What Kind Of Coop!

[BReeder!]

I'm no expert, but can share what works for us and some of what has not worked for us.

If you have sufficient outdoor space and they always have access to it, you don't need a ton of indoor coop space. A coop tall enough to walk in is a plus for sure. We started with a short coop large enough for the birds but not us. I won't do that again. After just a year, I moved the birds to a larger coop that we could walk in. It makes maintenance so much easier. Our coop is a section of our shed. We closed off the back 4ftx10ft section. That's been plenty of space for our 8 chickens (now 7 and soon to be 10 actually) and 2 turkeys. We even closed of the 4ftx4ft area under the poop board/roosts and converted it to a duck house for our ducks. That 4ftx10ft space does not have storage though except for a tote full of feed above the nest boxes. We store extra bedding, feed and other supplies in the open area of the shed where I have more space (shed measures 12ftx10ft, so the front section if 8ftx10ft). Storage is something to consider when building a coop. If you already have a shed or garage and build the coop nearby, you could store things in your shed or garage. I am very happy with our coop built right into the shed though. As a bonus, we have power in the shed so we can run lights and a heated waterer throughout the winter months.

As for a run, I would suggest having one whether you free range or not. A well secured run will allow you to give the chickens access to the outdoors at will. 10 sqft per bird minimum, but bigger is better. Our run for the chickens and turkeys is L shaped around the back and side of our shed. It measures ~220 sqft, so even with us going up to 10 chickens and 2 turkeys soon, there's plenty of space. If you can cover the run, go for it. The protection from rain and snow would make a big difference. We unfortunately cannot cover our run - it's located against our fence and we cannot have a structure within 5ft of the property line. We chose to cover the run with a net from the fence to the shed on both sides since it's not as noticeable and isn't structural.

Something to keep in mind when building the coop is chicken math. You WILL want more chickens or other birds. We started with just 5 chickens 2 years ago and now have 7 chickens and 3 chicks growing, 2 turkeys (was 4 for a while), 6 ducks, and a bunch of quail. I'm now looking into getting rabbits (will get rid of the quail though if we get rabbits). Also, if you have a small piece of land, don't thin that will stop the addiction. We live on a 1/3 acre plot in a suburb with neighbors surrounding us. If we had acreage, I'd have goats, pigs and possibly cows and horses. I keep joking about pygmy goats, and DW actually said the fenced in garden looks like a good pen for pygmy goats. Too bad I like to garden.

One more thing, that tote you have the chicks in as a brooder is not going to last long. They'll outgrow that in just a few weeks. Be prepared to have a larger brooder or get them outside soon if the weather is warm.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined. You are in Texas, good info to have. They can be outside practically all day every day, not like further north, though there can be differences in Corpus or Amarillo. Texas is a big state. You'll have 6 standard sized chickens. That's about all the info I've picked up. Not sure how much space you have to work with or how you plan to manage them.

You might follow the link in my signature below to see what I think is important in determining how much space you need. I don't give you magic numbers, we are all so unique in climate, flock make-up, management techniques, goals, and so many other things one magic number does not cover us all.

We all have our personal preferences and opinions. I personally prefer a walk-in coop but I might have over 50 chickens of various ages growing to butcher size in the summer. In my opinion if you have 8 or less you can normally get by with one of those cute elevated coops so popular in suburbia. That's mainly because of access, you need to be able to reach everywhere inside. If you get more than 8 the coop section is getting too big for you to be able to reach.

If you are buying the building materials most come in standard sizes of 4' and 8'. If you incorporate that into your design you can maybe get a larger coop for the money than say using 5' or 7' for a major dimension plus you have less cutting and waste. A 6' dimension isn't horrible. The cut-off can often be used for nests, pop-doors, and things like that.

The inside height of the coop is important. The roosts need to be higher than the nests so the chickens don't sleep in the nests. Your coop needs ventilation winter and summer. I like having permanent ventilation over their heads when they are on the roosts plus additional ventilation lower down that can be opened in warmer weather. Heat is going to be more of a risk for you than cold, even if you are in Wichita Falls.

I also want a roof to have enough slope so rain water runs off instead of puddles on top. With a flat roof it leaks, rots, or rusts, depending on the roof. Slope the roof so the run-off does not go into your run.

If I were in suburbia where space is probably limited, money was fairly important, 6 chickens was the maximum,and in a Texas climate I'd consider a 4' x 6' (Prefer a 4x 8) elevated about 2' off the ground. The shorter long wall would be 4' high, the taller long wall probably 5-1/2 feet high. That will give plenty of slope. I'd hang two nests on the outside so you can gather eggs without going in. Put the nests where rainwater runoff isn't soaking you if it is raining. I'd have enough roof overhang so I could leave the top of both long walls open and cover them with hardware cloth to keep predators out. If you use 2x4 rafters there should be an natural 3-1/2" opening there.

There area lot of different ways you could build your run. If you are using fence posts and wire you have more freedom, but it should be covered to be predator proof. Could be covered with wire or roofing. You need to be able to stand up in there and walk, make it that high and consider the bottom of your roof framing when thinking about what you will hit your head on. If you are framing it with lumber remember 8' is a standard length. Fence it so the area under your coop is part of the run, that can be a good place to keep feed dry if you feed outside. They'll appreciate the shade. I'd be OK with a 6x8 run though really prefer bigger.

If I were building it for my comfort and for 10 chickens maximum in suburbia I'd probably go with a 6' x 8' walk-in but that will increase the cost considerably. But that's personal preference.

 

[Chicky Lover]

Thanks!