Help me with my coop layout, please!

[Solanacae]

My husband got a couple of shipping crates for some massive pumps at his work site. They’re 8’x10’ with 8’ walls and very sturdy. I am taking over one to turn into a larger coop than my current cramped little 4’x4’ one. I’m excited to have something I can stand up in and have some room to add more birds. I currently have four hens and four chicks in the brooder. I plan to add a few birds each year so I have a steady supply of eggs.
I’ve got a few questions about the construction and layout so that I can optimize my space.
Background: I live in Northern UT (almost ID) where there are hot, dry summers that are regularly in the 90’s but only occasionally in the 100’s, and cold winters that occasionally dip into negative temperatures but consistently below freezing. I have a large fenced off section of my yard for the chickens and there are a lot of trees that provide shade in the summer. The coop will be 3-4’ from a 6’ fence that goes along the property line. I keep bees, so a small portion of the structure will be for storing boxes, frames and other equipment I’m not currently using. It will be walled off from the chicken coop but open to the air on two sides so I don’t have wax moths moving in. Square footage for the chickens would be 61 sq ft, so I’ll max out at 15 birds if I’m giving them 4 sq ft per bird.
So, my questions:
1. I will need to add a roof - I have some roofing tile I found for free on the classifieds, would this work well on their own or do I need to add insulation on the roof?
2. I have 5 windows (three 16” square, two 33”x14”) I can use. Where should I put them? I know I want to put one of the long ones in the east wall of the coop right by the roosting bars. Possibly two on the west side of the house? I will have hinges to allow the windows to open for airflow and will cover with hardware cloth + window screen.
3. I plan to have a shelf/platform with two rows of roosting bars above it. Is sand or pine shavings better for under the roosting bars? I’m leaning towards sand on the floor of the coop, though I compost my litter and using wood shavings makes for more browns to offset the high nitrogen chicken poop.
4. Part of the space under the shelf/roosting bars will be some storage space for feed and such. The other half should be . . . open space? I’ve thought about putting the nesting boxes there, but I’d have to duck down quite a bit to get under the shelf and I don’t love that idea. I’ve also thought it could work for a small broody pen if I ever decided to let a hen go broody and incubate some eggs or graft some chicks. (Although my small coop could work for that too.)
5. Where is the best location for nesting boxes and a chicken door? The human door will be somewhere in the middle on the west side. I am looking into an automatic door and would love to hear anyone’s favorite brands also. I’m also debating on building out the nesting boxes so I can lift a lid and collect eggs like my current coop has.
6. Waterer/feeder inside the coop vs. outside? We have the occasional wild bird show up when the chickens aren’t near to pick up the odd sunflower seed left behind by my ladies, but I don’t want them having free access to the chicken feed. Right now I only have one feeder and one waterer, but I’ll need to get more as my flock grows. The feeder is under the coop (which is raised up 2.5’) so wild birds haven’t gotten into it as far as I’ve seen.
7. Ideal ventilation setup? Most storms come in from the west. I’m thinking of a wide strip under the roof overhang that would always be open, but protected so snow/rain doesn’t get in. The windows would open to provide additional airflow in the summer.
8. My current coop has an attached run that the chickens have access to 24/7 unless I board it up in really nasty weather. It’s got a hardware cloth apron, I lock it up every night, and I haven’t (yet) had any predator problems. I’m debating on whether I should make an attached run for the big coop or not. If I don’t get the automatic door opener, then I will for sure. However, if I DO get the automatic door, then they will be able to get out into the chicken yard a little earlier than I get out there because I’ve got kids to get ready for school. (That’s one reason why I have the door to the current run always open, since I don’t want them stuck in the coop with nothing to do.) The chicken yard is fenced, but not covered.
Hopefully that makes sense. Thank you in advance for your suggestions!

 

[saysfaa]

1. Roofing tiles. Do you mean clay tiles? They would not need insulation. Metal would, otherwise it will rain inside your coop when the warm moisture from the birds hits the colder metal.

2. Windows. Is the fence a few feet east of your coop solid? If so, it won't be as valuable for ventilation or light as the other sides. I would put the bee storage on the north end and the big windows on the south end. Then use two of the small windows to frame the door for visual symmetry and the third one on the north or east wall for cross ventilation. If you hinge the windows that way, angle the framing at the bottom and add weep gaps so water doesn't collect under it (unless "dry" climate is dry enough for that not to matter.)

3. Litter on the poop board. I think sand would be easier to scoop. Or PDZ or a mix of both. If you don't scoop, I don't know if it matters.

4. and 5. Under the poop board and nests. I would put the nests where they are most convenient to access. And brood in this space rather than the little coop - https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...and-start-raising-your-chicks-outdoors.71995/
Maybe use the little coop for the bee or feed storage?

7. Ventilation. I like your west side soffit vent plan. That and a ridge vent are great! Or a monitor roof. Or half monitor roof. Think about a soffit vent on the east side also. Typically 90s and sometimes over 100 makes ventilation very important. Well, it is anyway, but the heat makes it much more so. They will need at least a square foot of open vent area per bird in the winter, too (for respiratory health and safety from frostbite.) If the west soffit vent is the only open vent when the windows are closed, a 12" strip across the entire west side gets the 8 square feet for the 8 chickens you currently have.

I'm envious of your shipping crate to work with!

 

[Solanacae]

Thank you for taking the time to answer!
1. Yes, the tiles are clay.
2. Is there a better way to hang the windows so that there’s less chance of water leaking? We don’t get much rain in the summer, but a fair amount in the spring and fall.
I put the bee storage area where I did because it’s conveniently close to where my hives are (they are at the end of the chicken yard) but you’re right that having the windows on the south is the more important thing. The fence is wood, so there probably won’t be a ton of direct sunlight that comes in through there, and especially during the summer because of the trees on the other side of the fence.
4&5. The little coop won’t work for storing bee equipment since it can’t be a closed, dark place. I have been storing my equipment in the garage and had a huge infestation of wax moths because I had everything neatly stacked in a corner. That’s exactly the way they like it and it was an awful mess to clean up. I could use it for feed storage, and I have also toyed with converting the little coop into a pigeon loft, but I need to not take in anymore projects this year. I will be using it to slowly introduce my new chicks to the hens. We’re going on vacation a week after the chicks are ready to go outside. While I have a neighbor that will be coming twice a day to let them out and lock up, she’s not a chicken person and I don’t know if trying to integrate the newbies too quickly is a good idea since I won’t be there to keep an eye on their interactions. The chicks would stay in the enclosed run and everyone would be able to see each other and get more comfortable that way first.
7. I was thinking this morning that doing some sort of louvre-d vent on the north and south would also be a good way to increase my ventilation. Putting a soffit vent on the east I can definitely make happen.

I’m so glad they finally installed the pumps so I could get the container - my husband requested they save them back in October last year when they arrived and I’ve been impatiently waiting so I can get the coop built!

 

[saysfaa]

I totally get the impatiently waiting. I ordered a shed for my coop and the sawmill the builder works with is having trouble getting logs. The delivery date just got moved out. Again. This is the sixth time, I think, that it has been moved.
Anyway, if you hinge the windows at the top there is no place for the water to pool. The frame might get a wet but with the water running off and the air able to get to all sides easily, it will dry fast. It is when the water can't dry off fast that leads to trouble. Most people have them open out to keep more of ghe water out of the coop and so they can open and shut them without going into the coop. I'm putting mine so they open inward because I plan to open/shut them only a half dozen times a year at the most... open all summer, closed all winter with maybe a couple of switches for really big weather swings in spring or fall. Given that and that they are old solid wood barn sash windows, I don't want them sticking out in the way and in the weather all summer.

Louvered vents are good.

Thanks for sharing about the wax moths, as I'm eyeing the big stack of hives under an overhang in an old barn. I wanted them out more of the weather, but maybe it is good they've been in such an open spot. Yes, I can see why you would want your stored hives reasonably close to your apiary. Smile.

 

[Sally PB]

Shipping crates are great! We turned two into a garden shed. It would have been the coop, but it was in my before chickens days.

Please post pictures of your shed-becoming-coop. A lot of people will look at the paragraphs of text, their eyes will glaze over, and they will move on. But if they see pictures, they can visualize the layout better.

I like PDZ for poop boards, and deep bedding made of pine shavings for the coop floor.

Consider turning your windows 180, that is, have them hinged at the top. That will keep rain or snow from falling in. You can prop them open, and close them if you have to for a bad storm.

Ventilation should be above the chickens' heads, especially when it's cold out. They're wearing down jackets, but a strong breeze ruffing their feathers will cancel the effect of the insulating air by their bodies. A cool breeze on a hot day is a totally different matter.

The air circulating above their heads will carry out moisture and ammonia. Moisture from their breath can cause frostbite in the winter. Ammonia fumes from their poop is an issue all year round.

I don't keep water in my coop at all. I don't want to deal with spills, or the moisture in the winter. Last year I kept the food out of the coop too; right now I have two feeders, one inside, one outside, so that they are out of line of sight of each other. (This keeps the second hen from harassing the bottom hen when she eats.) I do not leave food in the coop or run at night, as mice can find a way into the run.

I suggest laying out the footprint of your coop on the ground where the coop will be. Try putting everything where you think you want it. Walk "in" and see how it all works. Check out where the natural light falls. You might find something that works better.

Good luck!

 

[Solanacae]

Did some sketching today now that the kids’ play set is just about finished. It’s not to scale, but just to have something to envision what we’re going for. My husband wanted to save on lumber by connecting as much of the two shipping crates together as possible. We settled on an L-shape so we could have as many windows in the coop as possible. (The second crate will become a shed so we have a place for the lawnmower, tiller, and his tool collection.) Now that we’ve decided in a footprint, we can start leveling the ground.

 

[aart]

It’s not to scale, but just to have something to envision what we’re going for.

Scale is important, as are dimensions.
Graph paper is the easiest way to scale sketches.

 

[Solanacae]

Scale is important, as are dimensions.
Graph paper is the easiest way to scale sketches.

Yes, that’s the next step. I need to measure the windows to make sure we place our studs correctly.

 

[Solanacae]

Got some good work done on the shed/chicken coop today. My father in law came up to help. We leveled the floor and got walls at least partially up on the shed. The walls for the chicken coop will be next and hopefully we can get things ready for a roof by next week when my parents will be coming to help put it on. Framing has gone a little differently since the walls were already made, we are just reinforcing what is there.

 

[Aunt Tat]

Someone's artistic! Love the cute little gal in door!

It's so nice to see your son supervising...watch and learn!