Building A Coop

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Duncan Martin on January 25, 2015 at 10:15pm

Hi Lini,
I have made a packet on getting started with chickens that has some advice on coop building (materials to use, features to include, etc.).

My PDF: Vancouver Chicken Keeping PDF

My Webpage: Dailyeggs

(City Site): Vancouver Chicken Bylaw & Resources

If buying wire mesh by the 100' roll, I recommend otter Co-op in Pitt Meadows (get 1/2 inch hardware cloth).  If you need smaller amounts, the Homesteader's Emporium at 649 East Hastings has it by the foot.  Either attach it using poultry staples or air-gun staples.  A hand-held staple gun will lead to stray staples that can rupture the digestive system if eaten by a chicken.

I have a ton of 3' 2x2 cedar that I sell for $0.75 apiece, which is helpful in building lightweight things like access doors, or general coop framing.  

Midland Liquidators at 1234 Kingsway has all kinds of tarps and other construction-related goodies.

Any other questions, feel free to call 604-329-3863

All the best,

Duncan

Permalink Reply by Lini Hutchings on January 25, 2015 at 10:19pm

Thanks Duncan! I have been enjoying your website and Vancooper designs for years. I appreciate all the advice on sourcing materials... will be in touch.

Cheers,
Lini

Permalink Reply by stephanie st loe on January 26, 2015 at 10:40am

RE staples-I read about raccoons being able to pull out staples so I screwed another trim strip of wood on top of the edges of the mesh-sandwiching it between the posts and my trim strips. Raccoons do not have Robertson screw drivers.

Cheers.

Permalink Reply by Penny on January 26, 2015 at 6:22am

Lini:

Good luck! I'm sure Duncan covers everything but in my experiences it is always good to give them lots of space. The City says they only need so much but if you can give them more do so, they will be happier!! Also make your coop like a fortress! So many people lose their birds to coyotes, raccoons, skunks, dogs, cats because they are not secure enough. We have had coyotes twice in our yard and daily visits from raccoons etc. but because our coop is very secure have not lost any over predators. Also consider the sky, hawks and eagles will hover over your chickens and believe me they will try if they can get at them. We've had hawks perched in our cherry trees and one evening at dusk an eagle flew low through our yard, so netting around the coop run would be a good idea.

Remember the rain, drenched chickens are not happy or healthy chickens so make sure they have somewhere to go out of the rain. Muddy feet are also not a good idea.

Chickens are great fun and give lovely eggs but they are real work and they are not like dogs and cats they rely very heavily on you are their caregiver. Good luck, all the best!! Penny

Permalink Reply by Lini Hutchings on January 26, 2015 at 1:59pm

Thanks, Penny. I needed the cautionary words!

L

Permalink Reply by stephanie st loe on January 26, 2015 at 10:34am

Hi Lini,

There is a lot of great info on the internet-BYC etc. Also super important to check your city's bylaws. Vancouver has rules about how close to lot lines and houses you can put your coop. Some very important points that I felt were not emphasized enough in coop design forums:

Chickens poop in an 18" blast radius in front of and behind their perch-put the perch more than 18" away from the walls unless you want to spend a lot of time scraping poop off the walls.

I put a roof over my whole coop as it rains a lot here and wet chicken poop smells incredibly bad. Also if you check out peoples coops you'll see a lot of tarps thrown over them. Chickens don't like to go out in the rain. Also wild birds will be attracted to the feed and do you really want them perching on top of your coop shedding feathers, lice, mites and poop into your coop? Think Bird flu.

I made my coop roof tall enough for me to walk in to clean it as there was no way I was going to kneel down in it to clean it.

RATS: I had to go back and retrofit a mesh floor that I put sand over to stop the rats tunneling in.

I have a hatch to collect eggs, a hatch to reach their indoor food and water and a hatch to clean out their indoor area. I can do everything that needs doing in the morning standing outside the coop in a suit and heels on my way to work.

I raised the indoor part on stilts to get more outdoor area while keeping the whole footprint small. This also brings the indoor part up to a 30" height I can comfortably clean without bending over.

Remember that you can probably only reach about 3' in front of you comfortably-so if part of your coop is further away from you than that you're going to have to crawl in there to clean it out-add hatches to solve.

Paint the indoor part with high gloss outdoor paint. Shiny paint is easier to scrape poop off. Unfinished plywood is impossible to get poop off and it dries very slowly if you need to disinfect your coop. White paint will reflect the most light so you get the most bang for your artificial lighting and daylight. I repainted mine from white to royal blue because the hens look gorgeous against royal blue, but I'm a designer and I can't help myself.

My 4 hens share 2 nest boxes- I built 4 separate bedrooms-not necessary.
If I did it again I'd make their indoor part smaller so their body heat would stop their water from freezing.

The indoor part ought to have windows-take advantage of daylight-12-16 hours of light necessary for egg production.

Listen to all the stuff on the net about the importance of ventilation.

Locate your coop where you can see it from indoors so you don't need to run outside to check every time you hear terrified clucking. This is often caused by laundry on lines, squirrels, etc.

Don't locate your coop where it will bother your neighbors. Even if you keep it really clean the fresh poops don't smell nice.

Locate your coop on high ground-see wet poop above. I built up the spot where my coop sits with construction sand.

RACCOONS: they are very strong-think about roof, floor, tunneling, walls. Read the stuff on the net about what type of wire mesh to use. "Poultry" wire is for keeping chickens out of your garden, not for keeping predators away from your chickens. I ran the mesh down the walls then folded it out along the ground around the outside of the coop 18". This way if something wants to tunnel under it will start at the bottom of the wall and hit mesh.

Make it look nice. Your neighbors will hate it if it looks like a 3rd world shanty. You will enjoy it if you think it looks nice. Lots of ideas on the net. Take your time and plan something you can get excited about.

To save money check out Re-store and salvage yards for old windows and doors. Go see what you can score before finalizing your design and adapt your plans to use what you find. If you aren't a great carpenter old windows and doors are like -pre-cut pre-fabricated panels. If I was OK for cash and had no cutting/measuring skills I'd buy a shed kit and replace a lot of the solid walls with mesh.

I put a green roof on my coop-2x6 joists 12" apart, cheap plywood, pond liner on sale, lightweight soil-perlite, coir dust, various seeds.

Don't skimp on the size of the outdoor part of the coop. You aren't allowed to let your chickens free range in Vancouver, and even if you have a chicken tractor chickens are basically cultivating machines and will turn your garden to bare mud really quickly. I put lawn clippings and weeds in instead of letting the hens out. Make your coop big enough for your chickens to live in full time without being miserable. I am contemplating adding a mezzanine level across part of mine (old door) just so they have more places to be.

Expect the project to take 3 times as long as you think and decide to enjoy it.

Have fun.

Permalink Reply by Lini Hutchings on January 26, 2015 at 1:58pm

Wow. So much to know, and here it all is, in one place! I cannot help thinking, if I never do build a coop, at least all this info will be here for the next person to come stumbling along with an innocent inquiry!

Thank you, everyone! Still lots of room here if anyone has more experience to share.

Lini