A Frame Chicken Coops

[jessicagray]

Hi all,

I'm planning on building an a frame coop, and wanted to see some examples before really delving into the project. I want to make room for additions or changes to my plan! Thank you for all of your help in advance!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The only advice I can give is to make it taller rather than wider. I made one fairly wide to span an raised garden bed and it made it very difficult to reach into because I was standing so far away.

 

[jessicagray]

That's great advice! I would have never thought of that, thank you!

 

[aart]

Don't like em....too tight at the top, usually too small for more than 2 birds.

 

[TalkALittle]

Just make sure that when you a calculating square footage that you only count the useable space--space that a full grown adult big can stand up in. In an A-frame coop the area where the floor meets the roof is not useable space. Depending on the angle of the roof, you may lose a foot or even more off your floor dimension on those two sides.

 

[jessicagray]

That's a good thing to consider. In the Raising Chickens for Dummies book it states that you have to multiply the number of chickens you want to keep by 2 to get the minimum square footage (p. 108). I plan on purchasing 2-3 chickens to start, so that's 4 sq ft. The coop I'm building has a 40 sq. ft floor, so I think that should be sufficient until I get more in the future, what do you think?

 

[aart]

2 sqft is small, almost factory bird req's.

And remember, the square footage floor space of the bottom of the A frame is not the same as the upper level,
and you lose part of that upper level floor space to the 'door' the chickens use to get up there.
But I think the head room in the upper level is really the most restrictive part to the functionality of the A frame,
maintenance accessibility looks a nightmare to me too, but my knees don't bend well.

Rule of thumb around here is 4sqft in coop and 10 sqft in run......
......which I've found to be bare minimum in my situation as my birds are spend a lot of days in the coop in winter.

Even if you free range most the time, there will be times when they have to stay in the coop because of weather or predator events.

A frame's are attractive because of less material costs and they're cute, they might work OK for a few hens.
........and they will make great brooder coops once chicken math hits, some experience is gained and one constructs a larger more easily accessed coop/run.

JMHO

 

[jessicagray]

I really value your experience and input, thank you. From what I've read, people say that chicken keeping is addictive, so if/when I get more birds, I'll be sure to expand as the flock does.

That's the most important thing to me, to make sure the chickens have a humane living space (in the space that I have). I'm making it a tractor-type coop where I'll be able to pick it up and carry it, so I'm hoping that will make cleanup easier. I'm also considering enclosing the floor with OSB board and painting a rubber coating on the bottom. Also, I'm reinforcing the chicken wire with a layer of welded wire to ensure predators have the most difficult time getting in if they try! What do you think?