WANTED: 20-25 chicken coop design

[Gvnam]

I am having trouble finding plans for a coop. My neighbor is wanting to get some chickens and wants some help on the coop. Please post your ideas!

 

[eggdd]

 

[Ole rooster]

Stop waiting and draw up you own. What I did for my little coop was find a design in the coop section on here and modified it to fit what I wanted. 25 chickens is going to take a pretty good size house. What you need I wouldn't call a coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

As Ole Rooster said, go to the "Coop Designs" section at the top of this page and look at those coops to get ideas. Here's the link. A lot of those have some nice photos of how they put them together.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-large.html

Go to the library and look at the books on how to build a shed. You'll find a lot of books with good designs and good details on how to build them. Home Depot and Lowe's often have some books for sale that can be pretty good. The only differences in a shed and a coop are the ventilation, nest boxes, roosts, and a pop hole.

For 20 to 25 chickens, I'd suggest a minimum of 8' x 12' for the chickens area, larger if you want a separate storage area. You can build it as fancy or plain as you like and as suits your area. That's for you and your neighbor's benefit. The chickens don't care ahow fancy it is, but in some neighborhoods you need a decent looking building. If you build it where or in a way that water will not run into it, you can cut costs by using a dirt floor.

There are certain management techniques where you can get by with less space, but you commit yourself to never leaving them locked in there much when they are awake. I like to sleep in occasionally instead of getting up at the crack of dawn every day to let them out and I have a lot less trouble finding a chicken sitter when I go on vacation if they don't have to be there at the crack of dawn. If you live where the weather can be pretty rough, they need a snow-free outside space they can go to in most weather if you build it small. Besides, I find that giving them enough space lets me work a lot less when it comes to poop management and I don't have the chicken aggression issues that tight spaces can give you.

You can get one of those shed kits from Lowe's or Home Depot and put that up, but if you are building from scratch, I'd suggest keeping it in increments of 4' or 8'. Most building materials come on those lengths, so you will have less waste and cutting. An 8' x 12' will probably be cheaper and easier to build than a 10' x 10' and very little more expensive than a 8' x 10' for example.

At that size, I strongly suggest it be tall enough for you to walk in it. You'll need to get to all corners of the coop, either to clean or maybe to retrieve a sick or injured chicken. If you give them a chance, they'll make a nest where you can't get to it.

I suggest you look at something no more than 8' wide, no matter how big you build it. The wider it is, the more expensive the wood to span that width is. 8' is a good width. No matter what type of roof you build, you can find plenty of examples of the sizes of wood you need.

Make sure you have roof overhangs so you can put ventilation openings under there without rain blowing in too bad. Make sure your roof slopes so water runs off, and make sure it slopes so that the rainwater does not run into the run or over a door.

 

[AlienChick]

I agree with the others. Just take a look at some coop designs and modify to suit your preferences.

Our first coop was built for 25 birds. It was 8 x 12 and we designed it ourselves based on what we saw on BYC.

It was very simple to build (we had NO skills building; this was the very first thing we've ever built).

When I moved out of State, I sold that coop (to a BYC'er) and built a bigger one that is 10 x 12.

Again, we looked at photos and drew up some rough plans and put together a materials list.


Here's the 8 x 12 coop:

This is our current 10 x 12 coop (still a bit unfinished).

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
I agree. Every building on my property was something I designed myself. I never used any coop designs. I had built what I wanted built.

 

[conny63malies]

Take a look at the Black and Decker book "the complete guide to contemporary sheds" http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-Complete-Guide-Contemporary/dp/1589233352 .
There are several shed plans in this book around 80-100sqf that could easily be turned into a coop. my fav is the clerestory studio.

 

[SteveBaz]

Find something or an idea you like and if its for 5 birds make the unit 5 times large with some changes to fit it more to your needs. An enclosed run that is 4'X8' is good for 5 chickens then you need a run that's 20'X40' or 30'X30' minimum.

The information presented above is Golden Info and take it to heart. I could very easy with the BYC information available and a post to building it and asking for suggestions is all one would really need.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This thread is from the sticky at the top of this section. Each of us have different circumstances, so read it with a little discretion. Not every hint works for all kinds of coops, but you might get some ideas out of it.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=140561

 

[katiemdenne]

I'd like to see a picture of what you came up with. I am needing a coop for 25 birds too