Coop Height Question
Our take
| | Hi everyone! So I'm working on a plan for building a coop for my new girlies (they'll be two weeks this Friday!). I'll be using largely pallets to frame out the walls, with a plan to use new materials for the floor just to ensure stability. I live in Colorado, fairly close to the mountains on the front range, and it can get very cold here at times. So my plan was to do basically two pallets deep (roughly 5 feet) and three pallets wide (about 7.5 feet, might use some planks to extend it out to be an even 8 feet), and then with the roof I figured it'd probably be around 3ish feet tall. Lifted up on legs of course since I've read all about how it helps keep rats and mice out as well as making it easier to clean. In addition I figured keeping the coop somewhat compact would help them keep warm when it's cold since small spaces are easier to warm up in than large spaces. (I will not be adding a heater to the coop for safety reasons unless it becomes necessary; I don't have any breeds that are particularly delicate so I don't forsee it being a problem?) It will house eight ladies, and maybe one roo down the road if I decide to add one. (I know all about chicken math and I do want a big flock someday but when that happens I'm going to build them a much bigger space overall and use this as like, hospital/brooding/retirement space.) But I've been watching some build videos online and a lot of people go more the "shed style" route and make it tall enough to walk into. While I'm not opposed (other than wood being *so* expensive wow) I just want to make sure I'm not potentially building an ice box. The coop will have wind breaks on all sides (two sides right up against a solid 6ft wood fence, the front of the run is also solid wood even if it's a ways away, and the human house is on the final side) so I'm not too worried about them being able to escape the wind, but even without the wind it can get very cold at times. What do you guys think? Would the roof material matter more than the height? Full disclosure, I'm no carpenter, this is my first build in fact, but I'm doing lots of research! Baby picture tax, thanks for your advice! These are my first chickies so I want to do right by them <3 [link] [comments] |
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