# Need opinions on coop please!



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

I am planning on getting chickens this fall, so now doing my research, trying to figure out my options regarding a coop etc. Right now we feel it would be best to start with a tractor and I have narrowed it down to 2 different styles by 2 different builders. The first one (red one) has a fully enclosed coop section with 2 nest boxes builder says it will house 15 full sized hens. I plan on having 8. The second (white one) Has a 3 sided coop with 4 nest boxes, but the roosts are open under the tin roof. I feel the white one has better overall construction and ventilation, but I worry about winter. We do have some days in winter where temp gets into the teens. Second builder states that while guidelines are one sq ft per hen rule, he feels that is too tight and recommends 8 large hens for it. So opinions please. I am very new to this and want to make sure I provide the best home I can afford to my hens! Thanks all, here are the pics.


----------



## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

Minimum of 4 sq. feet per bird is the most common.


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

Nm156 said:


> Minimum of 4 sq. feet per bird is the most common.


that is one of the reasons I am leaning toward the second one. While they both have the same sq footage in the run, (which should be fine for 8 hens) the second guy seemed to have a more realistic view of the number of hens without overcrowding.


----------



## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

The second one looks to have more housing area,but doesn't look like it has any vents.What is the overall dimensions at the bottom of the tractor?What is the height at the peak to the floor of the top section?


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

OK, so we know one of two things, the first guy is lying through his teeth or knows nothing about chickens' requirements. Well, I guess it could be both.

The second one looks to only be 16 square feet but is probably less than that because of the nesting boxes and the sharp drop to the sides. While metal roofs are beautiful they have drawbacks if not insulated or double walled. They will sweat during the Winter from the warm bodies and drip water every where. They are also extremely cold in winter and extremely hot in summer.

And how the heck do you clean the thing? I mean clean. There are times that coops need a cleaning almost like we do with our houses.


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

That was my question, the second one (white has no floor except for just under the nest boxes. there is a back door to access the eggs and to clean the actual roosts are open, let me see if I can get a better pic. (The dimensons of the white one is 4x8 which give you 32 sq feet.) Here is a pic of the inside of one that is a little taller, but this is the way the white one looks inside. think this is one of his full size coops, because it has more nest boxes, but they are made on the same principle


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

here is the smaller tractor inside


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

As far as height goes, the side walls will be either 24, 36 or 48 inches depending on what you order. The peak I would guess would add 10 to 12 inches.


----------



## Nm156 (May 16, 2015)

With it being open like that ventilation wouldn't be a problem,but you'd have to do some serious predator proofing.


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

I will be adding 2x4 fencing to the bottom to deter digging predators, the tractor will be made using hardware cloth. On the absolute coldest days we could move it to the garage. (we usually have pretty mild winters, but once in a great while it will dip into the teens)


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I feel like a Negative Nellie here because I know you're wanting to do what is best for the birds before putting them in a bad situation but ...

You need to think floor space in their coop area. Knowing that only half of that tractor is supposed to be coop you took it down to 8 square feet and I'm being generous with that number. You can't measure the full four foot width since the first six to ten inches on the down slope sides is totally unusable for the birds. All of that open area can prove to be a problem more often than you would think. Hard, wind driven rains means everything gets wet. And I do mean everything. I had a coop that was less open air than yours and I'd find the floor space wet two feet across the floor. 

Even my big coop, 12X20 feet would have water standing on the floors where the birds entered and exited. To prevent that you will have to have tarps that you can drop when the weather turns bad. 

Your idea of the 2x4 wire on the lower floor could be a problem when trying to move the tractor. The birds legs/toes can go through that wire and get caught when you set it back down. I know this because I had a cage with that kind of bottom to it. I had to change it to much smaller openings which will negate the idea of a tractor and being able to move to fresh areas.

I don't know the slope to your yard but the tractor will have to be positioned on the highest portion during rain periods or the water will run in to the open area and make a mess. Before we moved in to our house we stayed at the BIL's hunting cabin. The only place to put my birds was a lower spot and talk about a mess. My birds were wet all of the time, the ground was a soggy mess. Even here I ran in to a problem. Solved that by putting heavy duty plastic under the shavings. Now the water runs under the plastic and the birds stay dry.


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

I don't feel you are being a "negative nellie" lol, this is why I posted.I need advice from experienced people!  Our lot is on high ground the back about 1/3 of our land is woods and drops down to creek bottom, totally unusable. I am going back and forth about a fixed stationary coop. We do have one side that nothing, I mean nothing will grow on. red clay and rocky. It has a slight slope toward the back but nothing too drastic. what would I have to do or put down on the ground to make it habitable? I will probably never be able to free range due to traffic and local dogs. (they run free here no leash laws and few fenced in yards) is there a way to compensate for that?


----------



## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

I would like to make a statement about temps. you said you find yourself in the teens a few days a year.. I find myself well below that from neveber through may... those temps will not bother your birds, they can handle it as long as they are dry. Personally I do not think you can properly and safely eliminate a predator threat to a tractor.. save maybe with a hot wire or two. 
heavy gauge hardware cloth on the outside... maybe give yourself an apron of the stuff around the whole thing sitting flat on the ground on the outside of the tractor for extra measure... I kept rabbits in tractors for a bit... until something dug in and got them... a fate which would likely be certain for the chickens living in the same.


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

powderhogg01 said:


> I would like to make a statement about temps. you said you find yourself in the teens a few days a year.. I find myself well below that from neveber through may... those temps will not bother your birds, they can handle it as long as they are dry. Personally I do not think you can properly and safely eliminate a predator threat to a tractor.. save maybe with a hot wire or two.
> heavy gauge hardware cloth on the outside... maybe give yourself an apron of the stuff around the whole thing sitting flat on the ground on the outside of the tractor for extra measure... I kept rabbits in tractors for a bit... until something dug in and got them... a fate which would likely be certain for the chickens living in the same.


Thanks! Hubby and I are now thinking more seriously about a fixed coop, It'll cost more than we originally planned, but hey what project doesn't. Funny, when my Grandma had chickens 40 years ago I never remember a problem with predators, hers was a henhouse and an open top run with chicken wire. Go figure. Now I know it will be a problem because someone in our lovely government thought it was a good idea to release coyotes to "control" the deer population


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Now they need to introduce wolves to knock back the coyote population. That's one of the reasons why we're seeing predator problems from the coyotes, too many of them. Man messed up and continues to mess it up.

She probably had them or she had several yard dogs to keep the predators away. But if there was an attack, it wasn't something discussed in front of children. My great grand had a solid coop with a wire outside run. But I have no clue whether or not predators ever broke in because it was not talked about. And back then they were for eggs and food to put on the table. They were not contemplated about the way we do now. Or we wouldn't have birds as old as 12 for one person this forum.

If you are not going to change things, think hard about this, as far as seeing another breed you want or adding a rooster then figure your square feet of floor space and build it. But if there might be changes like additions then build it bigger than you need right now. If you put your birds in the coop each night then you shouldn't have to build Fort Knox for an outdoor pen. But then I'm assuming someone will be around most times during the day. If you're going to keep the feed bin n the coop, figure that square footage out. It is so much more convenient when its raining outside to be able to keep the feed dry when you go to feed.

My outdoor pens were welded wire with poultry netting over the top to keep hawks out.


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

Ugh...Hubby is now thinking he can "engineer" a coop that will be tall enough for me to walk into, house 8 hens and light enough for me and my (8yr old) daughter to move. If we have a secure hen house attached to that where the girls can be locked up at night and I am home most of the time would that help deter predators? Will a digging predator attack in full daylight? Have any of you seen a tractor that will house that many birds? I mean I know I have months to figure this out, but my obsessive personality wants it all figured out now! LOL


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Like PH mentioned earlier, I've never seen one that I felt 100% confident in it keeping out predators. 

If you build one big enough to house 8 birds its going to take a tractor to move the thing it will be so heavy.

Your hubs has the right idea. There will be times that you will need to go in and believe me standing in there like a pretzel gets old fast. 

Maybe on the predators. It depends on how determined they are. I went after a fox that came in to my backyard chasing one of my Guineas. At that time I had three large dogs that had just been outside with me. I had a Coopers hawk go after some of my Silkies that were free ranging on the opposite side of the coop from me. Another time I had a Red Tail go after the peeps my Hamburg had out. The Hamburg hen chased the hawk in to the trees, he didn't get any of the peeps.


----------



## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

Our old coop had a big area where you went in at night and where the food/water/nesting boxes were and had two little doors. Each went to a separate yard so you could block one off to let it regrow while they are in the other. It worked great and you didn't have to move it, but you were able to walk everywhere. Not everyone has the room for it, but it might be something to consider


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

myhppyndng5221 said:


> Our old coop had a big area where you went in at night and where the food/water/nesting boxes were and had two little doors. Each went to a separate yard so you could block one off to let it regrow while they are in the other. It worked great and you didn't have to move it, but you were able to walk everywhere. Not everyone has the room for it, but it might be something to consider


I've seen others that have done that and it worked really well. The birds are safe from predators and they have an almost constant forage area.


----------



## myhppyndng5221 (Apr 4, 2015)

Ours worked great for years and then the structure wasn't holding up so it came down and everyone now really is free range and in the barn at night or wherever they choose to sleep until I have the money to build a new coop


----------



## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

thats a real great idea. I will post a pic of my 4x8 rabbit pens. they are as cheap as you can get, and they are also heavy enough I would not ask an 8 year old to do it. With that said... if you work wheels and levers into the mix you very well may have soemthing you can work with. One issue I have is that the tractor will be flat on the bottom.. the earth is not.. there will always be small gaps and craps and it does not take much for something to get into something like that. the fixed coop with two runs has a lot of ptoential. I like the idea of having two runs so one side can regrow. 
you mentioned not being able to grow much there, you might consider bringing in a bit of top soil for the project... it can be found very cheap.. it would allow you to start fresh with good grasses and forbes for the birds. it would not take much for a nice layer that would be suitable for grasses and such. 
if you are set on 8 birds, I would definately go with a solid coop... you can save on materials buying off craigslist... you can use cheap bird or deer netting for the top... you are like me... over think things almost to a fault.. but its a good habit to have


----------



## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Annual rye, stuff grows easily and quickly.


----------



## 8hensalaying (Jun 5, 2015)

powderhogg01 said:


> you are like me... over think things almost to a fault.. but its a good habit to have


Haha! That I do! The reason we are set on 8 hens is we each eat 2 eggs a day, summers and weekends our daughter will eat 1 or 2 (all kids get free breakfast at school here) so I wanted to make sure we get enough eggs for eating and cooking. I figured 8 would keep us covered. I don't want to do all this with the chickens and STILL have to buy eggs lol


----------



## powderhogg01 (Jun 4, 2013)

oh you will find that 8 hens wll likely keep you right happy in the egg consumption zone. That is assuming that they are all currently laying and such. Hatchery birds will lay like the dickens for about 2 years then really dwindle fast, heritage birds will take longer and may not lay as often but will continue laying strong for years. 
Lighting your coop during winter will also help to keep those egg numbers up, good fresh food and water, and a lack of negative stress... nothing is worse then feeding 8 birds and not getting any eggs


----------

