# Newbie looking for advice



## sean

I am new to owning chickens. We got 2 RIR, 2 Barred Rocks, & 2 Amedacana's. They are all about 6 weeks old. I have been looking at these coops in a box and I think they are way to small. I'm looking at building a coop. It will be fully in closed. I will like to let my chickens out to free range in my yard (1/3 acre) but want it big enough that if for some reason they don't get let out they won't go stir crazy. The hut itself I am thinking will be 6x6x4. Will have 3 nest boxes in it too.The run will be attached to the front part of hut. It will be 6x10x6. Will this be adiquate for my flock?


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## robin416

The coop is big enough for the six birds. Good going on spotting that the coop in a box is too small, a lot of people don't catch that. You will never regret adding the run, that is the extra space that will help keep them happy. If you can pitch the run roof then you can put plastic or a tarp on it to allow them out even when its raining. It will also help keep your run from becoming a mud pit. 

I kept a bale of straw around and would toss a flake or two in to the runs for my birds. It gave them something to scratch around in and eventually became some awesome garden mulch.


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## nj2wv

I have a tilted tin roof on my coop. There is a gutter along the lower end that leads to a large barrel. Lots of free and easy to get water. Chickens drink tons of water and it sure helps a lot having it nearby instead of carrying around.


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## sean

I am about to start my coop build. I have a question on roosting bars. Do they need to be round or will something like 2x4's be OK. Here is a pic of a type of roost I'm thinking about making in my coop.


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## sean

Also for my plywood floor in the coop. Should I go with 3/4 inch plywood or will 1/2 inch work just as good.


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## Fiere

Use 2x4 and put them wide side up. It will let the hens keep their toes flat so they can adequately cover them with their feathers in winter. Also, skinny or round roosts can cause keel deformities so unless you're using a really wide log for a roost, you'd do best to avoid them.


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## mbrock

Good call on the coop in the box. I got one and now am building one to replace it. It's only 8 months old. Mine do free range in the backyard that is 1/4 A they seem to be happy. During the day they dig holes holes under the bushes lay in the sand in the heat then forage the evening. Mine do not like to lay in hay so when they dig some holes I throw in some hay and the girls just move along. We have worked around the yard and the holes have filled in by themselves. Good luck. Post pics when you finish.


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## sean

This is them this mourning.


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## sean

This was them this mourning.


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## robin416

Those x-pens worked really well for grow out pens until they figured out they can fly. Found my Guinea keets all over my home office one morning. They went from not flying to flying really well in one night.


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## Fiere

I had a similar set up for my birds, Robin, when I had to keep 7 over winter in the house. We put down a roll of laminate flooring and set up on of these puppy pens on it (much larger of course). We put cherry tree netting over top and the birds were put almost daily, we came home to birds in the kitchen eating mac and cheese out of a pot on the stove one day haha


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## robin416

LOL Were they hooked on mac & cheese once they tasted it? At least mine couldn't get out of my office because the door was closed. Guess it was a good thing I had one of those fire things across the fire place, no telling where I would have found them other wise.


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## Fiere

I thought the door was closed as well! Apparently not! Oh there was poop everywhere. Hubby was turning purple.

Moral of the story, as I'm sorry for high-jacking the thread, the birds will fly and you can find them anywhere


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## sean

No problem. OK for bottom, sides, & roof. Would 1/2" plywood work or do I need to go with 3/4" plywood?


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## robin416

If you are expecting to be standing in there much then the 3/4 is the better idea. And if you don't have enough floor joists then 3/4 would most definitely the only way to go.


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## SeriMo

You can use either 1/2 or 3/4 as long as it is off the ground's surface and it can stay dry, from the bottom up. Just cover the floor with linoleum or something like that and litter on top of that, so it can stay dry, from top to bottom. If it is on the ground, stick with a natural floor and use shavings, leaves or pine straw as litter. The birds will do the rest.


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## sean

It will be off the ground by like 18". Thank so much for the info.


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## Fiere

I agree with both! 
I used 1/2" in one of my coops but I have an extremely sturdy floor system to hold it up. Eventually I will be putting linoleum in there for ease of cleaning and to help seal off moisture. That coop is raised on cinder blocks that we levelled off and built the floor system on top of and is about 8-10" off the ground, though the floor system itself is 5" thick so the step up into it is a decent height. 

I have a dirt floor in another coop which has both pros and cons. The pros are that it theoretically drains well, I can use a deep litter system in it, having it on the ground means I can easily get he wheel barrow in there for cleaning, and obviously the cost was minute. The cons are that no matter how hard I packed the dirt down, the hens still managed to dig pits in it so its 3-6" lower than what I started with, it gets cold and damp in the winter and therefore requires a lot of bedding, and finally, stupid me thought attaching it to the barn was an awesome idea and neglected to realize the land slopes toward the barn, so when there's rain, guess where all that moisture goes? That poor coop gets a layer of ice under the bedding in the winter due to the moisture seeping up from under the footer, all the running water drains into the coop's run so the mud in there is just disgusting. Lesson learned - watch the layout of your land when building stuff!


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## bobrut

lots of pics of really nice pics in the BYC forum


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## sean

OK thanks for all the info


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## sean

Just picked up 12 sheets of plywood & 36 2x4's. About to get started on my coop build.


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## robin416

Start to finish pics are always welcome if you happen to find yourself with a camera near by. Good luck. The girls will appreciate the space.


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## sean

Pics of my build start.


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## sean

Got the legs done


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## sean

Now the plywood on the floor


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## sean

Got the linoleum on the floor of the coop and the back on the coop. The coop is 6' x 6'. Height is 5.5' low end up to 6.5' high end.


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## robin416

LOL on the coop start first pic. As fast as you're moving the ladies will be in their new digs by this weekend.


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## sean

Hoping to get them in there by Friday. Its coming along pretty good. Did all of that in a day. Lol


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## nj2wv

Looks great !!


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## sean

Got the nesting boxes put on now.


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## robin416

I always enjoy watching building materials evolve in to something that is going to be so useful. Still think you'll have it by the weekend?


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## sean

No won't be able to finish by weekend. We have a big storm coming threw. So won't be able to work on it again until this weekend. This is my 1st ever coop build. I never even seen a coop like this in person before. Lol


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## sean

Almost done. Got some of the walls up today. One more wall, the roof, and a few cosmetic things and it'll be done. So far I spent 13 hours working on it.


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## robin416

OK, question time. Is it going to be sitting there? Reason I ask is the way the roof slopes down to the foundation of your house. That means when it rains there will be ton of water shedding off that side right at the house. I learned a lot about positioning with mine and the issues it can cause if they are not placed in the proper spot.

Suggestion, since you won't be able to get in there to clean easily. Get either a snow shovel or a corn shovel. You won't believe how easy they make the job of cleaning.

Are the girls flying around the house yet?


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## nj2wv

You can run a rain gutter along the lowest side and have it drain into a large barrel for lots of free water.


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## sean

I'm going to move the from that spot there. The wall that is not up yet will have a 4' door on it. That 2x4 that you see on the bottom of the open wall that goes across is removable. So when its time to clean I can pull that 2x4 out and use shovel to clean everything out.


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## sean

I have the girls & 1 boy still in my garage. They need this space tho pretty bad. So will hopefully get it finished asap.


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## robin416

Its obvious you've given this whole thing a lot of thought.


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## sean

Yeah it kinda got me hooked. Something new & different. Was a Lil frustrating at 1st til I realized them coops in a box were way to small and cost way to much. Then I found this site and it helped & also just googling coops. I'm also going to attatch a 8'L x 6'W run with a covered top to it also. The door to the coop will be attatch to a rope what runs to the outside of coop so that I can open door & close it from the outside.


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## robin416

A little more definition please. Will you have a "man" door on the outside run? You'll find that you'll use it more than you'd think. 

I get the frustration part. I knew what I wanted and how I wanted it. Unfortunately I have a carpenter husband who has his own ideas on how things should be and look. I took some of that away from him by starting it and/or finishing it myself.


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## sean

Yeah I will have a man door on the run attachment. That way I can walk in to clean up & such. It will be same height as coop.


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## robin416

Remember I mentioned the carpenter husband? Well, he decided that my runs only needed to be four foot tall which meant I had to crawl in if I had to get the recalcitrant bird to go in the coop. That's what happens when a non poultry keeper doesn't get why we do the things we do.

While he was gone, I reconstructed it in to my image. The one that worked for me.

He is coming to regret that I learned so much from him.


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## sean

Lol. Yeah my wife looked at me crazy when I told her the size of the coop. Then yesterday I told her we will be adding a run to it. At first I said a 10' run. She said 6'. So we met in middle with 8'. She said we should have run go under coop too. Not sure about that. It wasnt in plan or else I would of had bottom of coop higher then what it is.


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## robin416

Even though it isn't as high as you'd like it will still serve a purpose to the birds. Its a great place to take dust baths and to get out of the sun. This is where the gutter might be a good idea. Chances are the birds will lower that area just by being under there so that when it rains the water coming off the roof will end up under the coop instead of running away from it. 

I used an existing building on our old property for my Guineas. The issue was whenever it rained the water ended up inside the coop because the live stock that had been kept in there previously and the birds that were housed in it lowered the inside floor of the coop. The carpenter husband fashioned a gutter out of one by fours, that totally ended the issue of water in the coop.

For the four birds that's enough run but if you add more a bigger run might be in your future. They will tear it up in nothing flat. And when you think about it, 8 feet makes more sense since lumber comes in 8 ft lengths.


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## sean

Yeah that was what got me the 8'. We will have 6 birds in this coop/run


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## sean

Finally finished up the coop. I still need to add the run to it but I moved them in tonight to get used to it.


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## robin416

Boy, they sure grew up since their first pics. I like your clear story window idea. Gives them light without it letting in a ton of heat from the sun. 

Where's their roost?


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## nj2wv

Looks like it's on the left in the third pic.


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## sean

Yes on left in 3rd pic. Going to put 2 windows rite above nest boxes. If you look close at 1st pic you can see outline of them


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## profwirick

you have your feeder/watered up. Are they free standing? Not getting knocked off? 
(coop looks wonderful.)


Sent from my iPad using Chicken Forum
Mary Wirick, aka. Treehouse, Profwirick, Ma Wirick???


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## sean

So far not knocked over. Will probably hook them to a chain and hang them from the roof


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## sean

Question do you guys think there is enough ventilation?


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## robin416

Without knowing your state its hard to say. For Winter time I see plenty of places for air exchange to happen. In the Summer? Depends on where you are. I can't tell if your not yet installed windows are going to be facing east or west but the heat build up could be huge on either direction if you're in the south. If you're looking for more air exchange during the hot months you could make a flip up panel instead of installing a window. That will shade the opening from the sun and keep it dry when it rains. Use hardware cloth to secure the opening for when its open. Which would mean you have to crawl in there to secure it.

The biggest headache you'll have is them knocking shavings in to the feeder and waterer. And if I'm seeing it right, that waterer is a pain in the behind. It has to be absolutely level or it leaks. Got one and because it wasn't perfectly level it leaked all over the pen floor in the middle of Winter. The other styles are not that bad when not level.


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## sean

I live in Sacramento,CA. Yeah I hate that waterer. Going to be getting a bigger better one.


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## sean

The windows would be facing the east.


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## robin416

Having glass windows on that side could make it very hot in the coop during the Summer months if you don't have a tree shading that side in the morning. You could probably put shade cloth over the windows during the brightest, hottest months.


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## sean

These would be my own creation windows made out of Plexi glass


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## robin416

I made windows out of plexi. Worked really well. The hubs built frames for those that flipped open. Others I used as clear story windows like you have.


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## sean

Got 1 window installed so far. 1 more to go


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## sean

I'm about to attach my run to the coop. It will be 6'W x 8'L x 5.5'H. Going to put wire around whole thing. Which wire would be best for run? Also debating if I should put plywood down for roof or just have wire go across top too?


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## robin416

If you're going to close the coop at night I guess stock fence would work. Most use poultry netting or hardware cloth. Birds can't get through that, with hardware cloth predators can't get in if installed properly. If you want a hard roof so they can be out in the wet weather than yes, install a solid roof. If weather isn't a consideration then use poultry netting or shade cloth. Either will keep flying predators out. Shade cloth would be a deterrent to four legged critters.


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## TheLazyL

sean said:


> I'm about to attach my run to the coop. It will be 6'W x 8'L x 5.5'H. Going to put wire around whole thing. Which wire would be best for run? Also debating if I should put plywood down for roof or just have wire go across top too?


I used the 1/2" wire fabric on the walls and roof. Didn't want ***** reaching thru for a free all you can grab lunch.

Then on the roof I covered the 1/2" wire with fiberglass panels.


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## robin416

I see wide shoulder washers. I drove my husband nuts using them every where I could think of. They are easier than cutting thin strips from 2XX4's to sandwich the wire.


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## sean

Wow that looks good. I'm going to have to figure out exactly what & how I want it.


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## TheLazyL

Tool, screws and pan washers I used.


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## sean

Started adding my run to the coop. It's 8' L x 6'w x 5.5' H. Will also put Plywood on top of run.


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## sean

Door to run will be on left side in 2nd Pic.


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## robin416

For the birds or the humans?

Has the wife gotten over the 8 foot length?


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## sean

Door for humans to get in and out. Yeah she's fine with the 8' run now. Lol It looks small compared to the size of the coop tho.


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## robin416

I was surprised how often I had to use the human door. But then again I had 20 pens so I guess it should have been expected. You won't regret it for those times a bird says no way am I going in on my own. Make certain that the chicken door has a way to pull it or drop it from the outside. Nothing is more frustrating to put that recalcitrant bird in the coop only to have it bail the moment you go in to close it. 

Optics. When the coop is larger it is hard to see that the pen is larger than envisioned in the mind.


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## nj2wv

Very nice !!


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## sean

I have a pull system door already installed. Rite next to window in a previous pic I posted in this thread. So I or my wife can open door or close it without having to go in run.


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## robin416

Is it under the nest box? Other wise I don't see what you're talking about. Then again I might be staring right at it and not seeing it.


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## sean

Just have to install ramp to coop and the wire mesh


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## sean

The rope is tied rite here.


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## robin416

No wonder I didn't see it. How slick is that?


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## sean

I got that idea when I was figuring out my coop design & looking all over the net for info. Saw this on a You tube video


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## Fiere

That is pretty slick. How is it set up inside? Do you just haul up on it or is there a pulley system of some sort?


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## sean

I made a pully system. I used paracord for the rope stuff. I have it going threw ringlets down to a peace of plywood(door). So when I pull it it comes up and I can tie it off and keep it open. Then when I want to lower it I just release some of the cord to lower it back down. The door I have in between two gliders to keep it in place.


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## sean

Coop & run is finally done. Yay


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## Fiere

Nice!! I need a little set up like this for my bantams. 

I think if I build another coop I may end up divorced and/or homeless, however LOL


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## sean

Coop is 6'L x 6'W x (low end)5.5'H (high end)6.5'. Run is 8'L x 6'W x 5.5'W


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## nj2wv

Great job !!


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## sean

Thank you. It was a fun project


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## Maryellen

It came out fantastic!! 


Maryellen
Rufus CGC ATTS Therapy Dog
Sadie ATTS


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## sean

Thinking about maybe making my run longer. Either add another 4' or else 8' more. So total length of run would be either 12' or 16'. What does everyone think about that? I'm just not sure 8' ( what I have rite now) is big enough.


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## robin416

A large run is never a bad thing. It gives the birds more room to do whatever they feel like. Just don't expect the grass to last long even in a larger run.


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## sean

Oh I dont. They cleaned that out in like 3 days. Lol


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## kellychick

*coops*

I have built 3 different coops and I find the included link to be absolutely awesome. 
http://7bb024-8qp-7ze04t3fdpn-f5a.hop.clickbank.net/


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