Raised coop or coop on the ground? Pros and cons?

[Meddipa]

Hello, this is my first post here, and I'm still learning how to navigate so I apologize if this has already been asked. This spring my husband and I are getting chickens for the very first time and I've been reading along on here trying to gain all the knowledge I can before then. Tomorrow we are meeting with some local amish folks to order a custom chicken coop. I don't yet want to take on the project of building our own and they make very high quality structures at very reasonable prices. We've decided on a 4x5 coop for our small flock of 5 hens and have already discussed the basic features like nesting boxes, ventilation, etc. The basic design is going to be like a miniature backyard garden shed with an A-frame roof. The only thing I can't decide on is if I want the coop itself to be 4-5ft tall, just set upon the ground with a run attached, or raised on 4x4s about 2 ft off the ground, with the coops itself being 3ft tall (5ft total in height), again with a run attached, but room for the chickens to go underneath the coop. I like the idea of a raised coop, but our city ordinance states animal structures can't be more than 5ft fall, so I'm worried that only 3 ft clearance inside the coop would leave it a little squat and cramped. Perks of a coop set right on the ground is higher ceiling = easier cleaning, but then it would need more overall square footage for a large enough run, since we would loose about 20 square feet of run underneath the coop. So, which would be better? Am I overthinking this? Does anyone with more experience have recommendations? I just want to make sure I make the right choice before spending a few hundred dollars on this coop. Thanks in advance!

 

[cavemanrich]

Since your Totalitarian Local Government makes such ridiculous height restrictions, opt for the on ground style. This will allow good ventilation with sufficient distance over/above the chickens' roost area height. I also would opt for a flat 15* pitched roof, so you get maximum volume inside your relatively small coop.
Ground level chicken pop door is much better than them having to walk the plank up hill.
Do the best you can for making your run as large, as your backyard allows to.
Ask anything else you have questions about
WISHING YOU BEST.............................. and

 

[Alaskan]

My 2 thoughts are

1. Could you build a "non-animal outbuilding " and stick the coop on one wall of the outbuilding? That way the coop could be raised but also have decent inside height.

2. How much snow do you get? A tiny coop on the ground, under 2 feet of snow, is no longer serviceable. A raised coop can be opened up even with a bunch of snow.

Also, a 4x5 sized coop for a flock of 5 is the recommended size.... but.... again, where do you live? If you live in snow country, it is nice to have the coop way bigger, 8 square feet per chicken since they might refuse to go outside if it is nasty cold and blowing wind.

If you live in a warmer area, AND the run is roofed, and you KNOW you will not get more chickens, then the 4x5 is good.

 

[blackdog043]

Welcome to BYC, please add your general location to your profile, it will help with questions that are related to your weather conditions, which pertain to most questions.

I would agree with @cavemanrich for the coop. Also think about making the coop 6 x 6, to give more room inside.

If these town people who make these rules up had any clue on chicken keeping, it would be a lot better for chickens and their owners. You can probably have a storage shed that's 8 ft high, but put animals in it and only 5'!

 

[IamRainey]

This is the one I had built. I'm pretty happy with it but there are a couple things I'd do differently. For one thing I'd definitely build a bigger coop and a bigger run because I can't stop wanting more chickens. I'd have the nesting boxes open with the side hanging down and have gravity working with me instead of the top lifting up. Still, it's a very workable coop for a small flock.

Beyond the design other things I wish I'd considered is I should have made sure I had an electric line run out to it for warming chicks, running fans in the caliente SoCal Summer. And I don't do supplemental lighting but you might want to. A friend did put in a water tap for me so I can fill their waterers from the garden hose. I didn't think that through but I'm grateful he did.

I went with this design because I have limited space to work with. In fact, this coop and run fit the fenced in spot it's located in with just a few feet around it on all sides to walk though. BUT if I had my druthers I'd have a walk-in ground level coop. Still, this step-up design gave me the maximum amount of run space.

Hope there's something there that's helpful in your planning.

 

[aart]

I just want to make sure I make the right choice before spending a few hundred dollars on this coop.

Absolutely!!

Tomorrow we are meeting with some local amish folks to order a custom chicken coop.

Might be too late, but I'd hold off until you understand what you want/need in a coop and can give them specific plans.
Knowing more about your site would help.

I like the idea of a raised coop, but our city ordinance states animal structures can't be more than 5ft fall

What other restrictions are there about poultry in particular?

Oh, and, Welcome to BYC!!
Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[wamtazlady]

I love my raised coop. Easy to clean by putting a wheelbarrow under the clean out door and raking all the bedding into the wheelbarrow. My coop is also 8 feet tall. However, if I were dealing with the height restriction you have, I'd put it on the ground.

 

[imnukensc]

What if...........it were a dual purpose structure? In other words, half could be for the chickens and half could be for storing gardening tools, fertilizer, etc. Would you still be restricted to 5 ft? If not, I'd build something along those lines on the ground and build the run a little larger. I have a small (5X5) raised coop, but the area underneath is not part of their run. I'm not a fan of having to go under the coop to retrieve a sick chicken or eggs, but my chickens have a fairly decent sized run (8X16) and they free range daily nearly all day.

 

[Meddipa]

Thank you all for your advice! We rescheduled and aren't meeting with Amish until later next week so we have a few more days to figure out plans. As for the strange city rules, it's a very small village and it's been a YEARS long ordeal just to get chickens allowed at all, so at this point I'll take the silly rules! Husband and I have a 5 year plan to purchase some acreage and build our dream house which will include many more chickens so I'm just starting small for now. Other rules include no roosters and a max of 3 chickens, but we own a double lot so we can have up to 6. That means for the next several years this coop will never need to hold more than 6 chickens. As for location, I will get on updating that! I live in Michigan, so it gets pretty chilly and has a possibility of snow usually mid Nov-early March. But I do live in an area of MI that doesn't get tons of depth of snow because we're so far from the great lakes. I'd say we almost never have more than 6 inches on the ground at a time. I think after considering all the advice I've gotten here I'm leaning toward expanding the coop slightly to 5x5 to get a little more square footage and having it set on the ground and be 5ft tall. As for the run, we're building that ourselves and have space so can really make that any size needed. I think we were discussing a 6x12ft run, but that can always be adjusted. We also have a nearly half acre backyard that is fully enclosed with a privacy fence so I intend to let them roam the yard nearly every day for a couple hours while I'm out there once the weather permits, probably 8 months per year I'd guess. I do want them to be comfy in the cold dark winter months too, so let me know if you think any of this plan is lacking anything!

 

[Meddipa]

Oh and as for those suggesting a combo-purpose structure, I'm a little hesitant to do that here. This silly little village requires a permit even to add a garden shed in your backyard and you have to state it's "purpose". In some places I might be able to get away with it, but this is a veeeery small town where everyone knows each other and there are a few older ladies in town well known for walking their little dogs around and around and eyeing what everyone else has going on. My neighbor whose backyard backs up to mine told us that a few years ago he got reported for putting up an "unauthorized shed". Ridiculous in my opinion, but for now, even though we have a fence up, I'll just stick to the letter of the law and not push my luck.