[JaK]

We hope to get our first chickens this summer  I am going to try and build the coop and run myself (DH may help a little). We would like to keep LF starting with 2 with a view to adding more birds at a later date but no more than 6 altogether.

For the inside space of the coop (not run) would 3ft x 5ft be suitable?

[GrannieAnnie]

According to DEFRA guidelines you could get 15 in that space!  But could I suggest that you start with 3?  Firstly because if anything should happen and you lost one, then you wouldn't have a lonely hen.  They are after all, flock birds.

and secondly, if you get 3 at first then another 3 when you are ready, you will be introducing equal numbers!  Good luck!

[JaK]

15!  They should be happy hens then.

OK will go for 3 to start. I'm already hooked on Orps, just need to choose which colours to have. 

[GrannieAnnie]

so many to choose from!  I love my Buff orp, and black ones are nice and last year we were asked to find homes for 4 orpy cockerals.  they were splash and a blue one.  they were lovely colours!!!!   

[JaK]

We have had the offer of a broody hen and some mixed orpington eggs. Hav'ing a think about that for now but the breeder is willing to home any unwanted birds given that orps are difficult to sex early on.

Back to coop building.
I was wondering what people used to fill any slight gaps between joins in the wood (to help prevent red mite). Is caulk or silicone sealant ok?

[chasechicken]

I had a similar sized coop and used caulk to fill in the gaps, but truth be told they still found their way in.  We used T+G cladding and when I recently took the coop to bits (I'd built a replacement) I was amazed to find evidence of red mite in places that looked completely inaccessible.

I think whilst it's good to use caulk to seal all the gaps, making sure you regularly treat the house and birds is also essential.  I don't think it's possible to have a wooden coop and it be entirely red mite free unfortunately (if anybody knows how let me know!!)

A plastic 'eglu' type thing on the other hand ...

[Dominic]

Generaly its advised you use sheet board for the walls, that way a coop will only have 12 internal joins, with extras for the nest box and the perches.
I'm buying an eglu Go.

[joyfull]

you can still get red mites in plastic coops but it easier to get rid of them - remove the plastic coop/ark to a hard standing, take apart them wash (either by hand or jet or steam) dry them put back together letting the mites go down the drain  

[joyfull]

I'm buying an eglu Go.

Apparently they now sell them in Lakeland plastics 

[grinling]

May I suggest to roof over part of the run so an area stays dry. Wendy uses a poly tunnel arrangement for the girls to nest in, it has perches and a hen house and an outdoor run. The chickens prefer to stay inside in winter so they have lots of scratching area.
Also dig wire in, around the area to stop rats / foxes digging in.
Provide a shaded area outside for the summer.

[Aidy]

I used external ply, used a very basic design, easy access for cleaning, all the joints are sealed so no little hiding places for mr and mrs mite to have rumpy.
Also if you building your own coop, for the roof use onduline rather than board with felt, felt is notorious for mites.
A member has built one recent with input from HF, others and myself and looked the biz.....
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=69975.0

[Colernehens]

Have been reading this thread and although I have no advice on building a coop, I thought I might add my input about your choice of Orp colour.

We currently have 6 in 5 different colours (plus 6 chicks of which there are two more colours).

We have found that the different colour lay different size eggs. (it might be more hen related than colour, but both our blacks do lay the same size egg?)

Based on what you would get in the shops I'd say

Our Blacks lay a large medium size egg.
Our Gold lace and our Blue lay a medium size egg
Our Buff a lays small egg. (about half the size of the Blacks egg)

Others on here may have a different experience to us, but just thought it might help when picking your colour.

[JaK]

Big tahnk you to all the help you have given so far. We have no managed to start and have the base down. We used some reclaimed slabs from the path down the side of the house to cover two thirds of the run. We are leaving one third for now so we can fill with wood chips, compost.... so our hens can have a dig (this section woll be changed each month to add interest for them).
Will add pics and keep a build diary. 

[andy and deb]

Hi There ,
we have just finished our coop , which is 4.5 x 3.5 made from reclaimed planks with a poly carbonate sheet on the roof to stop rain , and one on the side that will get the most weather as the other side luckily is protected from the rain by our neighbours conifers which also keep our raised bed dry all year so the hens will always have a dry muck bed to bath in ... at the back of the sleeping quarters I screwed a tree branch for a roosting perch and made a laying box 10" x 10" on little feet to raise it off the straw flooring .. the outside area is about 3m x 5 slipt on 2 levels the lower level being grass and block paving and the raised level like I said dry earth for bathing .. I,ll post some pics later but if I do say so myself it looks perfect for them .. my mother-in-law keeps hens as does my mate and they both said my coop was great .. luckily its in the garden which is surrounded by 7ft fencing so the chances of foxes getting in are slim to none which is good as I didn,t bury the mesh... my only concern is vermin like rats and mice

[JaK]

Look forward to seeing pics. It's a great help to see other peoples set ups because I can use their ideas!