Woods Open Air Coop Scaled Down (Can I do a 4 x 10?)

[Ted Brown]

Do you think I should just scrap the Woods house design then? Where I am placing the coop, the run needs to be to the south.

I was thinking plywood with some type of sealant, then metal roofing, because I heard that just metal roofing can condensate water vapor and increase moisture in the coop. I'm not sure how I would extend the pallets by 2' width, so I may just find another design that might fit the base better. I see you are in Canada; what type of coop are you using for your chickens?

I have a 10' by 16' Woods KD style coop. Just through my 4th winter, coop performs as advertised. I recommend the design strongly but the run as you describe will defeat the key principals.

Is there not a way to position the coop so that your run is on a side or back?

You are correct that condensation can occur with exposed metal inside a coop. I suspect that this is a function of humidity from waste and chicken breath without sufficient ventilation. My run is metal on purloins (the 1" by 4"s) and I have never had condensation. I tarp the north and south sides of the run in the winter but still have good ventilation. Your comment above indicated that you would use plywood for the run roof.

Plywood is expensive. I built my coop from 1" by 6" rough cut lumber. Far less expensive but just as effective. See My Coop for details.

It is very easy to build a pallet. You could build the 2' extension without issues.

 

[aart]

I recommend the design strongly but the run as you describe will defeat the key principals.

Ditto Dat^^^...as well as using the wrong proportions for the coop itself.

 

[Coopin Is a Habit]

@Ted Brown and @aart I don't believe I am describing my placement of both the coop and run situation completely and will have to get back to you both with photos later today of the location with a superimposed drawing on top to better animate what I am envisioning. I will seriously consider going the route of building out my pallets width by 2' to maintain the 1.6 ratio. Thank you both for your knowledge! I truly do appreciate all the help, this place has a surprisingly huge and active community I was not expecting at all.

 

[Ted Brown]

@Coopin Is a Habit

I have visited several of the other chicken forums, IMHO none compare to BYC. I think most of them have never heard of a Woods coop.

Here there are many folks who have years of experience and are more than willing to share their knowledge and opinions IN A POLITE AND RESPECTFUL MANNER. By all means reference other sites but always check here as well. I suspect that BYC will quickly become your main source for chicken info.

 

[genxjanette]

Are you saying the run will mess with it? Or the plywood top w/ metal roof?
I will get back to you guys with the location pictures later today (~5pm CST) to better depict how I envisioned it. If it is indeed going to mess with my birds staying warm in winter I will pivot to a different location that maybe ya'll can help me with. I want the best for my girls and I know that starts with location and good coop design. I would feel horrible if I ended up putting them in danger, I would rather give them away then subject them to sub-par conditions. Thanks for the help, I am getting more community input than I expected! Nearly every other forum I have joined my posts have been ignored so this is surprising to me.

We are building a Woods Coop this year too. I had asked a lot of questions about putting the run on the front of the coop, but decided against it after some of my exchanges with Ted. A run on the front of the coop will interfere with your air flow. We decided that our coop will face south, and the run will be on the side of the coop and face south as well.

 

[genxjanette]

A Woods style coop should have the open front facing south or slightly south-east.
Placing a run on the south will interfere with the air exchange particularly during the winter if you chose to close the sides with tarps or some such.

The smallest Woods that I am aware of is 6' by 10'. This footprint is described for use as a brooder but I do know of a coop that size built by a BYC member located in Alberta Canada. I recall her mentioning that husband had difficulty with the head room.

You do not need to use plywood under metal for a run roof. Normally 1" by 4" strapping every 16" is used. The money saved will easily allow you to expand to the 6' by 10' footprint and give confidence that the design will function as intended.

There is someone who built a 6x10 Woods Coop in Minneapolis too. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-house-aka-woods-coop-in-minneapolis.1144881/

 

[Coopin Is a Habit]

@Ted Brown @aart Ok friends! Here's photo dump of location and my salvaged wood I am using.
The first is my crappy paint drawing depicting my idea. The coop(RED) extends into the run(BLUE) only one third of the way approximately and the windows and roost area will be outside of it. The supports are old clothesline arches that will have larger 2 x 4s in the middle in order to get the hardware cloth then chicken wire stapled midway. The compass at the bottom shows that south is way I want it to face. So that run will be 9' wide by 20' long. I only have about 4 feet of room between run and fence on the most souther side, and I figured that if I had the coop jutted up against the fence then there would be too little light.
2nd pic is yard pic of location unadulterated facing south. I have a raised bed behind this area so cannot move it farther north.
3rd, 4th, and 5th shows my salvaged wood and plywood (I will be getting more plywood from a friend who gets shipments in good wooden plywood/woodboxes)
6th and 7th pics show the pallets and the roofing I intend to use.

Please tear it apart and give me some constructive feedback about how I can adjust to make it right or if I need to ditch the Woods idea altogether and go for something else entirely. I really like the Woods design but if it won't work for my area then I am willing to pivot. Whatever is best for my chickens. Thanks in advance!

 

[Ted Brown]

@Coopin Is a Habit I am confused.

Your first picture above shows that the coop and run will face south? Am I missing something.

 

[Coopin Is a Habit]

@Coopin Is a Habit I am confused.

Your first picture above shows that the coop and run will face south? Am I missing something.

Hey Ted, I apologize, I switched the compass and now yes, it shows that the run is south of the coop and the smaller open face is south as well. Please see the new pic, sorry I goofed!

 

[Ted Brown]

Sorry still confused.

Your new picture shows the run to the East of the coop?