Coop, run and enclosure build

[ChickinMike]

Hi all! Just wanted to share my plans for the first little build and get some advice along the way.

I'm starting small and building a 6ft x 4ft x 3ft coop with a fixed felt angled roof.
(Like a giant rabbit hutch )

Using 2x2 timber for the frame and reclaimed pallet boards for the walls and roof of the coop with concrete flags being used on the floor
(I have a set of spare flags that are 3ft x 2ft - this is why its 6ft x 4ft, it's a perfect fit)

Using 12 x 2.4m fence poles (circular) and chicken wire for the run fully enclosed with a tarpaulin sheet over the top that folds down 3 out of 4 sides when it's colder or raining.

Fence poles will be knocked into the ground a good half metre so around 6 foot high when completed.

Run Size - 10ft x 8ft

I plan on having the run attached to the coop front. So I can make use of the full 10ft x 8ft run space. Kind of like there door leads to it.

I want to know if that sounds good for say 8 to 10 chickens (im only getting 3 to start with)

also, do i need a cockeral or not some say i do to keep hens in check and to make them lay.

Finally. As I'm using concrete flags for the floor. Would regular wood chips be fine for the chickens.

I'll be cleaning it out once a week and jetwashing it down.

The run will have the garden floor so I was thinking of maybe using a sand to layer over it or would they eat it

 

[JoshB]

Sounds like a solid plan. I can't wait to see how it comes together. That might be a bit tight for 10 hens but if you start with 3 you can add a few more until it feels right.

You do not need a rooster/cockerel for your hens to lay. I would avoid one unless you intend on breeding your birds. There's really no other use - just a risky headache.

I'd say you're well on your way through the planning stages. Can't wait to see how things go

 

[ChickinMike]

Thanks! I also plan on adding a 1 inch foam / kingspan type material on the inside.

The coop will be a box with 2x2's in each corner for support. So if add 1 to 1.5 inch insulation / soundproofing and lay over 1/4 to 1/2 inch plyboard it should be close enough to the support edges to square it off. Plus it will ne warm for them.

Using some tree branches I cut down for perches. Gonna nail them 4 inch off the coop floor one at either side.

One nest box at first for the 3 chickens. Gonna stick an old washing up bowl to the back wall half way up with a little opening cut out.

For the breeding side I would just buy fertilised eggs and a 12 egg incubator to see how it goes. Then maybe in a year or so try it myself if I can get an allotment that allows chickens on

 

[igor's hump]

do you have drawn plans you're working off of? i've been tempted by those sites that offer PDFs of plans but they seem kinda expensive for what they are

 

[JoshB]

I agree I've always felt skeptical of people selling plans. That feels like a pre-boomer type of thing. Buying hovercraft plans from popular science monthly