Chicken Coop Construction

[paula.berriman]

Hi

We started building our chicken coop yesterday and are about 50% of the way there. We have constructed it so it sits about 1ft off the ground as these will be allotment birds and it will reduce the risk of rats nesting underneath and also allows some shelter for the birds and somewhere to keep the food dry.

The house is approx 1m by 1m by 1m. Im looking for some advice on roosting bars (what to use, what shape, how high) and also an idea of how many birds i can keep in the house. We are going to be using ex battery hens from the BHWT if you need to know the size of the birds.

Some expert help would be greatly appreciated! Ill post some pictures when i can.

[Hilary B]

Perch/roosting bar, one easy version is 2" x2" (50mmx50mm) timbers with top corners rounded off.
You will want some sort of box for eggs to be laid in (ex-battery hens usually lay eggs, they just aren't going to be commercially reliable any longer) preferably one that is dark. This should be at coop-floor level. Perches ideally will be just above the top of this, maybe 1 foot above the floor.
You should allow 1ft of perch-length per hen (although a lot of the time they will use rather less), and since 2 is all the perches you can get in that space (allowing for space from walls and between perches), that means 6 hens.
Don't forget to soak all the timbers in creosote substitute and let it dry thoroughly before introducing hens.

[Suechooks]

If you have the perches too close to the walls you'll get poop all down the walls (Iknow this as I put one of mine a foot away.)
Personally I think I'd only keep 4 in that size coop but 6 would fit at a push (it's a lot more space than they're used to anyway!
You might strruggle to get 2 perches in with sufficient space between depending on design. Also if you can manage to have the coop a little higher than 1' from the ground it makes life easier for you if you have to hoik eggs or hens out from there! If they don't know how to go up ramps they tend to gather underneath - and ex-batts know very little about real life at first - so if you've only got a small space it can be really difficult to get them out (again personal experience from my own mistakes!)
Good luck with them anyway. They have to be the most rewarding birds to take on and watching them blossom and start doing "chickeny" things for the first time is pure delight!

[paula.berriman]

Hi Ladies

Thanks to you both. Thats great advice and much easier that reading through books and web pages and getting bits of information. Right heres what we have done so far.

I think the legs are more than 1ft high (maybe 1.5ft) but i can easily get underneath and reach all the way to the middle so thats problem one solved i think.

We are constructing a seperate nest box on the house and this sits approx 2" higher than the coop floor but this allows for shavings to be spread inside to make a level foor.

I have attached a photograph of the coop as it stands at the moment. It isnt finished yet but should be this weekend. Let me know if you see any obvious errors.

One more thing................if i have two perches 1ft apart and 1ft high.........can i put another in the centre 2ft high to make a ladder perch thingy?

Answers on a postcard please

[minskey]

Wow! that looks great

[Hilary B]

If you have perches at 2 levels the chooks are more likely (once they get the idea of perching at all, which can be slow for ex-battery hens) to all want to be on the highest one.
That looks good so far. It would pay to put a 'front' on that nestbox, to keep the inside of it fairly dark, if there is only a foot-wide of entrance from house to nestbox, that is quite enough.

[Scarlet]

If you have perches at 2 levels the chooks are more likely (once they get the idea of perching at all, which can be slow for ex-battery hens) to all want to be on the highest one.

..and the ones on the lowest rung will get pooped on!

[paula.berriman]

Wow! that looks great

Thanks minskey! My other half will be very pleased to hear that

[frias]

That looks quite similar to mine and houses 6 easily. My perches are 2.6 inches long and all 5 of my girls often sleep squashed all on one perch. Ex-batts can take some persuading to perch. The first ones I had refused to perch and used to sleep on the floor. However the second lot perched straight away and the first lot then joined them. Someone (I think it was Suechooks) suggested I put a tyre in the coop for the girls to use in order to get on the perches and it's worked really well. I got a small one from a trailer place.
The only thing I would worry about on the coop is the apex on the roof. Is the rain water going to go straight off the roof into the run? We found it better to just have one backwards slope on the roof taking rain water away from the run. However you might not have a run like ours or perhaps not havimg a run at all so it wouldn't be a problem.

[chris]

2.6 inches - wow that must be a squeeze hehe

Coop looks great - puts my latest one to shame anyway!

Just to point out, have you left enough room for their backsides to not brush against the walls? Can't remember what the recommended distance is - I'm sure you have mind.

[frias]

Oh poo! I meant 2 foot 6 inches. I only work in old money and can't even get that right!

(I do have 2 perches, it's just they sometimes choose to only use one.)

[paula.berriman]

That looks quite similar to mine and houses 6 easily. My perches are 2.6 inches long and all 5 of my girls often sleep squashed all on one perch. Ex-batts can take some persuading to perch. The first ones I had refused to perch and used to sleep on the floor. However the second lot perched straight away and the first lot then joined them. Someone (I think it was Suechooks) suggested I put a tyre in the coop for the girls to use in order to get on the perches and it's worked really well. I got a small one from a trailer place.
The only thing I would worry about on the coop is the apex on the roof. Is the rain water going to go straight off the roof into the run? We found it better to just have one backwards slope on the roof taking rain water away from the run. However you might not have a run like ours or perhaps not havimg a run at all so it wouldn't be a problem.

Hi. We havent done any more construction other than what is on the picture so as far as roosting perches go we havent made any or installed them.

The roof (i hope) wont be an issue. The coop is going to be part of a large walk-in enclosure so hopefully this wont cause any issues.

My boyfriend will be working on it tomorrow and i hope to have an updated picture sometime tomorrow for you. It might even be finished on the outside

[paula.berriman]

Whoops forgot to ask. What sort of wood treatments / paints can i use and which are best avoided?

[chris]

Inside you can use creocote in the nooks and crannies (perch ends), and corners if you like - I painted the whole of mine with it... needs to dry out properly before they go in though. Its said to help prevent mites as it kills them. Outside can be any wood preservative I guess - I used plant/veg friendly ones. I siliconed gaps in mine, but the hens just pulled it off and ate it (d'oh!).

I did mind back in October and it took weeks to dry. In the end I washed inside of it,
and that helped get rid of the smell - couple days after it was ok for them to go in.

I've just painted the corners of my new coop - and perch ends this time around! - https://picasaweb.google.com/chris.m...00282913165122

[Hilary B]

I wouldn't use anything waterproof by way of paint, certainly not both inside and out of the same area. Insecticidal treatments are good, but MUST be fully 'cured' before birds are allowed in. I'd go for the creosote substitute (I gather creocote is the commonest one these days. I kept chooks for a good number of years, ages ago, but not for some time).
It's better to 'clad' in sheet material (eg exterior-grade plywood) than boarding, as every join is a potential haven for redmite.