run construction advice please :)

I know that the perches have to be 6" off the deck, but can they be more? Not sure why but I think that I'm considering the "walking around" space but given they've got wings I guess if they're 2' off the floor that wouldn't be an issue?? - sort of like this rather lovely looking coop: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/wichita-cabin-coop

Also a lot of coops have windows but I note that your one doesn't and mine will have an open mesh area at the top (ventilation) so I am assuming that a window will not be needed but do they like to look out rather than "just" have natural light?

Regards

Miles
PS I'll put up some pictures as I go along - is the normal method to start a new thread or do people prefer to see it in the questions thread?
 
The idea of chickens looking out the window made me laugh :lol: , chickens go into the coop to roost and as soon as it is light they are desperate to get out, they literally storm the door when you open it, then they stay out until either they want to lay or it's time for bed again, the only reason the chickens in your link are perching in the coop during daylight is because the attached run is both too small for 5 chickens and also has no perch, in effect they are perching there because they are bored, the other design fault in that coop is perches at different heights which will only lead to squabbling at bedtime as to who perches the highest. I tend to drill a number of 2 inch holes to give ventilation which allow enough light into the coop for the chickens to see but you can cut out an area and mesh it instead it should however be above the chickens roosting height so they do not suffer from draughts. You can put perches as high off the floor as a chicken can jump up to them but in reality they only NEED to be a few inches off the ground, a chickens natural instinct is too roost as high as it possibly can as you will find when your chickens attempt to roost on top of your house on the first day that you get them. They don't need walking around space as running the risk of sounding like a broken record they go into the coop to roost, like people on the tube they are happy to shuffle their way into position. If you want to see a nice looking coop that is also functional then look at the thread immediately above this one, Our Mobile Coops, designed by a man who knows chickens and has considerably more patience than me ;)
 
Dino

I am slightly confused with some measurements - maybe you can help me out?

1) a measurement which seems to occur in a number of places is 12" from the perch to the wall to avoid the birds crapping on it. If I put both perches 12" from the wall they only end up 4" away from each other (assuming a 4" wide perch). What have I got wrong as I thought you said yours were 12" away from each other and the walls...

2) When I add up your left to right measurements (16" nest box, 16" suggested perch length) I end up at 32" rather than the 38" you suggest - I assume that the remaining 6" is a space from the nest box to the end of the perch?

3) you mention 9" per bird but other places suggest 9" for bantams and 12" for medium or heavy birds. We're looking at medium hybrids. I don't think your birds are bantams but thought I ought to check that this wasn't my ignorance of birds letting me down!

One alternative that I have would be run the perches forward and back which would give me a lot more room to space them out; assuming that I go above 1' high to clear the tops of the nest boxes (which have to housed inside the coop) which would allow me to have them at 12" from each other and the wall however this would bring back some sort of minor shelf to prevent them messing on top of the nest boxes but that wouldn't be a major issue I guess?

Isn't CAD great - I've just spotted a third option (alternative 2) which is a single long perch running left to right above the nest boxes and to the left hand wall. THis would make the coop wider than 3' but only be a foot and the remaining approx. 2' will be a cupboard to store stuff in. This cupboard is a recurring item as I need to use the 6' across the run and having a storage space would be useful.

I'm finalising the design tonight to allow me to buy the materials tomorrow to be able to build it during me week off after the next bank holiday.

Miles
 
I will try and answer your questions Miles. I did indeed say that the perches were 'around' 12 inches apart which if you consider the depth of the coop is 2'11" or 35 inches then you have back wall at 0, perch at 12, second perch at 24, front wall at 35 which pretty much maintains at 12 inch distance throughout. On the left to right measurements I included the two sets of two inch wide external legs plus the 1 inch thickness of ply either side of the perches in the width which would come to 32+4+2=38. As I say in the post 8 inches per bird is ample as any more will be wasted as they huddle up together and just leave a redundant gap, there are as many recommendations on perch width per bird as there are sites recommending I have seen anything from 5-14 inches recommended, from experience I say 8 is best for medium sized chickens such as your hybrids, manufacturers such as green frog design their coops with this perch space per bird. Hope that clears up any confusion for you.
 
Dino
Are you basically measuring from the centres of the perches? That could be the source of my confusion as I've been going from the edges (thus the total distances are 12" gap from wall to perch + 4" width of perch + 12" gap + 4" width of perch +12" gap > total space) but it all makes sense if you've been talking from perch centre rather than edge.
 
Yes Miles that's correct and also bear in mind I am talking about 2" perches, 4" is WAY too big for most chickens as they won't be able to wrap their feet round to grip them which rather defeats the object, remember to bevel the edges of the perches so that they are not sharp.
 
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