What do you like/dislike about your coop?

[Layla1223]

We will start building our coop very soon because I now have 9 chicks and 18 eggs

. I was wondering what you would change about your coop, what you like/dislike, and any suggestions or advice. I was thinking of having a storage area and a built in brooder in my coop. What do you think of that? What are the best materials to use? What are the best ways to save money? Thank you all

 

[AnnainMD]

Like:
-Lots of windows, air circulation
-Can stand in it
-Painted interior with semi-gloss, waaaaaaaaaaaaaay easy to clean
-Poop tray with stall-dri, contains most of the poop, also easy to clean
-Run I can walk into

No dislikes, thanks to tons of research on BYC (because of posted questions like yours!). But ONE modification that I will work on: the floor under the human access door needs to jut out more. When I bring the wheelbarrow up for a clean out, some of the shavings drop between the coop and the wheelbarrow. I'll have to use a piece of flashing or something to bridge the gap.
One other suggestion: make sure there's enough "swell room" for the door around the frame when it rains, this will avoid any sticking of the door in the frame.

Good luck!

 

[Morgan7782]

I wish I had made my coop bigger. If you can, plan for additions!

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
Same here...bigger coop would be #1. I feel that I need more ventilation too, and wish I'd put a power outlet on each wall...

 

[Dora'smom]

Ours is too small!!! It is large enough for the layers we got last spring, but somehow we wound up with ten more chicks at the end of February, and so we had to look for another coop. Better to build big in the first place.

 

[newchicksnducks]

Hmmm...ok, the likes -

Droppings board under roost - makes cleaning coop soooo much easier!

Windows for cross breeze in summer
Dutch door for man door - I can open just the top if I want to check on them, without mad rush to the door to escape
Nest boxes - Thanks hubby!

Can walk into coop clean, gather eggs, etc
Old kitchen wall cabinent high on wall - great for storing, keeps floor free

Dislike -

Size - It's 8x8, but you always want more birds!

Forgot to build the chicken door higher than the shavings would be - we lose a little bit of shavings every day with the mad exedus of hens from the house

Dropping board would be great if covered w/formica type surface for even easier cleaning!

Try to reuse things you may have around. The cabinent was from a kitchen remodel years ago. The particle wood droppings board was from another project, interior paint left over from home remodeling, etc. Even the coop is a reuse - it used to be our kid's treehouse. We chopped it down (was 6' in the air), moved it from one side of property to another, and remodeled it!

 

[Jkioneil]

yup make it too big! ours is a bit too small other than that i love it!!

 

[HeatherLynn]

I dislike not have a wood floor yet
Not having a 2nd little door for the chickens to get out of rather than trying to convince them to come out the huge door they are scared of
really regret going cheap/practical and not making it just a bit prettier.

 

[3chimama]

My chicken house is 10X10...I love the size...make it big if you can ;o

 

[Layla1223]

Thanks! All great suggestions. I will probably make a droppings board and will hopefully have venelation/windows on almost every wall. I really like the dutch door idea. I plan on making it so that I can walk in both the coop and run. I will make it as big as my parent will let me make it. I said I was only going to get 8 chicks but I have 9 with 18 eggs and 3 more chicks cooming. I now see why everyone says to make it as big as you can.