# coop plans



## powderhogg01

I am re-thinking several factors of my chicken keeping. One of which is having 2 flocks instead of one. 2 less crowded smaller coops, over one large coop. 
I plan to house no more then 6 birds per coop. Things to consider are snow and wind loads, as I live high up in the rocky mountains where snow blankets the ground more then it does not. I will place each coop on opposite ends of the run with a door to the yard and with one to the run. This will allow me to alternate range time and run time, it will also allow me to have better control over my breeding program. 
I am not fully sure what I want to build, I do know that both coops will be placed so to have a large south facing window. I will be building a small car port style roof over the top of the run to keep the snow out of the run.
One thing I learned last winter was that my current coop has a lot of unused open space that would be better served in floor space. This open air resulted in less efficient coop temps and some of my birds did get small amounts of frost bite in the coldest periods. 
rather then a 4x8 shed style coop i have currently which is over engineered and more then required, I am going to build 2 6x6 coops. rather then building them so I can walk in to clean, I will make it much shorter and will make it so one half of the roof opens for cleaning. 
doing this will allow me to fix a few issues I had come up with water as well. I was hoping to get some feedback from everyone.. 6x6x4 or 5 feet at the peak of the roof. good for 6 birds?


----------



## robin416

I'm thinking. To me trying to clean the coop bending over a 4 ft wall is going to be rough. And because I'm a woman, won't that section of roof be really heavy? From your other pics it appears you have a high wall of rocks over your yard, do they act as a wind break at all?

If you have the room to separate the coops you could make a run long enough to allow both groups out at the same time. 

I'm going to see if I have a pic of my open air coop that could be converted to closed pretty easily.


----------



## robin416

[/URL][/IMG]

This is 16 by 8 and before I added the external pen. There were 4X4 pens on each side for a total of 8 pens. I built it so that when the door was open it created a natural divider between the pens.


----------



## powderhogg01

robin416 said:


> I'm thinking. To me trying to clean the coop bending over a 4 ft wall is going to be rough. And because I'm a woman, won't that section of roof be really heavy? From your other pics it appears you have a high wall of rocks over your yard, do they act as a wind break?


the rock formation in my yard is a portion of the mountain, its known as the bulls head, and depending on where the weather come from either helps block or funnels the wind
I could make the portion which opens on the side, make it so i can clean them out with a rake and hose.
im not sure on the final measurement of the run, 12x15 or so when they are in the coop during winter i figure they can share the main run
my idea is better roosts by making the roost in the apex of the roof, this will help with heat capture and provide for better ventilation.


----------



## robin416

I did find the low roof to help quite a bit in keeping them warmer. The roosts were towards the middle and raised above the lower roof line. Of course I never had to deal with the kind of cold you experience. Or the snow load.


----------



## powderhogg01

once i get the roof put up for the run, I am going to do a lot of things in there to help stop chicken boredom. I plan to have one coop on the southwest coarner and one on the north east corner. the west side will get a hay bale wall going all the way to the roof line, the east and north wall will have a hay wall of about 4 feet. this should keep most if not all the snow out of the run, allowing the chickens to go out there even in the cold snowy times. 
I plan to keep the south section clear, to make the most of the suns warmth, I considered maybe putting the access int othe run on the south side using a recycled sliding glass door.


----------



## Fiere

Get industrial plastic and tack it up around the run. Keeps all the snow and rain out if you have a roof, though it's a bit loud in the wind, though if positioned correctly the run is fairly draft free.. That is what I am doing to my entire run this year. Just wrap it around and secure with staples and then some strapping/roofing nails over top to keep it secure.

It also has a green house effect.


----------



## robin416

Fiere, been there done that and oops. When the wind howled the plastic pulled out at those fasteners. What I did after that was put battens over the plastic. Then when the wind got to whipping the plastic stayed put. The battens were thin enough that my stapler could go through the wood to secure it. 

The hay or straw is an excellent insulator and wind block.


----------



## Fiere

That's what I meant by strapping, little sticks or battens or whatever, nailed right on over. Different names for the same thing


----------



## robin416

Yep. The hubs grew up in the South, I grew up in the North. Even within the same country different names are used for the same thing. 

The good thing is that I had cross bars about four feet up and could attach the plastic to those and keep it from going insane with the wind whipping. If I could get it nice and tight it held very well.


----------



## powderhogg01

every fall I have an unlimmitted supply of hay and straw bales from a pumkin patch down the road. I provide a clean up service for him, clearing his field of bales, I get free feed and wind blocks. I position the alph aplha low and the straw up high. This gives the bales with nutritional value a spot within the pecking of curious avians. If I do the sliding glass on the south side, I will only need to cover about 8 more feet of the south wall, and I may plastic the east wall to capture the morning sun warmth. 
the bales do an amazing job of keeping the snow out, but last winter I had not but a chicken wire roof, it leaked 
I am considering using the clear plastic corrugates sheets from homedepot. this will let the sun in and keep the snow out.
I did deal with some freeze issues with water. I found that a heat cable wrapped around a 3 gallon bucket with nipples in the bottom worked ok, but the chickens would peck at the wire and knock it off the bucket out of boredom during storms. I decided this year to try submersible aquarium heaters inside the buckets, no way for the hens to peck it.
as for the coops.. with a serious thought to cold and snowy times when they may not even want to be in the run, will 6x6 floor be adequate for the 6 hens? I am going to build things for the chickens to play with and on this year as well, but the pecking got a bit wild mid winter last year. my goal in making two coops os to decrease the amount of chickens in on roost while increasing the floor space slightly. 
I am going to build a quick and easy hoop coop open air for them as a temporary digs. likely build that, then the run roof, then the coops themselves. one for starters and I can finish the second one a bit later


----------



## piglett

get on youtube & look up stray bail buildings

might be a good way to make a coop for you



good luck
piglett


----------



## powderhogg01

I have actually considered it. I have thought of a few alternative building ideas to build the coop I want. But in the end I think for the fact I do not own the land I reside on, it would be best to keep to the semi-temporary buildings. I am all about recycling and keeping costs low, so I will use what I have to get the job done. 
I am going to go out and harvest some post poles from the forest for the barn frame today, the plan is to mill them myself with my chainsaw, once again keeping my costs as low as possible, the more I make myself the better connection i feel to my food.


----------



## robin416

Someone else did the aquarium heater trick. I don't how it worked out though since there was never a report on how it did. I learned that the newer heaters have a fail safe so they don't burn out if the water drops too low. 

What kind of condition is that alfalfa in? If its nice and leafy you can hold some back to toss to the chickens inside their coop. Once they get an idea about what it is they go wild for it. If its leafy enough it doesn't add much to the litter that needs to cleaned later on. Makes for some pretty good mulch too.

I thought about those clear panels too. I just didn't know if you could consider them with the snow loads you can get. But if they have them in the store they must be strong enough.


----------



## powderhogg01

ive got friends who have greenhouses with them. they replace a panel or two a year, which is an acceptable loss if it betters the wintering of my flock. I am going to start picking out trees for the posts, just got to figure out how many I need and I am going to start. I have broken the project into 3 parts, forst step is the timber framing.. with a hand and chain saw.. this will be a learning experience, im excited to give it a go.


----------



## piglett

robin416 said:


> Yep. The hubs grew up in the South, I grew up in the North. Even within the same country different names are used for the same thing.


strapping = furring strips , same thing


----------



## powderhogg01

Hopefully I have assembled a few good friends to help move the coop. I can lift it on my own, but not for any period of time and not high enough to move... once that is done I will be going out to harvest a few more trees for cross beams and will get this thing underway.
I have been reading up on timber framing, and I feel I have a good understanding of the process here. For my needs simple is better so I wont need to get into any Amish woodworking wizardry. 
Simple joints and braces should be plenty sufficient for my needs, as far as snow load is concerned I will keep the roof mostly clear, but in the event it is too much I can add bracing as required


----------



## piglett

powderhogg01 said:


> Hopefully I have assembled a few good friends to help move the coop. I can lift it on my own, but not for any period of time and not high enough to move... once that is done I will be going out to harvest a few more trees for cross beams and will get this thing underway.
> I have been reading up on timber framing, and I feel I have a good understanding of the process here. For my needs simple is better so I wont need to get into any Amish woodworking wizardry.
> Simple joints and braces should be plenty sufficient for my needs, as far as snow load is concerned I will keep the roof mostly clear, but in the event it is too much I can add bracing as required


put lots of pitch to the roof. that along with metal roofing will tend to make the snow slide rite off


----------



## powderhogg01

im pretty sure I mentioned earlier in the discussion that I will be doing clear plastic for the roofing. I am trying to get as much daylight and warmth into the run midwinter.. the pitch of the roof will be limited to the building size, not sure what it will end up at right now


----------



## robin416

Something to consider, a couple of inches of snow also acts as an insulator.


----------



## piglett

robin416 said:


> Something to consider, a couple of inches of snow also acts as an insulator.


but 3 feet makes the building want to cave in
not sure what area of the country it's being built in.


----------



## powderhogg01

over 9000 feet in the rocky mountains of colorado. if ever my building got more then a foot of snow I assure you I would remove it... to allow that much build up would be fool hardy and a waste of materials. that said, in the event it did get heavy snow load the roofing panels will break before my timberframe does


----------



## piglett

powderhogg01 said:


> over 9000 feet in the rocky mountains of colorado. if ever my building got more then a foot of snow I assure you I would remove it... to allow that much build up would be fool hardy and a waste of materials. that said, in the event it did get heavy snow load the roofing panels will break before my timberframe does


i like a metal roof on an outbuild

the snow will slide off even if your not around

i have seen people come back from a short hospital stay only to find that their

shed or coop was about to cave in. the metal roof is "self cleaning"

so that's never a real worry. taking into account where your at, i myself

would put a full 12 in 12 pitch on er. just make sure the door to the building is in the end. if not you will have a very tough time opening the door.

the snow once it falls off of the roof is like cement. it moves rather mean

unless you have a bucket loader. the snowblower will not even touch it.

good luck
piglett


----------



## powderhogg01

I do get what your saying piglet, I am just trying to maximize the uses of the run, and by keeping the clear greenhouse roofing, I will be able to get a lot of light heat and sun in the run where it will do most good. This location also has the potential to allow me to sprout or weather harden vegetables for the garden. 
The idea is that If I am going to put forth the effort of rebuilding, I would like for it to be more then just a chicken run, but a usable building with greenhouse potential. the pitch and plastic should do just as well as the metal.. only its clear and allows light and heat into the building


----------



## piglett

powderhogg01 said:


> I do get what your saying piglet, I am just trying to maximize the uses of the run, and by keeping the clear greenhouse roofing, I will be able to get a lot of light heat and sun in the run where it will do most good. This location also has the potential to allow me to sprout or weather harden vegetables for the garden.
> The idea is that If I am going to put forth the effort of rebuilding, I would like for it to be more then just a chicken run, but a usable building with greenhouse potential. the pitch and plastic should do just as well as the metal.. only its clear and allows light and heat into the building


i really like the green house plastic roof idea!!!

i didn't know that was part of the plan........

well forge ahead but make sure you post a few pictures for us

piglett


----------



## powderhogg01

the lack of pictures as of now is mostly due to the weather. Fear not friends, as the weather clears this week I hope to have this projects wrapped up.


----------



## robin416

That was fast. Especially if the weather has not been kind to your endeavor.


----------



## powderhogg01

I think I will save the pictures for the end write up.. make a better story and save the excitement. I will say this as a note, This is absolutely the first time I have ever timber framed. I am doing so with beetle killed pine trees harvested from the forest near my house.. I am using a chainsaw and basic hand tools.. 
By that I am not tooting my horn, rather suggesting that with a little confidence anyone can build just about anything if they want it bad enough.


----------



## piglett

sounds good, just don't forget the pics


----------



## powderhogg01

first upright and main beam are in place... man was this a huge undertaking for 1 fella.. my help bailed, even with the promise of beer and burgers... ahh well, good help is hard to find, and I managed. I should have thought to put bracing up before winching the upright into place, as it tipped right over once vertical and nearly smashed the hen house. No serious damage caused, plus that coops getting torn down once this run is up and secure. 
I know I was going to wait for the end to put up some pictures, but I think a sneak peek is in order... been a long time and a lot of work getting to this point. now that I have a better idea of what im doing things will progress a bit faster. 
the main beam is the tallest and heaviest, the rest will be much more manageable.
from this








through this








and into this


----------



## robin416

Wow, you're actually doing the mortise and tenon construction. I'm really impressed now.


----------



## Fiere

That's ambitious! I'd have a conniption chiselling that out, but I can imagine it will be great once complete. Im also impressed


----------



## powderhogg01

this is also my first time doing this sort of venture. learning a lot as I go.. thanks for the compliments.. I hope the final structure will live up to the hypoe


----------



## Karoline87

Hello folks









I want to share with You some photos and my site. This is one of my favorite chicken coop
.

If you looking for some free chicken coop plans and pay ones You definitely need check my new site about chicken coop plans
If You like my coop MSG me i can sand my sketch of this coop. But its not professional one


----------



## powderhogg01

Karoline87 said:


> Hello folks
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I want to share with You some photos and my site. This is one of my favorite chicken coop
> .
> 
> If you looking for some free chicken coop plans and pay ones You definitely need check my new site about chicken coop plans
> If You like my coop MSG me i can sand my sketch of this coop. But its not professional one


possibly deserves its own thread.. as not much of what you have applies to a timberframed coop run... nice coops.. but not really applicable to me


----------



## youngfarmer

Any updates? I'm curious to see your final product!


----------

