OT - Chicken coop question...

[MBU]

Okay, I know this is a tractor forum but you all should know about chickens...Right?

I need to build a chicken coop for about a dozen chickens. The chickens have free range so the coop is just to keep them safe (and warm) at night.

My questions is how do I make the inside? Do I make nesting boxes and stack them? If so, how high can I stack them? Do I need a roosting bar?

The building I'm using is 8 foot wide by 8 foot deep and 8 foot tall. It has two small doors for the chickens to enter and one "normal" size door for me to enter. The outside is made of 2 inch thick wood (milled 1/2 round to resemble logs) and the inside is sanded plywood painted white. The building is wired for electricity and is well insulated.

Thanks for any advice given..I appreciate it very much!

 

[IaGary]

Gees your chickens have a nicer house than I do.~})

Yes on roost. Place the laying or nesting boxes side by side about 3 foot off the ground with a roosting bar across the front of it also.

Gary

 

[TomH in PA]

As with all livestock buildings, ventilation is more important than warmth.

 

[MBU]

Gary,

Thanks for the response! Yes it's pretty nice...I kinda thought I could live in it too...you know, when I say the wrong thing to my wife...but she wants chickens and therefore out I go!

Anyway...Can I stack the nesting boxes so there is more than one row? Although my wife has only a dozen chickens now I get the feeling that it'll turn into 20 in a wink of an eye.

 

[MBU]

Tom,

You make a good point! Does that mean I should leave a window open a crack all winter? Our winters don't get too cold but the lows could dip down around zero. The building is VERY air tight.

 

[MBU]

Oh...I forgot!

The building has two windows that can open!

 

[IaGary]

Yes you can put more than 1 row on top of each other.

You only need a nest for every 3 chickens or so.

Each does not need its own nest.

Gary

 

[Anonymous-0]

Generally, roosts (2X2) are "laddered" up. Roosts should be higher than nest boxes (Think one @ 3' one @4' and one at 5'). You want 3-4 nest boxes about 20" up from the floor. Save room for a hanging feeder & a waterer on a base. Email me with any other questions. I'm not a certified expert, but I've sure been doing it quite a while!

 

[glennster]

you need good ventilation in the coop. the dust from the chickens isnt the best to breathe and the ammonia from the dropping can get pretty nasty. we had a turbine vent in the roof. looks like a big slotted ball that spins in the wind. if you have a brooder house you need to avoid drafts on the baby chicks. for a roosting bar we used old wooden extension ladders hung from the ceiling about 4 ft off the ground. you will need to be able to lock the building at nite. use heavy mesh over any windows. racoons can kill a whole coop in a couple hours as well as mink and weasel.

 

[C4TA]

Stories guide to raising chickens is what I used when the wife said "we" should have chickens. It is in feed stores, and on amazon .com. Stacking is OK but anything too high they will need a ramp/ladder. Ie over 5feet. I like horizontal and 2 1/2 feet to 3 feet so I don't have to bend over to far.

Craig

 

[MBU]

Gosh, I'm getting some good advice here!

Stephen,

How can I find your email address?

I would like to make nesting boxes as high as possible. Do you have any pictures of how I could "ladder" them so the chickens can get to the top ones?

Craig,

"...Stories guide to raising chickens is what I used when the wife said "we" should have chickens...."

I understand that completely!!!!

I'll get a turbine vent and install it! Thanks!

By the way...since the chickens are free to run during the day will the vent still be necessary?

 

[TyTX]

Look into a community nesting box with an outside lid for egg retrieval. It saves you having to go inside the hen house to gather eggs and it saves inside floor space for the chickens. If the box is 30" deep and 4' wide, the hens will make at least 4 nests and multiple hens will share each nest.

18 of my hens shared no more than 4 nests with no problems.

 

[37 chief]

With that kind of a building it could be rented out here in So.Calif. I think all the chickens want is a 1 1/4" od.poll about a foot or so off of the floor to roost on. If you want boxes for them to lay eggs in I would put them in a row along a wall tall enough so you don't need to stoop to get the eggs. You should have a way to close the boxes off at night, or the chickens will roose in the boxes, poop in the boxes and your eggs will be covered with poop. Stan

 

[Wilsonfire]

Gary, I simply used plastic milk crates wired together and a 1 X 10 on top for nesting. About 1 nest for 4 -5 hens should be plenty. They like to lay in the same 2 or 3 boxes anyway. Secure it VERY well to the wall and put a 2 X 4 in the back side to hold it up. Hens can be heavy. Cut a round hole about 7 inches or so in the front top for the girls. This small hole will keep the hay in. Use hay or horse wood shavings on the floor and the smell is not bad.I change it twice a year. If you put a light bulb on a timer on for about 12 hours a day you may get your hens to lay almost year round. They don"t live as long, though. Keep the roosts at least 3 feet off the ground to slow down any varmints that get inside.

 

[MarkB_MI]

You don't say if you're raising meat chickens or layers. Meat chickens need a much heavier perch to roost on than layers, a 2x4 on edge is a good size perch for meat chickens.

You'll want to keep some sort of sawdust on the floor. If you have a millworks nearby, see if you can get some of their sawdust, as the shapers make big chips that work really well.

 

[msb]

Best arragement I ever saw. Feeders and wateres were set on a raised portion of the floor about a foot or so tall. The raised portion was constructed out of 1" X2" lumber set on edge with small block spacers of the same size making a slatted floor. The inside was filled half way with ground corn cobs.A small walkway was left outside the raised floor. Clean out with a scoop shovel was very easy since the cobs/manure was never packed down.Building was drier too since the cobs could absorb the moisture because they were not sealed over with manure pack.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hit the "Send Email" thing in the lower right corner of this post. Later, Stephen

 

[MBU]

Stephen,

Oh I seen now how to send email. I was using the "new" forum and what you mentioned is on the "old" forum software.

I'm putting a list of questions together and will send them to you in the next day or two.

Thanks,

Mike (MBU)