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

[Ted Brown]

One question and concern I have is do you think with the coop 4 ft away from the 6 foot fence will it still give my chickens sufficient light in winter time?

They will get light from the upper monitor windows plus less direct light in the front and side windows. If you cover your run they will be outside most of the day anyway.

Your primary concerns with chickens are ventilation, ventilation, food, water, dust baths, no drafts, roosts, nest boxes. I don't think I have ever read of light as being an issue except for laying during the winter; you can deal with that with artificial light OR introducing new pullets in June so that you have fresh eggs through the winter.

 

[Coopin Is a Habit]

They will get light from the upper monitor windows plus less direct light in the front and side windows. If you cover your run they will be outside most of the day anyway.

Your primary concerns with chickens is ventilation, ventilation, food, water, dust baths, no drafts, roosts, nest boxes. I don't think I have ever read of light as being an issue except for laying during the winter; you can deal with that with artificial light OR introducing new pullets in June so that you have fresh eggs through the winter.

Thank you so much Ted for taking the time to help me out with location and design. I am going to start sanding and sealing all my salvage wood next week and will be building soon. I'm happy to hear that it will still be functional in terms of ventilation. I guess I was under the false assumption that you would need the light in order to evaporate moisture out of the scratch area in case of inclement weather. Seriously though, I completely appreciate you taking the time to help out a newbie. I might make a build post later, everyone here has been exceptionally helpful, and it is quite astounding!

 

[Ted Brown]

... I guess I was under the false assumption that you would need the light in order to evaporate moisture out of the scratch area in case of inclement weather.

Air movement is more critical to evaporation than light. A Woods does a good job with that.

Good luck, enjoy your new hobby!

 

[genxjanette]

If your run is to the east of the coop and facing south, that should be fine. That is the same way that I plan to lay out my coop, and if you look through Ted's pictures, you'll see that he has a similar lay out for his coop and run. I'll wait for Ted to chime in too, but that was my take away when I was asking Ted these same questions

 

[aart]

I'll wait for Ted to chime in too

@genxjanette did you bother to read the whole thread?

 

[genxjanette]

I've been following this thread, because I follow anything related to a woods coop right now. I understand that he is wanting to scale it down and that's not a good idea. He also asked the exact same question that I had asked about adding the run in the front of the coop, but when he posted his drawings, it looked like the run was to the east of the coop. Maybe I missed something?

 

[FunClucks]

One question and concern I have is do you think with the coop 4 ft away from the 6 foot fence will it still give my chickens sufficient light in winter time?

When you locate your coop and run within your yard, make sure to make room for a 3 ft apron between your coop and the 6ft fence that encloses your yard. Some folks will recommend a 2 ft or 18" apron, and that may work fine, but in my experience, I need a minimum of 3 ft to get a mower between my fence and my coops, and to trim shrubs and trees that try to come into my yard from my neighbors' yard. To me it makes sense to put an apron down over that entire area.

I have had coyotes and cats, racoons, and possums at least, and something has been digging less than 3 inches from the outer edge of my 3 ft apron. If it had been less than 3 ft, the diggers might have gotten in.

For an apron, use 1/2" hardware cloth, and secure to 2"x4" at the bottom of your run using radial washers and screws (into wood), or use staples to secure your apron to the bottom of your run 2x4, and then screw a wood trim piece over top that hides the staples (otherwise racoons can rip out the staples). You can secure the apron to the ground with landscaping stakes of any length that makes sense to you. Grass will grow through and you can mow it without running into the hardware cloth as long as the ground is pretty flat. I've used 12" stakes and 6" stakes in clay/loam soil with about 50% roots, and it works fine for me.

If you make a totally predator proof run (enclose the entire thing in 1/2" hardware cloth, and make sure there's no gaps larger than 1/2" ANYWHERE) and coop, then you can leave your pop door open all the time without worrying about predators or mice/rats getting into your food - this eases the stress of chicken chores significantly. Anything less than 1/2" in diameter (small snakes, small frogs, really small mice, insects, etc), the chickens will eat it, which IMO is a good thing. No ant mounds in my coops - those are a tasty treat.

I don't get snow load here, but lots of rain. If you extend your roof overhangs by 6" to a foot beyond the typical 1-2 inches normally expected, you may cut down the water that makes it into the windows of your coop, or under the roofed surface by a lot. A dry coop is a healthy coop. You can extend the 2x4 that support the roof also, to support the overhangs. Use hardware cloth to cover any open areas under the eves, which I think you were already planning to do.

Good luck!!!

 

[Ted Brown]

... Maybe I missed something?

I have already chimed in on this thread several times, not to worry getting through some threads can be a chore.

Participation on the site is a good thing, keep it up.

 

[saysfaa]

How does having a run to the south of the coop compromise the design? (since several people are talking about it - I agree with Ted's recommendation in post 25 of this thread - especially for the management of rainwater.

Also, the airflow of the design works even when it is not open to the south. I first learned about the advantages of three-sided buildings as coops/barns from a bank barn that opened to the north. It is still best to open to the south because you get more light but if one can't then it is still a good design.

 

[Ted Brown]

How does having a run to the south of the coop compromise the design? (since several people are talking about it - I agree with Ted's recommendation in post 25 of this thread - especially for the management of rainwater.

Also, the airflow of the design works even when it is not open to the south. I first learned about the advantages of three-sided buildings as coops/barns from a bank barn that opened to the north. It is still best to open to the south because you get more light but if one can't then it is still a good design.

This was discussed late in the following thread https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/woods-colony-house-portable.1104954/page-11.

@genxjanette had postulated placing a covered run in front of a Woods coop that was to face south. The concern was that sides would also be covered during the winter and that this circumstance would prevent proper circulation of air in the coop and "compromise the design".