??? Will this be enough space ??? **pics**

[sonew123]

dont know if this worked? If you look close enough you can see the Poop bar in front theres a 2 inch gap between that and the box..and a 2 inch lip in the front of the boxes to keep the bedding in. we did not put a backing on them because it is getting screwed to the walls when the coop goes up...all recycled wood-3/4 inch plywood and birch bar poo bar-my DH has a small construction business and keep leftover pieces big enough to do stuff like this-that's how we get our pine shavings too..I shave the boards with our machine..

 

[MamaJohnson]

Quote:
I love that!! Thank you so very, very much! What a great help!!!

And sonew123 - those look GREAT!! I'm showing them to DH so he knows the RIGHT way to build them!! Great idea using a branch for the poop bar - we have way too many trees, hence, way to many hewn down branches - might add a little character to the coop too! Hmmm...

Thank you one and all!

 

[jubylives]

Quote:
What are collar ties (showing my ignorance here, I'm sure, but hey!)

Scroll down to the middle of the page:

http://www.tpub.com/content/engineering/14069/css/14069_213.htm

Sorry for the late answer. I work 12 hour shifts.

jeremy

 

[kimbobim]

12 x 8 sounds like a reasonable size for 24 birds, depending on how cold your winters actually get. We are building an 8 x 10 coop for 12 birds, but we are in Utah at about 5100 ft elevation and really severe winter winds (it snowed a few flakes today, boo). One thing to remember, you may lose a few babies or cull a few roosters, so you might end up with fewer than the 24 you have now (but you'll probably want to get more - they're more addictive than potato chips).

Which part of Idaho are you in? I think most people assume that all of Idaho has the same climate, but there's a huge difference in winter temperatures and winds between Lewiston (trees blooming in February) vs Rexburg (January daytime temps well below zero). If you're in a milder winter area - Boise, for example - you may be able to get away with slightly less square footage, since the chickens will want to be outside in the run. In the 8 years we lived in Boise, we never had more than a foot of snow. If you're in SE Idaho and have those bitter cold winds to deal with, having the roosts well away from the door & a wall dividing the space like your sketch showed is a good idea. The lower ceiling in that area will also help them stay warmer. Are you going to insulate the coop?

How high are your nesting boxes? Could you put the pop door underneath them? Being right across from the people door, will your nesting boxes get blasted with cold winds every time it opens - or could you move them to the South wall? Then you could put the pop door across from the people door for cross ventilation, and it'd be away from the westerly winds. Where is your run going to be located - which side?

Have you read Pat's ventilation page? It's fantastic! Do a search here on BYC for topics like ventilation, or cold climate, etc. - you'll find huge amounts of information.

Good luck!

 

[cajunlizz]

Quote:
18 nesting boxes ? Good Lord ... I have 100 in my flock and ONLY hav e 1 nesting box for every 8 to 10 hens .... I have 8 nesting boxes in my larger coop and 4 in the other coop ... you do not need that many nesting boxes . YOU DO NOT want them sleeping in the nest boxes ONLY to lay . They sleep on the roost

 

[davidr]

I'm not familiar with the weather in Idaho.

In Illinois I would not put a building on deck blocks with out having it secured to the ground.

David

 

[2Younguns]

LOL this is funny. I was hoping to figure out how many nesting boxes I needed, but it seems everyone has a different opinion. Some say 4/5 per box, some say 10 per box. I guess each flock is different!