- Apr 18, 2014
- 21
- 0
- 22
I grew up around chickens on relative's farms, but this spring, somewhat on a whim while at Tractor Supply, I decided to get a few. I did a lot of research on this site and discussing with friends that have chickens, and thought I would share what I came up with for a coop and run design, any feedback or questions on what I have done are welcome.
I live on 3.25 acres in MD and have a nice place in the back of the yard for the coop and run. Currently we have 16 chickens, 8 leghorns, 5 silkies a rhode island red, a black sex link and a barred plymouth rock, which is pretty much at the limit of what my coop and run can comfortably hold. I bought the chicks in early March so I am still a month or so away from getting eggs.
The coop is raised off the ground about 16 inches, and the floor is made of one sheet of 3/4" pressure treated plywood, cut to 7' x 4'. I used the extra 1' x 4' piece as the floor to the nesting boxes, they are raised about a foot off the floor. The door provides access to four 1' x 1' nesting boxes. The door is light enough that the kids can open and latch it to retrieve the eggs. The construction is basic 2x4 framing and I used the smart siding for the walls, it took 6 sheets of 4x8 siding, if I had thought a bit more before I cut one of the pieces I could have gotten by with 5. It is about 7 feet tall on the high end and 6 on the short end, which makes it comfortable to walk around in to clean, and I put big enough door on it to easily get in and out. The roof is a 2x6 and OSB platform measuring 6' by 8', so that three pieces of 2'x8' corrugated roofing cover it with no waste or cutting.
When I painted it I somehow forgot to paint to of the rim boards around the roof, will eventually get those painted as well. Note the top allows for plenty of ventilation. I have screen on the ceiling on the inside of the coop to keep any rodents from getting in the top. The windows have the 1/2" wire mesh firmly stapled under the frame. One thing I may change is to move the roof platform back about 4 inches so that it overhangs the nest box door completely to better protect it from rain.
I put together a bit of 3/4" PVC plumbing and a 5 gallon bucket for a watering system, there are 3 nipples located in the run and 3 in the coop. I use just plain water in this system, I have a one gallon drinker in the run that has the electrolytes in it most of the time. I think it is important to have redundant systems, so I try to keep both the drinker and this system full at all times.
The run is 4x4 post construction with a tin roof as well. It measures 10'x16', which gives me 10 square feet per chicken. They have a dust bath and a couple hay bales to sit on and peck at, along with a perch that is mounted to the ceiling. The roof is about 7 foot high in the front and 5 in the back. I have PVC tube feeders for both granite and oyster shell mounted to a couple of the 4x4s in the run.
I built a large sheet metal feeder that hangs in the run, this was based on designs I saw here and elsewhere. It took a couple revisions to keep them from wasting food, but now there is virtually no waste. I holds about 40lbs of feed, but they don't eat much in the coop so I only have to fill it every 2-3 weeks. It seems they prefer to eat out in the run from the hanging feeder out there. The feeder, perches and shelves can be removed easily to clean out the coop. I am still trying to find the optimum configuration for the coop, I recently changed it so there is a perch on either side of the door and one against the back wall, with shelves under each side perch, this seems to work well. We got the chickens in two batches and they seem to remain segregated, the leghorns all stay one side and everybody else on the other. Currently I have not determined what to put on the shelves below the perches, I hear sand or cat litter are both good. On the floor of the coop I have a little bit of straw, may switch to pine shavings at some point.
The nest box door is 1/2" pressure treated plywood.
The nest boxes are ready to go when the time comes. I am using pine shavings in the nest boxes.
I framed the windows with 2x4 on three sides and 1x4 on the other, and put a groove in them to allow for a 18'x24' piece of plexiglass to be slid into place in the event we get a cold spell during the winter.
Access to the nesting boxes from the inside of the coop. On my list of things to do is put in some curtains for privacy.
I have found a lot of useful information on this site, hope to be able to contribute some myself. I welcome any comments or questions.
Scott
I live on 3.25 acres in MD and have a nice place in the back of the yard for the coop and run. Currently we have 16 chickens, 8 leghorns, 5 silkies a rhode island red, a black sex link and a barred plymouth rock, which is pretty much at the limit of what my coop and run can comfortably hold. I bought the chicks in early March so I am still a month or so away from getting eggs.
The coop is raised off the ground about 16 inches, and the floor is made of one sheet of 3/4" pressure treated plywood, cut to 7' x 4'. I used the extra 1' x 4' piece as the floor to the nesting boxes, they are raised about a foot off the floor. The door provides access to four 1' x 1' nesting boxes. The door is light enough that the kids can open and latch it to retrieve the eggs. The construction is basic 2x4 framing and I used the smart siding for the walls, it took 6 sheets of 4x8 siding, if I had thought a bit more before I cut one of the pieces I could have gotten by with 5. It is about 7 feet tall on the high end and 6 on the short end, which makes it comfortable to walk around in to clean, and I put big enough door on it to easily get in and out. The roof is a 2x6 and OSB platform measuring 6' by 8', so that three pieces of 2'x8' corrugated roofing cover it with no waste or cutting.
When I painted it I somehow forgot to paint to of the rim boards around the roof, will eventually get those painted as well. Note the top allows for plenty of ventilation. I have screen on the ceiling on the inside of the coop to keep any rodents from getting in the top. The windows have the 1/2" wire mesh firmly stapled under the frame. One thing I may change is to move the roof platform back about 4 inches so that it overhangs the nest box door completely to better protect it from rain.
I put together a bit of 3/4" PVC plumbing and a 5 gallon bucket for a watering system, there are 3 nipples located in the run and 3 in the coop. I use just plain water in this system, I have a one gallon drinker in the run that has the electrolytes in it most of the time. I think it is important to have redundant systems, so I try to keep both the drinker and this system full at all times.
The run is 4x4 post construction with a tin roof as well. It measures 10'x16', which gives me 10 square feet per chicken. They have a dust bath and a couple hay bales to sit on and peck at, along with a perch that is mounted to the ceiling. The roof is about 7 foot high in the front and 5 in the back. I have PVC tube feeders for both granite and oyster shell mounted to a couple of the 4x4s in the run.
I built a large sheet metal feeder that hangs in the run, this was based on designs I saw here and elsewhere. It took a couple revisions to keep them from wasting food, but now there is virtually no waste. I holds about 40lbs of feed, but they don't eat much in the coop so I only have to fill it every 2-3 weeks. It seems they prefer to eat out in the run from the hanging feeder out there. The feeder, perches and shelves can be removed easily to clean out the coop. I am still trying to find the optimum configuration for the coop, I recently changed it so there is a perch on either side of the door and one against the back wall, with shelves under each side perch, this seems to work well. We got the chickens in two batches and they seem to remain segregated, the leghorns all stay one side and everybody else on the other. Currently I have not determined what to put on the shelves below the perches, I hear sand or cat litter are both good. On the floor of the coop I have a little bit of straw, may switch to pine shavings at some point.
The nest box door is 1/2" pressure treated plywood.
The nest boxes are ready to go when the time comes. I am using pine shavings in the nest boxes.
I framed the windows with 2x4 on three sides and 1x4 on the other, and put a groove in them to allow for a 18'x24' piece of plexiglass to be slid into place in the event we get a cold spell during the winter.
Access to the nesting boxes from the inside of the coop. On my list of things to do is put in some curtains for privacy.
I have found a lot of useful information on this site, hope to be able to contribute some myself. I welcome any comments or questions.
Scott
