{"id":46774,"date":"2021-10-29T17:25:32","date_gmt":"2021-10-29T17:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/merikebi.warrenmyers.com\/?p=46774"},"modified":"2021-10-29T17:25:32","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T17:25:32","slug":"the-new-coop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/merikebi.warrenmyers.com\/?p=46774","title":{"rendered":"the new coop"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been a long time coming<\/p>\n

But the new chicken coop is done<\/p>\n

First, let’s rewind the clock to late 2016<\/p>\n

We had just moved to our “farm” to be closer to family out of the “big city” (not a farm, and not a big city … but you get the idea)<\/p>\n

My father-in-law had some spare hens, so we built a simple pallet coop on a basic frame (some 2by pressure treated runners and a sheet of 3\/4 plywood on top for the floor – a couple recovered\/reused metal roof panels for the lid), and started our chicken-raising journey<\/p>\n

It was great<\/em> interim<\/strong> coop – and could<\/em> have been a great long-term coop … if we’d made it double the size<\/p>\n

But we only planned to have 3-5 chickens at any given time, so it was good enough…until we decided we wanted more<\/p>\n

While it could “handle” 7 or 8, it was tight<\/p>\n

During the initial weeks of the pandemic in 2019, I made some improvements to the old coop while we planned a new one – added a window, redid the run door, redid the coop door…basic stuff – maybe a $100 in materials all told<\/p>\n

But it wasn’t going to handle more than ~6 chickens for any extended period of time, and it needed to be moved and\/or have the run greatly expanded to really manage the flock well<\/p>\n

Enter planning for a new coop <\/p>\n

Oh<\/p>\n

And watching lumber prices go through the roof \"\ud83d\ude10\"<\/p>\n

While we waited for prices to at least start<\/em> to come down, we reviewed scores of shapes and ideas – finally settling on a mild variation of a couple that kept popping-up when we’d look<\/p>\n

First up was that it be raised off the ground so the chickens would have a shaded and rain-free area to congregate outside their coop, and a shaded and rain-free area for their food and water to be<\/p>\n

Second was to ensure it could handle as many as 25 chickens without too many issues<\/p>\n

Third was ensuring the run was bigger than the old one, and<\/strong> tall enough to stand under (the old run is only about 5′ at its highest point – making it impossible to stand under if you’re not a young kid)<\/p>\n

Fourth was ensuring the new coop could be easily cleaned-out<\/p>\n

Fifth was making sure there is more than one way to get into the run if the need arises<\/p>\n

Sixth was ensuring the new coop would be well ventilated, and give the chickens substantially<\/em> more light inside than the old one has<\/p>\n

Ultimately, this led to a 6’x8′ coop with nesting boxes in the walls (so they’re not taking-up floor space), an 8’x24′ run plus<\/em> the under-coop area (an additional 8’x6′ region), a 6’x2′ wall-width skylight, and ample well-screened ventilation windows<\/p>\n

My next post will share in-progress photos, an approximate materials list, and ideas on what I’d do differently if I knew then<\/em> what I know now<\/em><\/p>\n

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