A-frame build and flock size

[Craxe77]

I really wanted a traditional coop and my wife wanted an A frame chicken tractor... So I made an A-frame chicken tractor. I looked at a few pictures and just started building, designing along the way as I tend to do. It ended up being 12'L x 8'Wx 7'H. The nesting boxes are in the right inner corner of the coop with a door in the side for easy access. We will be moving it daily in our large fenced in pasture that keeps our two horses and soon to be two cows. The coop itself they use for sleeping and nesting is roughly 6'Wx4'L'4'H to the peak. I have since these pics were taken added wheels and other small things.

Right now we have 4 Bramah's (3 Hens and a rooster) which will start laying in a month or so. We will be adding 8 more young chickens, (getting them in April as chicks and raising them to mostly adult before adding them to the coop. They will be 4 Araucana's and 4 Buff Orpigtons. That will be a whole other discussion and strategy.

My question is will 12 chickens live comfortably in this coop? I've read about square footage per chicken but I like to hear about your thoughts.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

The problem with A-frames is that the low headroom on the sides renders part of the square footage essentially unusable except when the chickens are lying down, so when you calculate the area you really shouldn't count any part that isn't at least 12" high.

You've made it taller than many A-frames so that's minimized and I'm glad to see that you've got the ventilation at the roof peak.

With that steep angle, the coop portion is effectively more like 5 feet wide than 6 feet wide -- enough for 5 birds. Brahmas are big, so it's nice for them to have the little bit of extra room they've got right now, especially since you've got a rooster. By the time my Light Brahma rooster, Marion, was done growing at 2 years old he was a full 2 feet tall (and only hatchery stock, not a breeder bird).

For 12 birds you need 48 square feet in the coop -- that is, at least 6x8 effective space.

And 120 square feet in the run.

Since you're in Vermont you need to think about dealing with snow. You won't be able to move the tractor then and you'll need to give the chickens plenty of sheltered space to use so that they don't get bored and start problem behaviors like bullying, feather picking, etc.

I see that you've used chicken wire. Unfortunately, many common predators -- especially raccoons, coyotes, and feral dogs can go through chicken wire like tissue paper. Is it possible to upgrade to hardware cloth?

 

[Craxe77]

Welcome to BYC.

The problem with A-frames is that the low headroom on the sides renders part of the square footage essentially unusable except when the chickens are lying down, so when you calculate the area you really shouldn't count any part that isn't at least 12" high.

You've made it taller than many A-frames so that's minimized and I'm glad to see that you've got the ventilation at the roof peak.

With that steep angle, the coop portion is effectively more like 5 feet wide than 6 feet wide -- enough for 5 birds. Brahmas are big, so it's nice for them to have the little bit of extra room they've got right now, especially since you've got a rooster. By the time my Light Brahma rooster, Marion, was done growing at 2 years old he was a full 2 feet tall (and only hatchery stock, not a breeder bird).

For 12 birds you need 48 square feet in the coop -- that is, at least 6x8 effective space.

And 120 square feet in the run.

Since you're in Vermont you need to think about dealing with snow. You won't be able to move the tractor then and you'll need to give the chickens plenty of sheltered space to use so that they don't get bored and start problem behaviors like bullying, feather picking, etc.

I see that you've used chicken wire. Unfortunately, many common predators -- especially raccoons, coyotes, and feral dogs can go through chicken wire like tissue paper. Is it possible to upgrade to hardware cloth?

Great feedback and questions. I was also worried after building an A frame due to my lack of experience with them. Space is weird to figure in the coop. I keep debating pulling the back apart and making it a square box .

For the winter I'm planning on either adding plastic panels all around along with a tarp or parking the whole thing inside a tent that I normally park the tractor in (One of the shelter logic tents).

I'm am also working on putting hardware cloth around the entire bottom. Right now just the back is hardware cloth.

Ultimately, I agree that 12 birds wont fit and its back to building an additional coop. Glad they wont be ready to use it before May

 

[aart]

Aframes are terrible coops, IMO.
Not enough space, impossible to protect from rain and have good ventilation.
Totally inappropriate for your winters.

Make something like the building in your avatar pic!

 

[Craxe77]

Aframes are terrible coops, IMO.
Not enough space, impossible to protect from rain and have good ventilation.
Totally inappropriate for your winters.

Make something like the building in your avatar pic!

Overall I agree with you. I think the most difficult part was building. Dealing in triangles vs dealing with squares with 45 degree angles. I would have been done in a day. Its also easier to plan out the exact amount of space I had.

If I don't build a better coop by winter then I do have a few plans to winterize this one.. One of the easiest is to just park it in my Shelter logic tent. They will be dry and still able to walk around, I can keep a little heater in the tent and outside the coop although I always found the inside of the tent to be quite warmer than outside especially during the day.

 

[aart]

If I don't build a better coop by winter then I do have a few plans to winterize this one.. One of the easiest is to just park it in my Shelter logic tent. They will be dry and still able to walk around, I can keep a little heater in the tent and outside the coop although I always found the inside of the tent to be quite warmer than outside especially during the day.

Sounds like a good plan, you won't need the heater tho.
BUT, you may need to add roosts outside the little enclosed space,
12 birds won't fit in there.

 

[aart]

I think the most difficult part was building. Dealing in triangles vs dealing with squares with 45 degree angles. I would have been done in a day. Its also easier to plan out the exact amount of space I had.

They seem easier to build, with less materials, to those who've never built anything.

 

[Craxe77]

BUT, you may need to add roosts outside the little enclosed space,
12 birds won't fit in there.

I let the wife know last night that we probably weren't doing 12 birds due to the size of this coop. Probably just 5 or 6 until I build a new coop later down the road. She was disappointed as she was looking forward to 8 baby chicks but I think 5 or 6 is a good number for now. If she had her way she'd have many more than 12.

I will be adding roosts in the run today

 

[rosemarythyme]

I let the wife know last night that we probably weren't doing 12 birds due to the size of this coop. Probably just 5 or 6 until I build a new coop later down the road. She was disappointed as she was looking forward to 8 baby chicks but I think 5 or 6 is a good number for now. If she had her way she'd have many more than 12.

I will be adding roosts in the run today

Just let her know that by growing the flock over time, you will get far more consistent egg production (assuming eggs are a main priority for you). So it might not be what she was hoping for now, but if you add more chickens 2 or 3 years from now, you can look forward to the new layers making up for the older birds as they start slowing down.