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snoodog  ·  2773 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: I am building a chicken coop. Protips wanted.

Don't overbuild- seriously use light materials. I used 4X4 for legs s and 3/4ply. I recommend using as light a material as possible to make it easier to move. Fence boards 2x2s etc.

Use tight weave mesh and go all the way around the run (under over etc) rodents dig under, and trash pandas are can pull chickens out of the chicken wire mesh piece by piece.

Think about where you want to put the light. I use a solar powered light in the winter, it doubles the egg laying period and totally worth it.

A watering bucket and nipple is a must. Chickens poop everywhere, the nipple prevents poop in water problems.

Ideally you would have some way to add food without opening the coop in the morning.

Oh and #1 tip. Make it easy to clean. Make sure you think about cleaning access, from all sides in all areas. So 1-2 feet to any areas for cleaning is ideal. If you need to reach in 3 feet+ then you probably need another access door/hatch. I have a sliding tray in my upper coop but nothing in the lower which makes it hard to clean the lower bits.

That run in the photos will be annoying to clean because you will have to get in there all hunched over and shovel poop out of there. In a couple weeks the entire bottom area will be covered with chicken poop and you will have to remove the poop and put more chips/dirt there so make it tall enough or accessible enough to clean comfortably.