All that being said, they do require a little set up. Since I was starting from scratch, I had to research everything from the beginning. I will often say,"In my research..." I have researched a lot, but don't ask me to reference it. The amount of research I have dome far exceeds my mental reference capacity, so you will have to take my word for it, or research it on your own. And since it was going to cost money, I wanted to get it right the first time. No pressure.
Here is where the problem came in. Everyone is trying to make a buck. In doing so, they try to convince you that their way is the right way to build a coop so you buy from them. So I kept looking for the right way. And kept looking. And looking. Well, you get the idea. Finally I figured I was just going to have to go for it and it worked well, with a few things I could have done better. But I have been amazed how well my simple coop has worked out. Then a light came on. I have figured out the right way to build a coop and can charge people to use my design! Ok, not really. I figured out there is no right way. You just have to keep a few things in mind and then design it the most efficient and affordable way. When I get around to it, I plan on giving you my own plans on my coop (free of charge!) and how the process went for me. So get to the points already! Ok, ok I am going!
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| Our completed coop and run. |
Air
Chickens have a very high respiratory rate. This is good and bad. Good because given the right amount of space (not too big of a coop) they are there own space heater. I don't heat my chickens and they have been down to 0 degrees with no ill effects. But bad because with respiration comes moisture. Chickens don't do so hot with moisture. The only chicken I have lost due to illness was after a wet chilly week. So you have to have the coop big enough to not get humid. And you have to vent. A vent does not have to be big. I have four vents in my 4' by 8' coop that are about 6" by 18". I have two on the North and two on the South, the two directions the winds come from in my area. I probably don't need that many but it allows me to be a little more versatile. During the winter I leave one or two open depending on wind direction. In the summer I never close them. But I have seen many that have many openings, to ones with just a small "chimney stack". But here is the catch: although you want vented, you don't want drafty. I haven't had this problem but have been warned a million times that drafty means sick chickens.
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| Good ventilation is a must. |
Light
Chickens need about 12 hours or more to lay. The more sunlight you can get in the coop, the longer you can get eggs during the year. I put a window on the East side and one on the West side thinking that way I could get light earlier in the morning and later at night. Good idea, poor execution. As it turns out, I have a small wind break to the west of my coop which helps for the summer heat, but not so much to get that winter sun in. The solution? My next coop (yes, I already have one in the planning stage) is to have the windows on the South side. My hope is to get the winter light and heat in. The catch? There is always a catch. The last two summers we have had over a month of 100 degree weather, with many over 110. With windows I could have baked chickens. Once again my hope is to have the windows on the south to let in the winter sun, but under the overhang of the roof so that they are shaded in the summer. One note on windows, everyone was saying to just use old glass windows, but I didn't want to have to worry about that with my little girls, so I dug out some old plexiglass. Supposedly they will turn hazy within a couple of summers of heat, but mine have lasted two summers and are still as clear as they started.
But I did say they needed about 12 hours of light, and my windows aren't cutting it in the winter. Yes, I use a timed light. But not a heat lamp. I keep hearing about coop fires caused by heat lamps. A 40 to 60 watt bulb on a timer placed way out of the way of the roost works well. Egg production still drops a little, but the chickens aren't spoiled with heat so they still go outside in the winter and the cold hasn't hurt them.
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| Light through plexiglass windows. |
Space
No, not the final frontier. We have to get the right amount of space for your number of chickens. The number I found was 4 square foot per chicken. Sound like a lot? That is 4 square feet if the chickens are to always be kept in this space. That is roughly a 2 foot by 2 foot space. So that is what I ran with and it has worked. I built my coop 4 foot by 8 foot, figuring that for 8 chickens. That is, however, if the chickens are to remain enclosed. I was free ranging mine (until two came up missing their heads, literally) and that coop size worked great. After I lost two chickens to a mysterious predator, I kept mine in. I did build a 12 foot by 12 foot run attached, and I have surpassed my 8 chicken goal to 11 chickens, and they have handled being enclosed without any issues.
I also found a spot that said 2 foot of roost per chicken. I put up about 8 foot in mine, then got more chickens so I added about another 8 foot. It has worked well. One roost I would like to try is putting up an old wooden ladder angled from the wall, but attaching it to the wall with hinges. That way I can flip it up to clean out the coop.
Also I found out roughly 2 chickens per nesting box, and each box being about one foot by one foot by one foot. My chickens seem to stand in line for their favorite box, but it has so far seemed like a good rule of thumb. Also I ended up putting chunks of outdoor carpet inside the boxes. No matter haw many times we put fresh hay in the box, the chickens would move it around until they reached wood, then lay an egg so it would break. The carpet has stopped that, for the most part.
One final word on space. Figure how many chickens you want. Then double that number. Then double it again. I have a reason for saying this. When we started, we thought about having 6, maybe 8 chickens. So I planned for my high end of 8 chickens but bought 6 (a long story there). They produced enough eggs for us, for the most part. We didn't calculate for loss. We knew egg production would decrease during the winter, but we dropped down to 2 or 3 eggs a day, which wasn't quite what we wanted. The wife would go on a cooking spree (she has to keep me fat) or we would have eggs for a Saturday morning breakfast, or we would give some to neighbors, and we were out. For the next year we figured on 12. But we didn't plan on having so many chickens that didn't lay (we have at least 2 that never did and then a couple that are getting old and moody) and we didn't account for predator loss. So now we are working towards 20....ish, and planning a new coop.
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| Enough nesting boxes for 2 chickens per box. |
Security
That was my biggest fear with free ranging our chickens. It turns out that I didn't need to worry as much as I did until recently (key dramatic music). Here is what I did to keep the predators and mice out: Chicken mesh and hasp everything. Vents are covered with mesh with closable doors (with hasps). Our run has a door with hasp, as well as our chicken door in the run (which should already be locked). Also, I ran the mesh down one foot and angled it out. The reasoning is that a coon or possum would dig down, hit the mesh, and not think of backing up a foot and digging down again. So far it has worked. I am not sure it is really necessary, but this allows us the ability to leave the coop open to the run when we leave for a weekend and the chickens can still be safe at night.
I also built mine on stilts. I did it more so that I could move it in the future, but I read that it keeps the mice and rats out, and so far it has seemed to work.
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| Hasps and latches on everything to keep the critters out. |
Tips
That is about as simple as it breaks down, but before I close I do have a few tips.
Avoid the heat. Chickens do well in the winter without added heat for the most part. Added heat increases the chance for a coop fire and gets the chickens a little spoiled so they become more susceptible to things like frostbite.
Paint the floor or put linoleum down. I painted mine as kind of an afterthought and am glad I did. It makes cleaning it out so much easier, that poo can stick!
I love 5 gallon waterers, but in the winter they freeze up. You can buy a heater to keep it thawed for $40, but a $10 heated dog bowl works just as well, but you have to check it every day.
Keep food and water off of the ground. Any food on the ground is waste. Any standing water can cause disease.
Well, that is about all for now. In the future I will try to do the whole long process of how I built my coop so you will know the right way. Hope to see you then!
