Probably the most important first step when going into the “chicken business” is planning where you will house your birds.
The first time we had chickens, years ago, we housed them in our All-Purpose Shed, along with rabbits, a couple of goats, ducks, and occasionally, a pony and/or a goose. There was a large fenced yard, a kiddie pool for water and swimming (meant for the ducks, but I often found my children wading there, too), grass, hay bales, and various pots and pans for feeding the menagerie.
Six winters ago, when I decided I must have another flock, the housing preparations were different. The All Purpose Shed had become a leaking, leaning catchall for old gardening pots, rolls of wire and roofing, and mice. Building the new Chicken Coop was the winter project. As usual, I made the detailed plans and my husband did the work (and occasionally followed the plans). I learned that there are building codes in our township these days, and that any building over 96 square feet must have a builder’s plan submitted for approval. To the builder, that translated into 12 feet x 8 feet and that’s where we began.
The frame was built of 2×4’s covered on the outside with 7/16 OSB. Before plywood was put on the interior walls, R-19 insulation was added. The floor was built with pressure treated 6”x6”’s (3 of them—each 12 feet long), with 2”6” joists. The floor was covered with plywood, too.
Windows were added (my plans!)—two along one side, one in each end. These thermal paned windows were salvaged from another project, put in on hinges and screens were stapled into the interior window frames so summer breezes could enter, but summer predators could not.
I knew where I wanted the finished coop to be placed, so a door went in one end, next to the offset window—this would be the entrance to the hen yard from the coop, and the southern end of the building. Another door went into the side without windows –this would be the entrance door from the outside.
The roof of galvanized sheet metal was built, with my husband certain that it should attach tightly to the sides—until I explained how important it is to have ventilation in a chicken coop. The roof overhang is covered in screen to keep predators out, but lets fresh air circulate through the coop, without causing a draft.
The interior design of the coop allowed for an 8’ x 8’ living area, with roosts and nest boxes, and a 4’ x 8’ storage area for feed (in galvanized garbage cans) and tools. A screen door separated the two areas and a plywood half-wall completed with heavy-duty wire mesh, allowing for more light in the coop, filled in the rest of the gap.
The building was painted (barn red) shortly after the arrival of 24 small chicks that would be living in our garage under a heat lamp until the weather was warm enough to transition them to their new home. My research had taught me that 96 square feet, with access to the outside, would be sufficient to hold 24 laying hens.
The plans called for the coop, which was being built in my husband’s workshop, to be moved to the flat land beyond our raised bed gardens.
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Moving day dawned bright, snowy and cold. The building was skidded out of the workshop, the roof attached, and the whole building lifted up on an oversized axle (another salvage item). Slowly, slowly it moved up the road and into place. It took a little leveling and more hard work, but the housing was ready for the birds. My husband built a “deck” along the side of the building, which allowed the hen yard to be 10 feet wide, and gave us a spot for more storage. The angle of the roof allowed this to be a covered area.
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| Moving Day |
The feed bins were filled; the floor covered with shavings and straw, the chickens added to the mix and the rest is a happy hen history. Well, except…
I’ve learned:
· Always build a chicken coop to hold twice as many chickens as you plan to start with.
· Don’t think that the grass in your chicken run will continue to grow for more than…a week?…after the chickens take over.
· You’ll need to plan for grazing excursions or some sort of moveable shelter if you want your chickens to have access to grass or pasture (see previous note).
· Deer netting works great for keeping flying predators out of the coop. It does not, however, work well after a heavy snow. If it doesn’t collapse, it just holds the snow and lets it melt into the yard. And then it does collapse.
· Always build a coop to hold twice as many chickens as you plan. I know I said that already, but there’s a second reason –that extra room. It ends up as a hospital wing, a maternity ward, a teenaged birds’ apartment, and eventually as part of the coop. You’ll still need a spot for storage (and a hospital, maternity ward, etc.)
· Electricity is not necessary in a chicken coop. We didn’t add it, and I’ve never been sorry.
What would you add? How would you build your coop differently? What do you especially like about it? What have you learned?
7 Comments
Having now built a second poultry barn after a previous fire, definitely have improved the plans with some of the below, though I still have more I would do for the funny animals.
1) Needed to add a waterer that either is cleaner, such as a nipple system or as a I have now, an alcove behind a dowel fenced area (that I also include a heat base that can be removed after the below zero days leave MI climate.)
2) Have two runs that give the girls (and yes the two boys,) days on a different area to peck around in, but totally enclosed top and bottom of two foot rat walled, (to discourage the mink/weasel family from the nearby creek)
3) Four different feeder types and in different areas. I alternate the type, kind and availability of feed, i.e., round hanger with pellets- in center of one half of coop, wall attached single feeder with crumbles- on door, accessible to refill from the interior outside of their pen area, a ‘flock block’ on holder that can be moved as each new block is replaced.
4) Storage hanging areas available for seasonal items such as the sun shades, the fans, the water heater bases, etc. as they alternately are needed.
5) Also, I have raspberry plants and apple trees planted around their side of the barn area, as well as garden extras that I store for their winter delights (and didn’t plan enough for the storage.) They love the last of the pumpkins I couldn’t use.
Sure there are more, though my girls are happy n still laying strong.
Personally I would Never use pressure treated wood that would come in contact with Chickens or any other animal that would be raised for consumption.
I have electricity in my coop so that I can run lights in there during the shorter daylight hours of winter. The lights are on a timer so they run for 14 hours every day. This helps immensely with egg production.
My solution to the scorched earth problem is to have two fenced in chicken runs and two separate doors – each leading to a separate run – for the girls to go out into whichever yard I want them in for the day. Alternate yards so that the chickens just “mow” the grass in each one, giving the greenery a chance to grow back while the chickens are in the other yard.
I always enjoy your articles, there alway so helpful. Thanks
Barn stall with dirt floor:) oops!
What a great step by step description! A couple of things–the living area was apparently 64 square feet rather than 96, since there was a screen with a door to separate the hens from 4 x 8 worth of storage area. I love the idea of planning for more birds. Until I built up some resistence, I could not go to the feed store in spring without coming home with hens. I have thought about (but not yet acted on) an idea of cordonning off an area to grow some grass so that the chickens can have access without it turning into scorched earth. Meantime, they are let out every day at 3 for the run of the yard–althought they usually head for the garage where there are cat food crumbs…. GREAT article! Thank you!
Right! Great catch on the match — the original plan was to have the whole building house the birds (which it now does), but the plans changed….:) I know just what you mean about building up resistance, too, and I like the idea of a grass growing area, but it hasn’t happened here, either. Thanks for writing.