Chicken Coop

[windfish]

Well, my mom has decided she wants chickens
So it fell to me to build her a coop. I looked around for a while trying to find plans, didn't find any free ones that looked worth following, so I just freehanded it.
Its about done, it sits on a roughly 5x10 frame which will have an enclosed run. Its ended up bigger and heavier than I originally intended, but it should last a little while.

Question, how much room should I have left for the chickens to get under the coop? I wasn't really thinking when I started it, but now that I look there's not a whole bunch of room. There's a 14.5" lip, and once they get under they'll have 18" of headroom. If I'm going to raise it, now's the time. Raising it won't be much fun, but its doable if needed...
Thoughts?

[tiretrx]

First, let me say, beautiful job there. As far as height, I guess it depends on the breed, bantams should be no worries, Jersey Giants will be an issue.

[SonnyT]

Good job! I think there is enough room for them to dance around under it. JMO

[windfish]

Thanks guys

She's getting Buff Orpingtons from a local breeder

[njjack]

Nice job! Now think "predator proof"! Coons have tried getting to my girls many times, consider ditching out around the perimeter and let your wire or hardware cloth run at least 6" down below grade to discourage digging. How many birds are you getting?

[sanfordanddaughters]

Question: why did the chicken coop have 2 doors?


Answer: because if it had 4 it would be a chicken sedan.

[hippycy]

Buff Orpingtons are a good sized bird and good dual purpose birds. You need 4 sq.ft of floor space per bird to keep them from picking each other. If they are going to be de-beaked you can cut that down to about 3 sq.ft with out much trouble. If you put in a nest box, 1 box per 8 birds, that will cut down your available floor space.

If your chickens are just going to be sleeping in your coop then the floor space is not really that critical,they will just need room to roost. As long as you don't forget to open the door in the morning so they can get out.

I wouldn't worry about your height. I keep Meat Kings in a coop that's only 12-14 inch high and it doesn't seem to bother them. They use the coop for sleping and staying out of the rain.

[ToolBoxTavern]

Nice build. Here is a link to the one I built. Now I wish I made it bigger.

http://www.mytractorforum.com/showthread.php?t=179018

[windfish]

Whelp, its done.
Well, 95% done. Need a better latch on the run door and to make the door that opens from the coop to the run. For right now I just covered the opening with wire mesh.
The chicks my mom got this weekend are small enough the breeder recommended they not be put on the ground for another week or two. Except for one, which gets put out in a small xpen under supervision.
Might end up making the run larger, but for now...

Oh, and the hitch needs reinforcement if I'm going to keep it. Thing ended up pretty heavy so I opted to tow it over to where it'll sit. From now on it'll likely only be moved short distances, and the rear wheels are working great for now.

[gooberguy]

Around here these are called Chicken Tractors.

[windfish]

Whelp, 8 months later and its still standing -- and got an upgrade.





The original run ended up being a little cramped for 6 chickens, it had held just 3 up till this point (4 of the original batch were roosters, we didn't keep them).
The external run is detachable so everything is still movable. Latches hold it at the two sides. Will build a door between the main run and the external so the main can still be used on its own, for the moment I just cut a hole in the wire.

Bottom pic is of the nestboxes, looked around on the internet for plans and threw something together. They're using them as intended, so I guess they're good enough. There's another roosting pole between the one you can see and the wall.

The winged roof ended up being a good idea, nestboxes are easily accessible and it makes cleaning easier, put down linoleum and the old shavings slide out nicely.

[ToolBoxTavern]

Nice.

We ended up with a few more chickens and I am getting ready to make a upgrade on ours also.

[Realbiker]

That's a great looking coop! Getting our first flock in a few weeks!

[thudpucker]

If they start laying on the ground your gonna need a long stick with an egg catcher on the end of it.


My Coop is in a Barn, plenty of room, the big blue Barell catches rain water off the roof and they drink it from the Drippers on that white plastic pipe.

I had too many Roosters. I put them out in a field inside this movable pen.


Your movable is a much better idea. Wait till dark to move them, and you wont hurt any of them.