What do you like/dislike about your coop?

[Chicken_Hubster]

I have a chicken tractor that is 8x8 and one big thing i didn't think of was a scrap door. Just a small door off of the ground that i can easily throw kitchen scraps in for them.

 

[Layla1223]

Quote:
That is a really good idea! I like it a lot.

 

[Sammimom]

I love my COVERED RUN! It is great to keep the hens dry and the smell down!!! Cover part of the run if you can, it also enables them to go out in poor weather.

 

[DragonEggs]

So do ya'll find you like 2 story (coop and under run) or 1 story (coop with run beside it) better? what are the advantages/disadvantages to each?

*Sorry not trying to thread jack, just seemed like a good question to add in. It's a great topic! Im going to be building soo too!

 

[aussieheelr]

Electricity. DH installed electricity out to the coop for the heated water base and an overhead light. Since in the winter we only get about 10 hours of light it was nice to have the light so I can do my chicken chores after the sun has gone down and utilize the sun for my other deeds.
He later built a brooder over the nest boxes. Neither of us truely like to have the baby chicks inside the house, they're pretty messy, DH built the brooder over the nest boxes... it was just kind of wasted space there. Our coop is 8x8foot so a 1.5foot by 4 foot solid section with ventalation at the top that opens on one side to a wire section the same size. This way they stay in the draft free area with the heat bulb until they are big enough to be in a "drafty" area, then open the brooder pop-door to the wire section for more space etc.
Then again this depends how "into" chickens you're going to get. Ours pay for their feed plus an extra $20 per month... and that's 17 chickens.

 

[Suechick]

Like:

18" poop board covered with linoleum under the roost makes cleaning very easy.
can stand inside the coop
nest box has a door to collect eggs from outside the coop, this makes egg collecting very simple!
I made one extra large nest box since the girls all want to lay in the same nest anyway.
interior is painted with oil-based semi-gloss paint, it takes a long time to dry and it is more difficult to work with but it forms a hard sealed washable surface, I love it!
the doors all close at least 6" above the floor so the bedding doesn't fall out.
I have the coop raised up on concrete block to keep it dry during rain/flooding.
the human door gives access to the coop from outside of the chicken run. So, I can close the chicken door and clean the coop without having the girls under my feet.

dislike:

the door is only about 4'6" high and I frequently bang my head on the door jam. A full size door would have been smart.

As far as the 2 story coop goes, mine has an upstairs and a downstairs on the inside but I wouldn't keep my chickens inside all day, I want them to have access to the yard to scratch for bugs, eat the grass and anything else they find to their liking. You can't clean under the coop very easily so, I would only want a tractor as a 2 story coop so the poop wouldn't build up and concentrate the stench.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[CityChook]

Like:
Walk-in style with a door handle that operates from the inside. In the winter I can walk in and close the door behind me.
Paint on walls and floor. Sooo easy to clean.
Full roof over the run. Keeps the bulk of the rain/snow outside of the run and is in-penetratable by predators.
Nice big windows.
Hard wired Electricity.

Dislike:
Wish I had a window on the run side (it's covered, therefore protected from rain).
Wish I had hardwired an extra light fixture for wintertime. It could be used for heat or light as needed.
Wish I had made my run twice as large.

 

[Prodigal son]

Like many have noted, I really wish now that I had built mine bigger. It's 10'x12" but I think that, had I sprung for 12'X12' I'd be much happier.

Now I'm going to do a search for droppings boards as I really need to construct some.

 

[4theloveofhens]

Quote:
Dropping boards? how does this work?

 

[Layla1223]

I like the covered roof idea. Last year we got 3+ feet of snow in 2 weeks, so I think covered is a good idea. And I never thought of raising the door. Very good idea. Any Pictures?