First time coop. Critique my plans.

[BDutch]

One other thing....

Hinged tops on nest boxes are virtually impossible to seal.
Consider having the rear of the nest box drop down to gather eggs.

It’s possible with a large overhang of a nearby roof or a smaller overhang with a slab. I used EPDM for the slab after problems with leaking .

But building new I would make the nest-boxes inside too with a easy acces door or vertical flap door, to gather the eggs from the outside.

Our VERY WET winter here on the North Coast has shown us that no matter how much flashing, add-on coverings, etc. we've tried to keep water from seeping in, there's still a wet line in the coop bedding right under the lid's hinged top edge,

You are right this solution with a lid on top of the nestboxes sucks. But I did manage to make it leak free. Stapling a piece of EPDM on top, of about 10” / 20 cm high and as wide + 2 “ on both sides as the nest boxes are.. Stapled 5” above the hinges and it covers the whole edge.. This did the trick for me.

Also build an extension to the prefab coop with roosts and a poop board.

 

[21hens-incharge]

It’s possible with a large overhang of a nearby roof or a smaller overhang with a slab. I used EPDM for the slab after problems with leaking .

But building new I would make the nest-boxes inside too with a easy acces door or vertical flap door, to gather the eggs from the outside.

You are right this solution with a lid on top of the nestboxes sucks. But I did manage to make it leak free. Stapling a piece of EPDM on top, of about 10” / 20 cm high and as wide + 2 “ on both sides as the nest boxes are.. Stapled 5” above the hinges and it covers the whole edge.. This did the trick for me.

Also build an extension to the prefab coop with roosts and a poop board.

I did say virtually. I am glad you found a solution.

I have also seen where bike inner tubes have been split and used as a rubber barrier to water. They also used caulking on the long edges.

It just seems like a hassle best avoided if possible.

 

[OL Sarge]

I read through all the free plans this webpage had and adjusted a few of them to build my coop and run. I have added an additional run to the other side. There is 2 laying boxes inside, storage for feed and a loft.
https://myoutdoorplans.com/category/chicken-coop/

 

[Penpal]

I also agree with the nest box door to drop down. You also want to be able to clean out the nest boxes, and with the drop down door you would only have the 2" of board to have to work over.

Where are your predominant winds coming from? That is the side I would have the lower wall on with less ventilation or when it snows the snow will be coming into the coop, not to mention rain.

If something comes over the 6' fence, you can run a hot wire along the top. Chickens like to bathe. For this, they will create a dust bath. They will have one in the run, and probably also one or more in the yard. If you set up a spot for them they will tend to use that spot rather than tear up your yard.

Seed your yard for the chickens. This could include growing clover and allowing dandelions and plantain in the grass. Some sunflowers would be nice. They will eat the seeds.

 

[BDutch]

Chickens like to bathe. For this, they will create a dust bath. They will have one in the run, and probably also one or more in the yard. If you set up a spot for them they will tend to use that spot rather than tear up your yard.

Agree that chickens like / need to bathe.
But this is not true in relation to my chickens on a week with no rain and nice temperatures. They love to dig holes in the garden where the soil is sandy to create a outdoor spa.

 

[RedwoodCoastChick]

It’s possible with a large overhang of a nearby roof or a smaller overhang with a slab. I used EPDM for the slab after problems with leaking .

But building new I would make the nest-boxes inside too with a easy acces door or vertical flap door, to gather the eggs from the outside.

You are right this solution with a lid on top of the nestboxes sucks. But I did manage to make it leak free. Stapling a piece of EPDM on top, of about 10” / 20 cm high and as wide + 2 “ on both sides as the nest boxes are.. Stapled 5” above the hinges and it covers the whole edge.. This did the trick for me.

Also build an extension to the prefab coop with roosts and a poop board.

Forgive my ignorance, but what is EPDM? I'd love a practical solution to our nestbox lid leakage problem & would like to try your advice.

 

[BDutch]

EPDM stands for Ethylene, Propylene, Diene and Monomer.
Its a kind of artificial rubber, its black and used on roofs with sedum and grasses.

 

[aart]

EPDM stands for Ethylene, Propylene, Diene and Monomer.
Its a kind of artificial rubber, its black and used on roofs with sedum and grasses.

Also used for ornamental ponds.

 

[Debbie292d]

Hi all

I am (soon to be) a first time chicken owner, and before we get any chicks, we are going to get a coop and run in place. We are planning on starting with chickens, and are hoping to add ducks (maybe next year). I am not sure what flock size we are going to want yet. At the moment we are thinking somewhere in the range of 4 to 8 chickens.

Our current idea is to make a 4'x8' coop, and have a 8'x12' run. Our backyard has a 6' cedar fence, so we can probably let them range about the yard most days too. Here are some sketches that I made of my current idea for a coop and run. I'm hoping to get some advice from those more experienced, and avoid common mistakes.

Side View shows 8' of run in front of the coop. The coop is elevated about 2' and has an additional 4' of run underneath it. The run has a short sloped chicken-wire roof that can be opened (hinges on both sides like a cellar door).

View attachment 3739107

Back View Showing double doors running the length of the coop. Also has a sliding hatch door to secure the coop. The door slides to the side so that it can be closed easily from outside the run.
View attachment 3739108
We are going to try compressed pine bedding pellets in the coop. I am thinking about having a board below the doors to keep the pellets from spilling out when the door is opened, but having it on hinges so that it can fold down for easy cleaning.

The run is going to be pretty short, but I think that it will be fine with the hinged roof "doors" so that I can get in easily.

Here are some of the things we are most wondering about:

Keeping out predators
We will be burying the run fence 6" into the ground. Around here (PNW, just south of Portland, OR) I think the biggest worries we have are rats, raccoons, and coyotes. We hope that our backyard cedar fence will forestall coyotes getting in. But would having the mesh be buried be enough to keep out rats and raccoons (particularly if we were gone for a few days).

Latches
What kind of door latches are going to keep out raccoons? I drew the stereotypical wooden block twist latches, but I bet it would take a raccoon only seconds to open.

Roofing
We are debating corrugated steel and shingles on plywood for the roof. If we used corrugated steel could we get away without using wood closure strips. If we had a foot or two of overhang, could we just count the gaps left by the corrugation as additional ventilation, or is going to let in too much of our good old PNW rain?

Coop Size
I was initially thinking of doing a 4'x4' coop, but I have heard many warnings about chicken math. What are people's thoughts?

EDIT: Coop Flooring
(Edited to add. I forgot to put this in the initial post) Should I put a linoleum coating on the floor of the coop, or just paint it? I am planning on using 15/32" fir plywood for the coop.

Thanks so much!

The two main reasons for ventilation are to keep the ammonia and humidity down. If you're using compressed pine pellets for the floor and employing other methods to keep the humidity down, there's less need for as much ventilation as some sources say. For instance, when it's been 80% humidity outside, our coop is in the 60's% with 14 adult chickens in a 5x12' coop. There's no ammonia as the pellets absorb it, as does the stall refresher on top of the nest boxes and rail where they perch. There's no open water because they have a 5-gallon nipple bucket. In winter, it's kept heated 35-40F. There's a digital exhaust fan on one end with a baffle vent in the human door on the opposite end. That's all the ventilation we have and it doesn't run often. They get a little fresh air through those vents, but that's all they need. This isn't to dissuade you from putting in more ventilation, just consider you can do things to reduce the need for so much of it that is rarely discussed.

We have a wood floor too, covered with linoleum. We rocked the walls and painted them with kitchen paint. (Dander doesn't stick as easy and easy to wipe/sweep clean.)

 

[MrRaccoon]

Thanks everyone for all this great info! I've got paint, boards, and plywood to start construction as soon as I can.

I had an unexpected delay. An extended family of rabbits (domestic breed gone feral) had been making a warren under our house's foundation, and had a couple litters. I think we have caught them all, and I have been scrambling to make housing for them (and a nesting box. My wife saw the mamma bunny with a "haystash").

But there were chicks at our local feed and seed last time I was there, which got me all excited to get this coop going.

For ventilation, I was thinking of having the roof be elevated half a foot above the walls all the way around (with hardware cloth in place). And have the roof overhang the coop a ways to keep the rain out. Given our plan to start out with 4-6 chickens, this will be between 2 and 2.5sqft of ventilation per chicken. (I am taking everyone at their word that we will never regret extra ventilation)

I see a lot of coops have flaps that can optionally close off ventilation. Should I design so that my ventilation can be closed off? If so, when would I want to close them?

Seed your yard for the chickens. This could include growing clover and allowing dandelions and plantain in the grass. Some sunflowers would be nice. They will eat the seeds.

Way ahead of your there Penpal. Our yard came equipped . The rabbits were loving all the dandelions out there.

The two main reasons for ventilation are to keep the ammonia and humidity down. If you're using compressed pine pellets for the floor and employing other methods to keep the humidity down, there's less need for as much ventilation as some sources say.

Good to know.

We have a wood floor too, covered with linoleum. We rocked the walls and painted them with kitchen paint. (Dander doesn't stick as easy and easy to wipe/sweep clean.)

I was planning to paint the floor and all the walls (with some exterior house paint we have sitting around). But are we going to be much happier with linoleum? What is "rocking" the walls?

We are planning on having the broad side of the coop open with double doors, flush with the floor (which is elevated a few feet off the ground). So for removing the bedding we can put our wheelbarrow by the coop, and use a hoe to pull out the soiled bedding into it. And we will be making the poop boards removable so they can be scraped clean (and maybe hosed off). The wall of the nesting boxes will fold down so those can also be scraped clean.

What other cleaning tasks will we want to design for? (Sweeping dander from the walls is one I hadn't heard of).