Chook Me!

chicken questions.?

Hey I'm going to build a chicken coop from scratch. Can anyone (Tammy R) give me some dimensions for a chicken coop that would be able to house 8-12 standard/largish breeds?Since i live in the north I need a coop that can accommodate these weather conditions. Also when I say dimensions i mean dimensions for EVERYTHING. nest boxes, run, henhouse, and anything else. All I want is a standard chicken coop so please don't give me the blueprints for some fancy shmancy chicken mansion. i live with a lot of space so don't worry about that.

Public Comments

1. Well, give them a little more then 1 square foot each. same for the nesting boxes. I live in the north to and when winter rolls around we put a heating light in the coop. You can buy one almost anywhere. the fly/run should be as big as you can possibly afford and have room to make it. You really dont need to worry about the exact dimensions...basically just guess and make it as big as you can afford and have space for. Dont be to picky in other words. But be sure to get a heating light for winter...and i have a window in my coop with a metal screen so they dont get to hot in summer. But be sure its metal screen or they might bust through it. Remember just make it as big as possible! good luck~ any questions email me at glorianne@hughes.net
2. Well, I have 4 ducks and 3 chickens who live in my coop that is 12ft long by 6ft wide and by 6ft tall. So I would say about that or bigger, depending if you are keeping babies or seling them.
3. Ok it took awhile to get to this sorry I have chores that take a little while in the evening lol. For the hen house and the outside run all together you will need about 10ft. X 18ft. area. The hen house is faced long way toward the fence so 8 of those 18 ft would be for the short end of the coop. The nesting boxes should be in a row on the darker side of the coop meaning the side opposite the door. Hens like privacy when it comes to laying eggs trust me lol they will let you know. You will find eggs on that end of the coop if you put the boxes any place else lol...The nesting boxes need a lip on the outer edge so the chickens can jump up and get in easily or they wont even bother I checked mine and its about a foot off the ground. All you should need is a standard leantoo type chicken house for these guys nothing more. If you go to mcmurray hatchery website they have a picture of one thats ideal. In fact I have one for my special layers just like this. The one I am talking about is under poultry house and game bird shelter plans. Its easy as heck to clean also. When you put your bedding in might I suggest before you put straw that you bed it with at least 2 inches of pine shavings first? That way the bedding will be easier to clean and wont stick to the floor real bad. I stop cleaning mine around november here and leave it until about the end of march because the manure from the chickens keeps the birds warm it holds lots of heat. I dont however have the blue prints for any of these things I just go by whats in my head and what I read on paper. The hen house is 8 by 10 the run is 10 by 10 and that all makes 8 by 18 ft space the nest boxes on the inside need to be close together and a foot off the floor and one foot by one foot box types about 4 of them. You can have them larger but thats as small as they are comfortable with. Chickens share nest boxes or should I say take turns lol 4 to a box it doesnt hurt to have more. The space you use for the boxes doesnt change the space for measurements of the coop either. Just email me if you have any more questions about it.... Thanks I hope this helped I can help you with anything else you need to know. I have been doing this for so many years its a part of my family duties lol.....feather36@wiktel.com