What would you have done differently?

[Willowspirit]

What a terrific thread this is!

 

[paintedChix]

Our current plan is for the coop to be up at the half height, so that there will be more run under the coop that will be dark and shady - we're in north Texas, it gets HOT here. So the coop itself won't actually touch the ground.

Also, I saw people wishing they'd made their coop walk in - will I regret the half height thing?

Going to be following this with great intensity, as now is when I can make any changes. Already spending a LOT of money on this, hate to make it more, but want to get it right.

I had pens already on this property. 2 had no roofs at all, 1 had a 2x4" wire roof and the last one had a wire & tin roof. BACK KILLER to get in to do ANYTHING. Watering, feeding, collecting eggs were (& in the one, still is) a nightmare. So, using cattle panel I hooped them. I'm adding wire to the two that I didn't originally put wire one - so if the currently tarped roofs come off in storm, the chickens stay where they are and fewer predators have convenient access.

As to hot - have you considered doing some type of open air coop? Would probably be much cooler, would still allow for weather protection and either fans or water heaters. Definitely should be less expensive to build. You can certainly do a conventional roof - not tarps as I've done...

This is what we had when we moved in. The tin roofed one is still that way.



Here is what we've done since then. Currently making more changes - haven't had time to update pics - too busy building, planning & planting trees & garden(s).

Coops, cattle panels & DLM

 

[PeachLily]

I was lucky enough to have an existing shed which my husband converted to a coop. I read a lot about coop design before he started, but nonetheless I learned a lot since having my chickens (3 years now).
The things we got right:
- enclosing the entire run with hardware cloth (even underground-it was a chore but worth it: we have never had a predator)
- the enclosed run allows us to keep the chicken door open year round for hens to come and go as they please, and it allows for extra ventilation. We close it only on the harshest winter days/nights
- using 5 gallon covered buckets with horizontally side mounted water nipples (from Amazon). These things are the best thing since sliced bread and are probably the single thing I value the most after the hardware cloth. I wish I had known about them when raising my first chicks: no leaking, no dirty water, no soaked bedding, no coccidiosis which was a heartbreaking experience that caused me sleepless nights in treating my remaining chicks.
- electricity was added: invaluable for those electric water heaters in winter ( a must-have, as far as I am concerned if you live in a cold climate), for lights you may need to check something at dusk, for heating lamps for chicks)
- a rubber mat floor (horse stall mats on sale from Tractor Supply that were glued to the floor and sealed with silicone in the joints) allows for easy cleaning which I do twice per year using the deep litter method)
-nesting boxes made out of 5 gallon buckets with a little entrance platform (my husband is very handy). Easy to clean out, except our design has them permanently affixed to the wall
- a separate storage area for feed and supplies which is part of the coop
- chicken feeders made from pvc pipe
- white washing the inside of the coop makes it brighter
- using deep litter method saves a lot of work
- our run access gate is a Dutch door style: we can open it to change out the water or throw in some food scraps without being accosted by chickens LOL!
The things I would change:
- yes, make everything bigger: better for the chickens, easier long term for you
- plan a space for chicken isolation in case of disease or aggressive behavior
- plan a space for a broody hen and her chicks: they need to be kept separate but preferably visible to the other chickens: we didn’t build the wall until after the chicks started hatching and lost one due to the aggression of the rest of the flock. Make the food and water for the broody hen easily accessible to her, the chicks, AND you! Make sure any heating lamp is installed safely. Note: we never planned to encourage a broody hen, but circumstances change!
- build human access doors to swing out rather than in: the chickens will scratch through the pine shavings and inevitably make a pile in front of the door meaning it has to be moved each time. The same is true for the outdoor run: we have a dirt/gravel run which gets hard as concrete, making opening the gate difficult, as the bottom clearance was not high enough.
- have a different floor in the run: dirt/gravel is difficult to clean and turns to concrete. I still don’t know the solution here.
- placing inside water bucket away from the access door or else make that door a Dutch door as well. We chose placement for ease of access, along with the pvc feeder placement, and due to size and coop design have no other option, but once again we are accosted at the door each time we change the water!
- our existing shed had a ledge built into the wall high up. In spite of beautiful and roomy roosting bars, we will inevitably have hens roosting and pooping on this very narrow ledge: it’s difficult to clean. So never think a spot is too narrow or uncomfortable for a chicken: if you don’t want a chicken there, remove it!
- our feed storage is part of the coop but outside the enclosure. This is our entryway area with a solid wooden door that we leave open in the summer for ventilation. We originally had feed stored in Gamma vittles vaults, but something chewed through the lids. Big mistake not making this area rodent proof! We switched to metal trash cans but I wish there was a reasonably priced metal feed storage option that is rectangular in shape instead to optimize space.
All in all, I think we did pretty well for first time chicken owners!

 

[FT Chickens]

Would have made everything bigger, coop and run

 

[paintedChix]

- have a different floor in the run: dirt/gravel is difficult to clean and turns to concrete. I still don’t know the solution here.

- our feed storage is part of the coop but outside the enclosure. This is our entryway area with a solid wooden door that we leave open in the summer for ventilation. We originally had feed stored in Gamma vittles vaults, but something chewed through the lids. Big mistake not making this area rodent proof! We switched to metal trash cans but I wish there was a reasonably priced metal feed storage option that is rectangular in shape instead to optimize space.

DLM in the run like you use in the chicken coop. Not sure where you are, so don't know what you have access to for materials... We use a combination of pine straw, hay, oat/wheat straw, weeds, garden trimmings, leaves, shredded paper & cardboard etc. We then toss in veggie & fruit scraps and the chix turn it for us. I am now digging out the compost from the 8x8 pens that we started last fall after Hurricane Florence (September 2018). Putting in raised beds and tire planters.

We also just got several loads of wood chips. These are large ones - combinations of pine (and needles), oak, holly & other trees. I've been using a combination of these with shredded paper for our nest boxes and have put some down in the pens/runs as well.

Old freezer or refrigerator. There are many sizes that may fit your spot. Gut it - all machines, glass & wire shelving can be removed to allow feed to be stored. Double walled and insulated.

 

[elmo]

Help me learn from your mistake? I'm going to have a coop built for me this month, by the people from Little Coop on the Prairie
https://lccotp.wixsite.com/coops/coop-and-run-in-one
because there is no way I'm building my own, don't have the skills or the physical strength. We're currently planning a 6x12 overall, 6x4 coop. We're allowed to have 3 hens here officially, but I'm building for the 6 that I hope the state law goes through that will override the city restrictions.

What kind of foundation would there be? Would it be under the edge all around where the walls meet the ground? Are you talking about something that goes under the whole thing?

Our current plan is for the coop to be up at the half height, so that there will be more run under the coop that will be dark and shady - we're in north Texas, it gets HOT here. So the coop itself won't actually touch the ground.

Explain the foundation thing more?

Also, I saw people wishing they'd made their coop walk in - will I regret the half height thing?

Going to be following this with great intensity, as now is when I can make any changes. Already spending a LOT of money on this, hate to make it more, but want to get it right.

I tried the raised coop with space underneath and hated it. It was hard to rake out droppings from under there and it made it very difficult to catch a chicken when I needed to examine her: she'd run under the coop and hide out there.

The other thing you need to consider with the raised coop is how easy or difficult its design will make cleaning out the inside of the coop. If the coop dimensions are longer or wider than you can reach from the door opening, will you have to crawl up inside the coop yourself to get to the back?

We're in Texas, too. Heat will be an issue at night, too, so just having shade under the coop won't be enough. Put the whole coop/run in the shade. If you don't have natural shade, consider creating some artificial shade by putting up a shade tarp over the coop. Our coop has high vents up on the top of the front and back, the full width of the coop, plus four windows that stay open all summer. We insulated the roof and walls and that helps some too.

We picked heat tolerant bantams.

 

[BrendaJune]

I read, I studied, I read some more and then when it came time to buy we went to a coop builder who has two designs to choose from. They are very heavy duty which is why I wanted his. I am kicking myself because I went for cute! The cuteness sucked me in. Now my husband has spent hours retrofitting and repairing all the mistakes. He had to put in more ventilation and he put in windows. We needed some sort of gutter system because the nesting boxes are in an area that sticks out from the side of the main house. He built the nesting boxes so the top opens instead of the side which means there is a crack/space/seam between the main house and the hinge area of the nesting boxes. Stupid!!! Water can just run down the side of the main house into the nesting boxes. Plus, since he built it so heavy duty, the lid to the nesting boxes weighs a ton and is very hard for me to lift. I wish my husband had just built what I wanted! It is a raised coop supposedly big enough for 12 chickens. We are only getting 6 since there is just two of us. The coop is inside a completely enclosed run that is 12' x 18' and is completely covered with hardware cloth along with the ground around the perimeter. The chicken can go under the coop. It is raised off the ground about two feet. We have racoon, bear, fox, skunk, hawks, the works.

 

[Dylanjosselin]

I loved my first coop, , but it was made out of cheap weak wood. If I had a second chance with it, I'd have coated the whole thing, inside and out with a decent strengthening epoxy. There was a learning curve with dealing with predation too. I think Pavers going around the coop would have been a great, cheap way to start.

 

[Ila88]

I would have reinforced my entire coop and run with hardware cloth, which I have now done, after losing 4 to mink that got through 2 layers of chicken wire. I was lucky that my partner caught him in the act, or we could have lost them all. Two others had bites, but survived. I also learned after earlier free range attacks, not to let them out too early and to make sure they are in well before dusk.

 

[Ila88]

DLM in the run like you use in the chicken coop. Not sure where you are, so don't know what you have access to for materials... We use a combination of pine straw, hay, oat/wheat straw, weeds, garden trimmings, leaves, shredded paper & cardboard etc. We then toss in veggie & fruit scraps and the chix turn it for us. I am now digging out the compost from the 8x8 pens that we started last fall after Hurricane Florence (September 2018). Putting in raised beds and tire planters.

We also just got several loads of wood chips. These are large ones - combinations of pine (and needles), oak, holly & other trees. I've been using a combination of these with shredded paper for our nest boxes and have put some down in the pens/runs as well.

Old freezer or refrigerator. There are many sizes that may fit your spot. Gut it - all machines, glass & wire shelving can be removed to allow feed to be stored. Double walled and insulated.

That's a great idea for rodent proof storage!