8x12 chicken coop!

[windnleavesfarm]

That would b my only concern... the eggs roll too fast& break. Unless you could find something soft to catch them so they wouldn't break. Like maybe some kind of foam?

We are in the process of building a coop also and I was thinking about putting in the nests where eggs roll away so they would stay clean and easier to collect.
Have you considered that? if so can you share your plans?
I'm stuck on how tall to make the front/entrance vs the back so not to break the eggs when they roll down.

You could definitely do that! I honestly have never done or owned any before but I found this on google I don't know if it will help. But I know you don't want the eggs to break so make a back board that is soft. I would glue a piece of foam or wrist rests that they have when you are at you computer. These are Cushing so the egg won't break also I would install a flap so that your hens don't stand on them and break them but that depends on where you are collecting your eggs from the inside or out?





Sorry my photos are everywhere!

 

[chickkrakidd]

Did you see the part about a block coop? As in cinder block& mortar. Would that be ok? It'd definitely be durable& predator resistant. I'd still have a plywood roof with rolled roofing on top, I'd just lift the back part up to reach in& collect eggs. A block coop& the fact that 2 hens& 1 Roo are Blue Andalusians is the reason i mentioned a heat lamp. the other breeds I know will be fine. &also I know it may sound kinda dum, but I'm not real sure I understand your answers. So, let's make sure I understand: as far as the fencing goes, I'm ok with what I said. Chicken wire for the skirt, HW cloth separating roos& hens, & welded wire surrounding it? Or did u mean that the TSC chicken wire would be fine for surrounding it& separating Roos from hens? My neighbor has chickens as well& his run is surrounded by chicken wire. He's had them for several years, but I happen to know that there are coons& opossums because I've seen them. There are also the neighbor's dogs who just absolutely love running in our yard& using it as a public restroom. So, anyways, about the coop& fencing, thanks for your help.

 

[cstronks]

Did you say you want to start with 16 and then add 30 chickens? For an 8x12 that is too many, unless the run very, very large. The rule of thumb for chickens is 4 square feet of coop per bird. By that rule, you could fit anywhere between 22-25 comfortably. If you had 30, it would be slightly over, but still the birds would be fine. Now 46...thats pushing 2 sq. feet per bird and that would not only be tight, but also require a TON of cleaning. If you are raising cornish for meat, be prepared to clean, because those birds are very messy in comparison to others. I've never had them, but a lot of chicken owners who started with egg layers and then added cornish told me that they made significantly more mess than their layers.

 

[cstronks]

By the way, really cool design with the roll-out nesting box. I've seen things like that in quail pens. Very cool to see it utilized in a hen house!

 

[windnleavesfarm]

Did you say you want to start with 16 and then add 30 chickens? For an 8x12 that is too many, unless the run very, very large. The rule of thumb for chickens is 4 square feet of coop per bird. By that rule, you could fit anywhere between 22-25 comfortably. If you had 30, it would be slightly over, but still the birds would be fine. Now 46...thats pushing 2 sq. feet per bird and that would not only be tight, but also require a TON of cleaning. If you are raising cornish for meat, be prepared to clean, because those birds are very messy in comparison to others. I've never had them, but a lot of chicken owners who started with egg layers and then added cornish told me that they made significantly more mess than their layers.

I don't follow those rules because quite honestly I think they are silly. And I have 5 roosters that will be butchered and the meat birds I am getting are most likely going to be kept separate. And I have a extremely large run. I have never measured it but it is bigger than a 12x12 I believe. Trust me they will be fine. If I feel like my chickens are being crowded I will move some into the barn or my spare coop.

 

[windnleavesfarm]

And thank you!

 

[windnleavesfarm]

Did you see the part about a block coop? As in cinder block& mortar. Would that be ok? It'd definitely be durable& predator resistant. I'd still have a plywood roof with rolled roofing on top, I'd just lift the back part up to reach in& collect eggs. A block coop& the fact that 2 hens& 1 Roo are Blue Andalusians is the reason i mentioned a heat lamp. the other breeds I know will be fine. &also I know it may sound kinda dum, but I'm not real sure I understand your answers. So, let's make sure I understand: as far as the fencing goes, I'm ok with what I said. Chicken wire for the skirt, HW cloth separating roos& hens, & welded wire surrounding it? Or did u mean that the TSC chicken wire would be fine for surrounding it& separating Roos from hens? My neighbor has chickens as well& his run is surrounded by chicken wire. He's had them for several years, but I happen to know that there are coons& opossums because I've seen them. There are also the neighbor's dogs who just absolutely love running in our yard& using it as a public restroom. So, anyways, about the coop& fencing, thanks for your help.

Haha sorry I didn't mean to throw so much at you and yes to all of that.

Block coop:
So your saying that the floor of your coop is going to be cement? Or that's just your foundation? I have seen a few done differently that's why I ask.

Separation:
I would just use wire to separate you roosters.

Protection:
If you are worried about pests getting in make sure that the bottom of your fencing is secure to the ground somehow or lock them up at night.

P.S. do you have any pictures? I'm a visual person lol

 

[chickkrakidd]

Block coop: Not exactly. Lol I was just gonna level out the ground& have my dad help me out on setting the block. It'd just have a dirt floor probly with a thick amount of sand, I think it's what they call a "deep litter" method? 3 walls of block& I was thinking of just leaving the front open, as long as I have the run completely& entirely secured so the chickens can't get out& predators can't get in.
Protection: I would probly use HW cloth attached to the fence& used or cheap rough cut 4x4s with re-bar or some kind of heavy stake to stake the 4x4 down. Does that make sense?
As for the pictures, sorry but I don't have any. The area I'm using was part of my garden for the last two years, but I've found another place to put the part I'm using& it's still kinda out of the way. It's 13ft on the end where my coop will be& 10ft at the other end. It's about 40ft long. That's the whole area, but only from the 13ft end to about 12ft up will be for the chickens. That's where the run will be, the coop will be just outside the area of the run, but the fencing will still attach to the coop.

 

[windnleavesfarm]

Will this be all "chicken space" or will you have storage in there also? I like this coop style and I am wondering if I were to build a similar one, could it be divided into 8x8 living space and 8x4 storage area and be enough room for 17 chickens (12 LF & 4 bantams). There will be an attached run, accessible all day. They will be locked up in the coop at night.

The plan is that we will make an extension to this coop I don't exactly know if it will be used for storage or just an addition for more space. But we do have a small feed storage that's in the coop that's about only as big enough to put one tin garbage can in for feed. Space wise for your animals I would say that might be a bit small for them. If I were you I would just make the coop as a whole a little bigger enough so that maybe where the chickens live could be about the size of an 8x10 or 8x11 and then the rest could be storage. This coop we created is most definitely able to be divided but I would give more room to your animals.

 

[Sierrab]

Great photo of the nests. Thank you