Woods Fresh-Air coop build

[saysfaa]

... don’t understand why everyone says nest boxes need to be up off the ground. Ours never have been elevated and the hens almost always lay in them. And in nature they would nest on the ground, so elevated nest boxes dont seem like a necessity to me. They would allow more floor space though, so that is one reason.
...

The chickens like ground level nests well enough although they do pick elevated places sometimes when they are free ranging and have lots of attractive choices at all levels.

I need the nests to be elevated because I have a lot of back issues.

I liked the idea of the extra floor space under the nests, too, when I designed the coop. They don't use it much. Silly chickens.

I also like that they have several levels so they can get out of the lines of sight of each other.

 

[Sally PB]

I liked the idea of the extra floor space under the nests, too, when I designed the coop

When DH was building the coop, he asked me how high to build the nest boxes. I googled and the first answer was 18". So that's what I told him and that's what they are. I like that they don't take up floor space. They're close to where the pop door is, so they have to use that area of the floor, and they're used to doing it.

 

[CIHomestead]

I’m starting this post to document, and get advice about the chicken coop I’ll be building this summer. This will be my first real construction project and I’ve got very little experience building anything really. But I’ve got a bunch of rough sawn red pine at my disposal and chickens that need a bigger and more winter appropriate coop, so I’m excited to get this project underway hopefully soon.

Some background information: We are in Michigan’s upper peninsula (USDA zone 3/4 border) and get feet of snow and temperatures as cold as -40F in the worst of winters. This coop is a (roughly) 100 year old design that I stumbled across somewhere online. I believe Prince T Woods was the original chicken keeper who came up with this design and utilized it in parts of the Northeastern US and some parts of Ontario. According to his book, chickens did exceptionally well with this open front coop built to his specifications and so we’re giving it a try. Heres a link to an online version of the book. We will be building the 6x10’ coop and primarily using it for winter.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924003138272&view=1up&seq=1&skin=2021

We’ve still got some snow on the ground and its mud season, so I wont be building for a bit. But I’m in the planning, sketching and asking questions phase so hopefully some of you will be able to help me with that if needed.

The site is pretty flat and has a decent amount of sun in the winter. The open front will face SSE. I’m going to build it on skids and I plan on using rough sawn red pine for as much of it as possible. I will probably either char the skids or coat them in some preservative poison but leave most of the rest of the wood untreated and rough most likely. Also thinking of putting the skids on some concreteblocks to keep them off the ground.

Some preliminary questions:

1. Theres quite a bit of buckthorn that’s growing in the area. Ive cut a lot of it down but that just makes it grow more. What would you all recommend, if anything, as far as keeping it at bay underneath the coop? I’m not sure if I should just set concrete blocks down, level them and build, or if I should dig little stumps up, lay gravel, compact it and then lay the blocks and start building. Also considering sheet mulching with cardboard first and then either gravel, sand or woodchips for brush suppression.

2. Would you all let your chickens underneath or not? I dont know if I should give it enough height to let them under (and provide good air flow) or keep it low enough to the ground that nothing but a weasel or rabbit could get under. I’d almost feel better with more space underneath than less.

Also, here are some other links to similar coops:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-6x10-woods-coop.1305803/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/woods-colony-house-portable.1104954/

Hey there! We are in the UP and doing the same thing this year! We plan to build ours about 4 feet off the ground because that's a pretty normal level of on-ground snow where we are for most of the winter. Easier to get into during the winter and a nice shady place for them to dust bathe in the summer.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hey there! We are in the UP and doing the same thing this year! We plan to build ours about 4 feet off the ground because that's a pretty normal level of on-ground snow where we are for most of the winter. Easier to get into during the winter and a nice shady place for them to dust bathe in the summer.

4' up is pretty high - how hard/easy will it be for you to be able to climb in, to clean, get bedding in and out, etc? Are you planning on using a ramp, steps, platform, etc. to allow chickens in and out?

 

[CIHomestead]

4' up is pretty high - how hard/easy will it be for you to be able to climb in, to clean, get bedding in and out, etc? Are you planning on using a ramp, steps, platform, etc. to allow chickens in and out?

Well, my husband is still working on the plans, but our thoughts on that would be to have stairs for us and a ramp for the chickens. My husband will build in a drop down door for shoving the deep bedding out in the Spring.

 

[CIHomestead]

One other note: we have had 322 inches of snowfall so far this season and we probably aren’t done yet. 300 inches is average. I'm trying to do this in a way that makes things easier in the winter as we age. I welcome and appreciate any advice that helps us design this wisely!

 

[saysfaa]

I don't get nearly that much snow. But still get enough to know it is a lot easier to go up steps in the summer than to dig out the snow in winter. Raising the coop to expected snow level makes perfect sense to me.

We have some buckthorn. Before I knew what it was, I tried cutting it back. Over and over and over. It doesn't work. What does work is cutting it back and immediately painting the cut surface and a down the sides of the stem a few inches with brush b gone.

 

[3KillerBs]

but our thoughts on that would be to have stairs for us and a ramp for the chickens.

Chickens are quite capable of hopping up and down steps. That would save a lot of space on their side given that chicken ramps need to be a quite shallow slope so that a ramp for 4' would need at least 6' of horizontal space.

 

[CIHomestead]

Chickens are quite capable of hopping up and down steps. That would save a lot of space on their side given that chicken ramps need to be a quite shallow slope so that a ramp for 4' would need at least 6' of horizontal space.

Thank you!

 

[Beej7]

Hey there! We are in the UP and doing the same thing this year! We plan to build ours about 4 feet off the ground because that's a pretty normal level of on-ground snow where we are for most of the winter. Easier to get into during the winter and a nice shady place for them to dust bathe in the summer.

4’ of snow? You must either be in the Keewenaw or somewhere near Munising!

4’ is tall but the under-coop area will be nice for them. I’m thinking ours will only be a couple feet elevated, but we’re also in Iron County so significantly less snow. Our chickens dont mind snow anyway so long as they have some hay to walk on.