Chicken Coop design questions

[sal64]

if you have preditors you need a chickenwire roof for the pen.for the coop plywood walls and plywood flore because you can scrape the poop with a garden hoe in a pile then shovel it out, then sprinkel lime on the clean flore. feed them inside so you arent feeding mice and rats, lock them up at night in the coop.you only need like 6 hens to start buff orpington are good layers.Brown Egg Layers - Buff Orpington Chicks | Brown Egg Layers | Chicks and Game Birds from Stromberg's |.

 

[RAYJAY]

hey Eddie were thinking of doing a couple of chickens next spring also here is a link i found that looks cool for chicken trains /wagons

Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds

 

[RoMad]

I didn't mention in my earlier post but I wrapped my chicken tractor with chain link fence. My brother-in-law found out the hard way that chicken wire is real good at keeping chickens in but not very good at keeping skunks, possum, and other critters out. I had a bunch of 7' heavy duty chain link that I got for free and it worked great. My frame is all made out of used pipe and I just hung it on it and tied it with galvanized wire. I did put a roof on about half of it so they can get in the shade and I made them an enclosed part to roost in and also egg boxes on the back that can be opened from the outside to get the eggs. No matter how many boxes you put on they will mostly share one or two.
Chickens are very mean to each other so make sure you get them all the same size or the big ones will peck the little ones to death.
They are also fun to watch scratch for bugs. Sometimes I will catch a cricket or worm and throw in with them and they go crazy after it. One will catch it and then run from all of the others while trying to eat it.

 

[EddieWalker]

I'm leaning strongly towards building a permanent coop. I'm rethinking my plan of building off of the hot tub gazebo. I'm thinking that a it might be better to be a stand alone building in the middle of a fenced in chicken pen. The coop will act like the post for the center of the roof fencing, and I'll set some posts for the walls.

I like the idea of a sand floor, but Karen is really wanting concrete so she can clean it up better. Having access to check the eggs from the outside sounds like a great idea. I'm adding that to my plans.

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[paulemar]

I built my coop 12x 8 because lumber can be purchased in those dimensions without waste cuts. It is raised above ground and I used decking boards for the floor and then covered the floor under the roost area with those cement boards because most of the poo ends up there and it is easier to shovel clean. The end wall roost area is covered with 1 x 2 galvanized welded wire top and front to keep the chickens out of their own poo area. It is on hinges so I can lift it up, hook it to a chain and clean under it. Walls are particle board, painted and insulated for these PA winters. I have 5 built in nests, a ramped closeable door to the wired 12 X 15 outside yard which is covered with a silver tarp. That tarp needs replaced every 3 years or so. One suggestion is to get some 1 X 2 cage material for the outside run. it is more expensive, but chicken wire is not as good as it used to be and will deteriorate in very few years and you will be replacing it. It is not fun removing old rusted chicken wire so you can replace it. My chickens also have a swing out in the yard and they actually use it all the time.

Make a plan for the coop, think and research it then make modifications to your plan to suit your needs.

 

[jeffinsgf]

Eddie,

I strongly suggest you spend some time at backyardchickens.com, linked in RayJay's post. There is as much wisdom about chickens there as there is about tractors here.

Elevated coops are easier to predator-proof than ground level. That's why you see some many designs with elevated coops. The area under the coop gives them some shade, too. Look at the one at backyardchickens call the "Wichita". That's roughly what I built, though mine is on runners where I can move it around.

If it's just the two of you, 4 or 5 chickens will keep you covered in eggs once they start laying.

Just passing on some personal experience here. My first batch of chickens we raised from day old chicks. They put themselves to bed in the coop like clockwork. Something got all but one of them all at once, during the day while we were away. Never have figured out what happened, there wasn't a single feather left behind. Anyway, I replaced them with a couple of hens that were already laying and some pullets that were at point-of-lay (18 weeks old, just about ready to start laying). Those older chickens just wouldn't adapt to the coop and regardless of how long I would lock them up, when I started letting them free range again, they would nest in the trees instead of going into the coop. That worked for several months, but finally a coon found their tree roost and got them all.

So, my point is, if you're going to free range them (and I suggest that you do), start with day old chicks. It's a 5-6 month wait for egg production, but there will be less squabbling about pecking order and you can teach them where to bed down.

And, I'd ditch the concrete floor idea. Just cover the floor in rice hulls and change them out every 5 or 6 weeks. Stockpile the rice hull/chicken manure mix and use it on the garden next spring. Chickens habitually scratch the ground, and they will tear their feet up on concrete.

 

[bcjmmac]

Deep litter is the answer if you don't want smells, etc, & don't want to deal with a chicken tractor. Use a sand/clay floor (preferably with some drainage although you can use concrete), put in some organic material (some compost if available) & let the chickens do their thing. The organic matter will soak up their droppings and compost naturally/the chickens will eat any bugs that appear - only have to clean it every 6 months or so.
More info here; http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/p/deep-litter-method.html

 

[NorTracNY]

Eddie,

Everyone's situation is different. You've gotten a lot of good guidance already. I built a chicken tractor and used it for many years until I got tired of it. Now I have a permanent structure. Think about how many eggs you want a week. Remember that the chickens won't lay for 4months (golden comets) to 6-8months (Americanas). The chickens will lay very well for about 2-3 years then really drop off. You're going to have to figure out how to add every year or other year so you always have eggs coming in.

I'm in the north, so things are different for me. The chicken tractor in the winter was a pain. Our predators have been hawks and fox. I free range, but only about 30% of the time. I've learned when the fox are most likely a problem (May/June & early or late in the day).

I like the permenant coop because when I get new chicks (every year), I built a small chicken wire structure that I put right into the coop for the chicks. This allows me to take care of the chickens all in one spot and the integration of the young with old has gone A LOT smoother. As they get older, I create an entrance for the chicks to go through that the big birds can't. So the can run away from the big ones when they need to.

Being able to collect the eggs from the outside is great. I'd also suggest you build a tray which can be pulled out to clean off most of the poop. This is a tray that goes under the roosts. Allow this to be pulled out from the outside and cleaning will be a piece of cake. (Oh, the wife learned that the better eggs (orange yolks) make it hard to make a white cake ). If you're able to take care of most of the poop and eggs from the outside of the coop, consider also how you'll handle the food and water. It's great if you don't have to go into the coop too often.

Best of luck.

 

[tractorshopper]

I built a permanent coop and use straw in the floor. About every 2 or 3 months, I get the straw up with a pitchfork and throw on areas of the lawn that can't grow anything. I then throw down fresh straw. This also gives them something to peck at while I keep them penned. I have learned to let mine free range several times a week for the last hour or two of the day, then close the coop back up at dusk when they come back in and roost on their posts.

The first two years after they start laying, you'll get about an egg a day per bird. I have tried a bunch of different kinds and like them all. The Buff Orbington eggs are good, but they have been the most agressive bird I've had. The second most agressive in my experience is the Rhode Island Red. My favorites are Americauna's (blue-green eggs), Silver Wyandotte's (beautiful birds - brown eggs), Yellow and Red Sexlinks (Brown Eggs). If I knew how to post a link I would, but if you search under my threads, you'll see the coop I built including the nesting box that I can access from outside. My coop is much like my neighbor's as I mostly copied his coop, but asked him what he would do different and he said add nesting boxes. After reading around, I came up with the idea to access it from outside and just built it that way. I love it and wouldn't change a thing.

Also, for those saying that they stink, well that's true in large numbers and tight spaces. My coop never stinks with up to 6 birds at a time. One section is 8X8 and the other section is 8X10. Only time it ever stunk is when I was brooding 4 new chicks and 4 new ducks this spring. It was the ducks that made it stink. Once I got the ducks out on their own now, the coop is back to non-stinking.

 

[tractorshopper]

Also, I have a 5 gallon watering dish and 7 gallon feeder. I fill the feed maybe once every 3 weeks and change the water every Sunday, although during fall, winter and spring could go maybe a week and a half with 6 birds, but change it to make it clean anyway.