Back in November we got our first four hens because a friend was giving up the rest of her flock. We kind of quickly got the coop in order (and discovered some cracked footing blocks in the process). Since the ground was nearly frozen, we had no choice but to wait until spring to shore up the footings and we decided to cross our fingers that the coop would stand through the winter. (It did, by the way...)
In February we got some new baby chicks to expand our flock from four to sixteen chickens!
Adding this many chickens to the coop meant we needed to redesign and really maximize the space in the coop. I also really wanted to incorporate a permanent introductory cage for bringing futures younger chickens into the existing flock. With the help of some ideas from Pinterest and my extensive artistic skills, I drew up a plan.
In the left corner I very much wanted to install an elevated, tiered roost over a poop deck, and build an introductory cage underneath. The idea with the poop deck is that it catches the poop and makes for a tidier coop and easier cleaning. I've also seen a poop hammock used, but with the added element of the introductory cage, the poop deck seemed to be our best option.
Before I began construction of the poop deck, I cleared out everything inside the coop -- bedding, nesting box, etc. Then I screwed down some new plywood flooring (remember, the chicken coop is from the 1940s, so any way that we can improve infrastructure along the way is a good thing!).
As you can see the idea of the poop deck here is to catch the droppings in the bins lined with pine shavings and then I can remove the bins one by one easily and refresh the shavings. It cuts down on poop all over the floor (although that still happens a bit) and it's much easier to clean.
(The pic below was before I installed the wire and panels for the introduction cage.)
Underneath is a caged off introductory area where we put the "babies" for about a week or so when they first went out to the coop. The area has panels that slide out or flip up to allow easy access for cleaning the bedding and replenishing food and water. They aren't in the cage any longer, but we've left part of the area open for when they need a break from vying for their place on the pecking order. Competing for status is hard work for young chickens.
So far we have been working with this coop design for the past month or so and it has really worked out well! The nesting box is directly across from the door, so we can easily peek in to see if there are eggs. And the coop feels very roomy inside, giving each chicken the amount of space she needs to be happy.
Speaking of roomy, we've also been working on a new chicken run for the flock. Full post to follow, but here's a quick preview of the beginning of the project.
