I agree with everything. There is one minor thing I am not positive about concerning roost bars (using a 2 x 4 inch with the 4 side up). My girls are using rounded 2 x 2 boards and natural 2 inch diameter limbs. They love to snuggle on them and never complain. Love your pictures. Well done!
Coop Health: Designing and Maintaining a Healthy Coop
- Author TwoCrows
- Publish date
- Article read time 20 min read
As usual TwoCrows has produced a well written and informative article.
The advice against using chicken wire I particularly liked. I see lots of coops and runs on the forums where chicken wire is used and it’s inviting a disaster.
The article is mainly built around large coops and while ventilation is very important for small coops off the ground such as I use, 1 sq foot of ventilation per bird would leave me with a wall missing.
The explanation of how air flows using roof vents is good; it’s how I build my small coops.
I would have liked to see recommendations for using sheet material for construction; this makes coops easier to clean and provides fewer hiding places for pests.
I’ve become a fan of bare floors in coops. I’ve found bare floors much easier for poop checks but once again, the type of coop you build will have a major bearing on whether this is or isn’t practicable.
It’s an almost impossible task to cover all coop types and this article covers the important ideas which with some thought could be applied to any coop build.
All in all an excellent article.
The advice against using chicken wire I particularly liked. I see lots of coops and runs on the forums where chicken wire is used and it’s inviting a disaster.
The article is mainly built around large coops and while ventilation is very important for small coops off the ground such as I use, 1 sq foot of ventilation per bird would leave me with a wall missing.
The explanation of how air flows using roof vents is good; it’s how I build my small coops.
I would have liked to see recommendations for using sheet material for construction; this makes coops easier to clean and provides fewer hiding places for pests.
I’ve become a fan of bare floors in coops. I’ve found bare floors much easier for poop checks but once again, the type of coop you build will have a major bearing on whether this is or isn’t practicable.
It’s an almost impossible task to cover all coop types and this article covers the important ideas which with some thought could be applied to any coop build.
All in all an excellent article.
Having read the article and studied the photos, I can see many areas of my coop and run that'll need attention! My roosts are way too high, so I'll be rooting through my wood pile and making changes asap!
I also didn't realise how much cold weather a chicken could take!! Wow. My chooks are going to nice and hardy next winter!
I see changes I can make to the actual coop too, but that's ongoing anyway and we've already put a nice metal roof on it. It's a repurposed dog kennel, with plenty of room for five chooks at 100sq.ft
I also didn't realise how much cold weather a chicken could take!! Wow. My chooks are going to nice and hardy next winter!
I see changes I can make to the actual coop too, but that's ongoing anyway and we've already put a nice metal roof on it. It's a repurposed dog kennel, with plenty of room for five chooks at 100sq.ft
Great article and pictures...very helpful to those of us who are interested in building a coop
A well written article!
There is a variety of options and information. No matter what your environment or personal preference, you are sure to find a good tip to improve things for your birds.
Two thumbs up!
There is a variety of options and information. No matter what your environment or personal preference, you are sure to find a good tip to improve things for your birds.
Two thumbs up!
