
1 linear foot of roost,
1 square foot of ventilation.
That's permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation -- windows that are closed in the winter and the pop door that's closed at night don't count.
Ideally, the nestboxes need to be far enough above the floor to allow for a good depth of bedding, the roosts need to be above the nestboxes, and the ventilation needs to be above the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roosts.
In general, a 4'x4'x4' cube is the smallest space that can fullfill those criteria for the coop itself, not counting the run. A coop that size will suit up to 4 standard-size chickens over the long term.
Aquatic_blue
Songster
It depends on a lot of factors, but do make sure to get one that is big enough for the amount of chickens you want and sturdy!
My husband and I had a horrible first time chicken owner experience with a coop. We had ordered it from TSC. We didn't realize it would be too small once the chicks got to be adults. The roosts were in there, but they weren't high enough above the floor for when they were adults so they wouldn't use them and sleep in the bedding.
They could all fit inside and weren't necessarily any more cramped than they sleep in the big coop, but could have used more space. Before the year was up, it was just falling apart little by little. One of the boards on the side got dented in, the cute little slide open window broke, the mesh screens are starting to come off of where they were stapled so they need to be re-stapled quite often, The wooden ramp to go in and out of the coop is broken in like 3 parts. Thank goodness for duct tape. We still have it, the chickens still like to lay their eggs in the nesting box, but stuff just keeps falling apart on it and it was like $300-$400 or so...waste of money.
It cost us very little to make our own coop with wooden pallets/boards and making our own roost. Problem is the thing is pretty much too heavy to move around. It was extremely difficult for my husband and I to move the first time. However, it has stood up against the weather and it's pretty easy to replace the pieces that are breaking down. We plan to replace the roosts soon, but the chickens are much higher being on the highest points on the roosts, there is one chicken that sleeps on a lower roost, but it's still higher up than the other coop.
Consider looking at some online designs and making your own.
My husband and I had a horrible first time chicken owner experience with a coop. We had ordered it from TSC. We didn't realize it would be too small once the chicks got to be adults. The roosts were in there, but they weren't high enough above the floor for when they were adults so they wouldn't use them and sleep in the bedding.
They could all fit inside and weren't necessarily any more cramped than they sleep in the big coop, but could have used more space. Before the year was up, it was just falling apart little by little. One of the boards on the side got dented in, the cute little slide open window broke, the mesh screens are starting to come off of where they were stapled so they need to be re-stapled quite often, The wooden ramp to go in and out of the coop is broken in like 3 parts. Thank goodness for duct tape. We still have it, the chickens still like to lay their eggs in the nesting box, but stuff just keeps falling apart on it and it was like $300-$400 or so...waste of money.
It cost us very little to make our own coop with wooden pallets/boards and making our own roost. Problem is the thing is pretty much too heavy to move around. It was extremely difficult for my husband and I to move the first time. However, it has stood up against the weather and it's pretty easy to replace the pieces that are breaking down. We plan to replace the roosts soon, but the chickens are much higher being on the highest points on the roosts, there is one chicken that sleeps on a lower roost, but it's still higher up than the other coop.
Consider looking at some online designs and making your own.
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