COMMUNITY PROJECT: Let's Design The Perfect Coop!!!

[LoneCowboy]

Well, I figure the food and stuff will be outside most of the year. I do keep water inside all the time so they can have water whenever they want. I keep the food outside in the run. I don't figure them in, but I guess you probably should. However you can get the wall mounted type dispensers, that take up less room. I always lock my chickens in the coop at night because of the critters around here.

Also, the chickens themselves create a lot of moisture since they breathe so rapidly.

Other than that, I can't give you much advice. I'm just new at this myself.

 

[jeaucamom]

I borrowed (with permission

) this design and the floor is 30 inches off the ground so I don't have to bend over to clean with my bad back. The bottom will have lots of straw for all the poop. And we found some cheap siding which we will cut out doors to cover the hardware mesh and the door. Just trying to figure out where to put the nesting boxes and roosts. We will screw in the siding so we can add another 4x8 when we expand our flock in the spring.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Okay kids, I've got some GREAT news!

Our very own member, ChrystalGail has experience with CAD and has volunteered to help us build some basic / easy plans for our perfect coop.

We'll be posting pics in this thread as she does the plans. Please provide her with feedback (and praise) so we can get something that we can all use.

Remember, our goal is to have a design that is:
• Easy to understand and build
• Applicable to most people in most moderate climates (modifications for hot / cold can be made later)
• Should be room for about 5 chickens.

I've asked her to build around a coop that is similar to the ones with the raised coop and attached run.

Thanks Crystal for taking on this task, and thanks to everyone for feedback and support!

 

[FarmerMack]

wow lots of nice ideas people but i have yet to see one that is truely an easy design. I have 11 ladies in waiting...well they're waiting for me to come up with a coop for them. I think an easy coop should have a sloped roof , not pitched. doing the wall is the easy part. Personally I like the design used in the https://www.backyardchickens.com/coops/clutch-hutch/index.php clutch hutch. nice pictures but again I'm not a carpenter. I do know which end of the hammer to use LOL


Welll keep the ideas coming

Coopless in New Hampshire

Farmer Mack

 

[paintedpoultry]

The perfect design for me would be:-

1. Slatted floor to let poo through, with welded mesh a few inches under that to keep preditors out. Perhaps this slatted floor could be under the perches only.

2. Some kind of anti fouling in the nextbox - perhaps a nestbox which can be closed in the evening to prevent them sleeping in there.

3. A coop slightly raised off the ground to prevent the wood getting wet but not too much (I keep heavy birds which will not like climbing). Also perches fairly low for the same reason.

4. Easy to clean, easy to gather eggs, easy to move.

5. An associated, separate or joined, shelter to keep out wind and rain and to give shelter from hot sun. It would have places to hang feed and drink hoppers out of the weather, and room enough for a dust-bath. Essential to help them keep the lice at bay.

 

[Reinbeau]

Quote:
I vote for The Clutch Hutch type design, too. The problem with the current planned coop designs discussed so far is that it'll be too small. It's only good for people who have a couple-two-three birds. I tend to think that many are more in the 8-12 range. Plus, designing for moderate temperatures is great but does little to help those of us who really need a weathertight, secure coop. The raised coops are wonderful, but to my eye, too small (I want something I can get inside of to work, and not be hunched over) and not all that warm. I found plans on a website for a few that I like, but, for example, this one is too big (but nice for someone who needs lots of room!

Here's a nice 8'x8' coop , pretty complete plans. This is more along the lines of what I'm looking for. But it looks so complicated!

So what I'm looking for is something that will accommodate (eventually) around 16 birds that I don't have to 'grow' too much for future use. Something that'll stand up to a New England winter and give shelter to the birds. The run I think can be dealt with separately.

Oh well, that's my wish list. YMMV!

Still coopless in New England.....

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

In general, the "medium" to "large" coops will almost be built in the same fashion as a shed or small barn. There are plenty of free plans out there for these types of structures. Also, when people have in excess of 10 chickens the variability in how they design and build their coops also goes up exponentially.

This is why we're sticking with a design for an average 5 hen coop.

.... well, that and if we get new chicken owners to start with 5 we all know they'll end up with 20 before too long!

 

[McGoo]

We're building our coop right now. Please click on my website and see the plan and progress to date. I've listened and learned from experience and think it's a good design. What you don't see is the set up we'll be doing to make it 'moveable'. That's coming soon.

 

[speckledhen]

I vote for The Clutch Hutch type design, too. The problem with the current planned coop designs discussed so far is that it'll be too small. It's only good for people who have a couple-two-three birds.

The Clutch Hutch is my original coop and is 8x8 with over 6' high ceiling at the front sloping to about 4.4' at the rear of the coop. Now, we have added 12' onto it, making it 8x20 and kept the original design so it basically looks like one long building.

 

[countryboy]

do you consider 4sq ft floor space per bird and then add sq ft area for feeders, waterers, nest boxes and roosts?