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I hope you don't mind me commenting here. Here is a couple of ideas to think about...
Roost down the length of the coop will be 8' long. Six chickens will roost somewhere along that board....probably a 4-5 foot strip of concentrated poop that needs to be cleaned regularly. It might make it difficult to place the waterer and feeder so that they don't get poop on them (winter storm when you want to keep them inside). Plus the roost poop will more or less be from one end of the coop to the other.
6" ventilation down the top of both long walls will give you 8 sq ft of insulation. I think I've seen it recommended that you have 1 sq ft of ventilation per chicken so this is a good amount of ventilation, but...you're in Connecticut (I've never been there but I think it gets cold).
Here's a rough idea of what I'd do... Put a couple of nest boxes in the back of the coop facing the opposite end. Above the area for the nest boxes build a 2' deep removable shelf to be used as a droppings board. Above this install two roost poles going across the 4' span. Put the roost poles maybe 4-5 inches above the dropping board. Total height of the roost poles would be around 20 inches which would leave another 28 inches for the chickens to have room getting on the roosts. Place one roost about 10" from the back wall, place the second roost pole about 10" in front of the first one at the same height. This should be plenty of roost area and it keeps the highest concentration of poop in the back 2' of the coop and on the removable dropping board. You could then build a single door to lift up from the outside to gather eggs (leave the back side of the nest boxes open) and also to slide the dropping board out for cleaning.
If you really wanted to get fancy you could build your nest boxes to attach on the outside of the coop...this would make more floor space in the coop. You could still design the door so you would still have access to the dropping board, too.
I would design the ventilation along the top so that it could be shut down *if needed*. Maybe build some flaps on hinges that could be flipped up and latched when needed. I would have two sets of flaps on either side...one that covered about 4 to 4 1/2 feet of the coop that included the roost area. This way you could shut the vents up during cold/stormy weather back where the chickens roost, but in the summer time open them so the breeze can blow through. Shutting the flaps towards the rear in the winter time would give a sheltered/protected area in the roost area where drafts would be minimized. If you wanted to you could even cut the flaps an inch too narrow and still leave some ventilation, just not as much as when it's wide open.
On the opposite end from the roosts and nest boxes I would put a window with hardware cloth over it. This would be a good place for some air exchange but be far enough away from the chickens that it shouldn't really cause a draft. If needed it could be sealed off with a removable piece of plywood.
Centered on one side should be a fairly large access door for filling feeders and waters and doing housekeeping. It could incorporate some hardware cloth also but have the ability to close it off with another piece of plywood.
Maybe I rambled a bit, but maybe you can use some of this or at least use it for some food for thought.
Best wishes on your chicken ranch!
Ed
PS - I really like the idea of a 4x8 coop....good use of sheet goods!!
ETA: Put some rigid foam insulation under your roof...it'll make a world of difference!!
I hope you don't mind me commenting here. Here is a couple of ideas to think about...
Roost down the length of the coop will be 8' long. Six chickens will roost somewhere along that board....probably a 4-5 foot strip of concentrated poop that needs to be cleaned regularly. It might make it difficult to place the waterer and feeder so that they don't get poop on them (winter storm when you want to keep them inside). Plus the roost poop will more or less be from one end of the coop to the other.
6" ventilation down the top of both long walls will give you 8 sq ft of insulation. I think I've seen it recommended that you have 1 sq ft of ventilation per chicken so this is a good amount of ventilation, but...you're in Connecticut (I've never been there but I think it gets cold).
Here's a rough idea of what I'd do... Put a couple of nest boxes in the back of the coop facing the opposite end. Above the area for the nest boxes build a 2' deep removable shelf to be used as a droppings board. Above this install two roost poles going across the 4' span. Put the roost poles maybe 4-5 inches above the dropping board. Total height of the roost poles would be around 20 inches which would leave another 28 inches for the chickens to have room getting on the roosts. Place one roost about 10" from the back wall, place the second roost pole about 10" in front of the first one at the same height. This should be plenty of roost area and it keeps the highest concentration of poop in the back 2' of the coop and on the removable dropping board. You could then build a single door to lift up from the outside to gather eggs (leave the back side of the nest boxes open) and also to slide the dropping board out for cleaning.
If you really wanted to get fancy you could build your nest boxes to attach on the outside of the coop...this would make more floor space in the coop. You could still design the door so you would still have access to the dropping board, too.
I would design the ventilation along the top so that it could be shut down *if needed*. Maybe build some flaps on hinges that could be flipped up and latched when needed. I would have two sets of flaps on either side...one that covered about 4 to 4 1/2 feet of the coop that included the roost area. This way you could shut the vents up during cold/stormy weather back where the chickens roost, but in the summer time open them so the breeze can blow through. Shutting the flaps towards the rear in the winter time would give a sheltered/protected area in the roost area where drafts would be minimized. If you wanted to you could even cut the flaps an inch too narrow and still leave some ventilation, just not as much as when it's wide open.
On the opposite end from the roosts and nest boxes I would put a window with hardware cloth over it. This would be a good place for some air exchange but be far enough away from the chickens that it shouldn't really cause a draft. If needed it could be sealed off with a removable piece of plywood.
Centered on one side should be a fairly large access door for filling feeders and waters and doing housekeeping. It could incorporate some hardware cloth also but have the ability to close it off with another piece of plywood.
Maybe I rambled a bit, but maybe you can use some of this or at least use it for some food for thought.
Best wishes on your chicken ranch!
Ed
PS - I really like the idea of a 4x8 coop....good use of sheet goods!!
ETA: Put some rigid foam insulation under your roof...it'll make a world of difference!!
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