Hello,
Having gone through the long
thread about paddocks and moving
chickens, I see there's a lot of different ideas about what one
should have for
chicken tractor/coop/temporary
shelter for the flock, and I can't stop thinking about the possible designs for my own (future)
chickens.
I'm in a somewhat unique situation in that I have a lot of forested (sloped) acres, but don't have much pasture or a big desire for a giant flock. I'm hoping to maybe have 3 -5 birds starting this year. I notice there is a WIDE variety of needs and plans amongst the group, and each situation is somewhat unique, but I thought it would be a good idea to have a thread focusing just on building and designing coops.
After buying into Paul's thoughts on moving paddocks for their diet variety, lowering
feed costs and ease of care and cleaning, I want to build a coop that will move with the
fence around a wooded area.
Not having any
experience with chickens yet, my understanding about space and habits could use some advice from experts. Here's my crude drawing:
Notice the tray, looking a bit like an old tool box insert, would be filled with litter and thus the roost would act as a handle for easy removal and cleaning. the nesting boxes would also be movable, for cleaning.
Questions:
- what sort of head room do chickens need for a roost?
- am I making a mistake to have them roost next to the vent/screened windows?
- how much head room do they need to get around? ie, how tall does my roost need to be from the floor of the box?
- how much venting is too much? I was thinking triangle windows on each end and opening above the door on the front as well.
Tys