Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Chicks Coop ideas

Looking at building a chicken coop, any ideas or pointers? Reminds me of an oversized dog house. Looking at space for eight to twelve chickens. What ya think?

Get a cheap shed that you can walk into. Put up some roosts that let the poop fall through to the floor so you can go in with a shovel and scoop it out. You will have 12 chickens today but next year you will want 12 more then 12 more etc. etc. etc.

kwg

We had a garden shed in the back yard with a mezzanine in each end, we just boxed one of them in this weekend to use as the chicken coop. Still have to put in a window for light and ventilation. Photo sensor automatic chicken door comes this week. It's called the lady's first chicken coop door. Opens when the sun comes up and closes when the sun goes down. Has an override switch for bad weather and solar panel to keep it charged. Figured $219 was well worth it. Put roll vinyl from Menards on the floor to keep floor from rotting. Still have room to park the riding mower and store some stuff. Final dimensions are 4x10x6'6" high. Should be plenty of room for up to 20 hens. Still need to make some nesting boxes but they'll be easy. Going to mount them on the interior wall with ports to open and get eggs without having to go inside. Pretty slick set up for not much expense

Thanks KWG

Sounds nice Colorado!

Size of a shed, where you can walk in to clear it out regularly. Make sure you can access the nest boxes through hatches from the outside to collect eggs. They will need a roost for sleeping at night. Best bedding for the floor is wood shavings they sell at Tractor Supply. In the nest boxes, you will want hay or straw for nesting material.

I made a coop for my ex-GF's hens many years ago using a 8x8 wooden shed (T1-11 siding )with gambrel roof and double front doors. I measured in 4' from the wall with the door and built a mesh wall with rabbit fencing and a framed door with mesh, basically creating 2, 4x8 rooms that were separated by the mesh/fence wall. The chickens were kept in the fenced section with laying boxes, and 2-3 long saplings (to give their feet varying diameters to grasp) which were placed at different heights and offset from each other, (to keep the upper chickens from pooping on the ones below).

The from 4x8 area just inside the door was used to house feed cans and extra bales of straw for scattering on the floor, (to make poop cleanup easier). It was a good set up and I plan to build another for myself one of these days.

Whatever you build, you might want to consider a movable fence design. The taste of those free range eggs will be far better and healthier as they scratch and peck wild greens, bugs and get more sun. If you are fortunate enough to have a dog that will keep away daytime predators, then you can of course free range them.

Nest boxes need to be lower than the roost.

Probably be wise to cover top of fenced run with fence fabric too to protect chickens from flying and climbing predators. Snakes are known egg and baby chick eaters, as well.

Make sure it's off the ground. That way rats can't set up shop underneath. They love chicken feed,

I stacked up two rail road ties. So it's about 1.5' off the ground. Never had any problems.

Thanks it should be when we get every little thing finished. Chicks are only a month old so we got time. Might insulate it before winter hits and wire it all proper. I want to fence in our 1/2 acre yard rather than a small chicken run but we'll see. Walleyes will start biting here soon

Around here the hawks are bad. My friends that.keep them do ok most of the time with them in the woods near the house. The eggs they want to hatch go into the incubator. Then they have a special section to feed them to size where they won't be so vulnerable.
When I raised them for research and commercially, they were in big houses. The exotics were barned in smaller building, but the egg hobbiests do pretty good if they have dogs that stay nearby.

For meat birds or layers?

8'x10' shed. 2x4 walls and rafters, 2x6 treated floor joists and treated floor boards. Galv. ribbed roofing. Car siding exterior. Entrance door on side. Guillotine style small door in rear for chickens. Two large swing up windows to face south. Outside window opening is covered with 1/4" hardware cloth. Five interior nesting boxes. Hickory sapling roosts. On two 6x6 treated skid with eye bolts to attach chains if need to move.

Next one I have will be full standing room height.

nice

Easily the most expensive eggs and meat you can get.

Eggs, yes. But, fresher (duh) and tastier.

I need to figure my cost per pound on the meat birds. Chicken isn’t “cheap” here.

Again, But, far better tasting meat than the store. Even is costlier, I’ll continue raising them.

Do like Bender and get some proper birds.


Commercial type fryers raised on only commercial type feed taste no different than the birds at the store.