Predator Paranoia and Coop Construction

Almost every Chicken Keeper is concerned about predators.  Lets face it, chickens are at the bottom of the food chain, master only of bugs, earthworms and the occasional mouse.  When I made the decision to keep chickens I did a hefty amount of research on how to make a fortress out of an existing shed/workshop on my property. The building itself is a sturdy 2x4 construction with a flat, slanted and singled roof and a 2 part, very large door.  Before I purchased my chicks I spent some time considering what needed to be improved on the building.  Here are things you always want to look for if you're modifying an existing structure into a coop:

1.  Flooring - is it wood?  dirt? something else?
2.  Foundation - what is it?  is there space under the structure?
3.  Walls - what are they made of?  are they insulated?
4.  Windows - are there windows?  are they secure?  are they old or newer double pane?
5.  Doors - how will the chickens enter and exit?  How will you enter and exit?
6.  Roof - what is it made of?  is it leaking?
7.  Location - where is your structure?  Is it in a low lying, potentially flood prone area? does it get hot sun all day in the summer?
8.  Size - how many chickens will it hold comfortably?
9. Ventilation - does it have adequate ventilation for chickens and if not, how will you add it?

This will be a long post - but hopefully the information will be helpful.  I'll cover each of the 9 items above, individually below.  The dimensions of my structure: aprox: 8ft deep by 12ft wide - the slopping roof is 12ft high in the front and 6ft high in the back.

1. Flooring: The flooring of my structure was 2x4 with plywood over top.  In order to keep the plywood from getting nasty from spilled water or chicken poo I went to Home Depot and purchased the cheapest 12" square sticky vinyl floor tiles I could find and some additional adhesive.  I covered the floor with a thin layer of the adhesive and secured the tiles.  For bedding I use pine shavings.

2.  Foundation:  The foundation was not secure.  The structure was on a slight decline so the builder had built the foundation on the ground on one end and the other end sat up on broken pieces of cinder blocks. :(  On the end that was on the ground I dug out dirt around the foundation and laid bricks under it to stabilize it. On the end that was on cinderblocks I added more blocks every few feet to prevent any future sagging.  Once stabilized I stuffed a ton of extra Styrofoam I had left over from my move under the building and then used 1 x 8s (cut to size) to block off any open spaces.  I screwed these in with 3" building screws. 

3.  Walls:  The walls were standard plywood (with wood paneling on the exterior), with insulation and then drywall - the drywall had not be painted or finished - it was just nailed in.  To keep the drywall from getting messy I tacked up heavy duty plastic sheeting - this didn't work well and it continues to fall down - I should've used adhesive and will have to go back and redo this soon.   I only used the plastic sheeting for the bottom 4' of the walls.

4.  Windows:  There are 2 windows, one is a 3x4' side sliding window, the other is a smaller window that you lift to open.  Both are double pane - the larger windows inner most pane is broken.  I used hardware cloth to secure the outside of both windows.  (If you use heavy washers under each of the screws the hardware cloth will be very difficult to remove or break through)  I did the same treatment to the inside of the big window but left the little window accessible from the inside so I could open it for added ventilation if necessary. 

5.  Doors:  The door on my structure is a 2 part hinged door.  I can either open a more standard sized door that is actually almost as tall as the structure or I can remove a large pin and open almost the entire front of the building.  This is GREAT for cleaning out the coop!!  Unless cleaning the coop, I only open the smaller door.  It is plenty large enough for me to walk in and out while carrying food or water or chickens etc.    I would recommend always having a human sized door on your coop for easy access.  The doors are not insulated and are also 2x4 construction with plywood and wood paneling on the exterior.  I installed 2 heavy gauge wrought iron locks that I "lock" with carabiners.

6.  Roof:  The roof is standard singles over tar paper and plywood.  Much of the interior of the roof is insulated.

7.  Location:  My structure was perfectly located about 20 - 30 feet from my house (in direct view of my bedroom window).  It receives shade most of the day but still gets some good sun in the winter.  One window faces east, the other west.  I did discover after a few seasons that the area by the door became muddy if there was extensive rain, so I dug away a few inches of dirt and laid paving stones in that area too keep it dryer.

8.  Size:  Size of coop is a huge factor in how many chickens you can have.  My coop is currently, comfortably holding 10 adult chickens and 8 pullets.  4 - 5 of the pullets are cockerels (roosters) so they will not be part of the flock soon.  I'll have about 14 chickens in this coop and could potentially hold up to 20.  I would not want to exceed 20 adult chickens.

9.  Ventilation:  My structure had a 10" diameter hole on the east facing wall close to the roofline.  This was put there I'm assuming to add a small wood burning fire place.  I left that opening and secured it with hardware cloth on the outside.  There was also a 3" in diameter opening near the base of one of the doors.  I secured hardware cloth to that as well and then covered it completely from the inside to avoid cold floor drafts in the winter.  Since I live in a dry, cooler climate I didn't add additional ventilation.  Were I in a humid or hotter climate, I would've added an additional 10" ventilation hole by the roofline on each wall.  (for perspective, in the summer months the average temp is 75 during the day and 55 at night and average winter temps are 20 - 30 during the day and sometimes well below zero at night.  I do not heat my coop)

After I completed all the updating I purchased a solar security slight and mounted it near the door - if anything walks near the coop at night it shines brightly.

While my coop is now pretty secure, nothing - NOTHING is predator proof.  I live where bears and mountain lions and fox and bobcats roam.  During the day light hours my chickens are given free range to a 1/3 of an acre that is fenced in with 6' privacy fencing on one side and 5' wire fencing on the rest.  It is not covered.  I suppose I could cram them all in a smaller space that is covered and more secure but I understand the risks and have made the decision to accept them so they have the quality of life I think they should. For a bit of added protection I've put small porous stones with predator urine (found via Amazon.com) every 12 or so feet around the fence line.    The chickens aren't allowed out in the morning until the sun has been up for 30 minutes and they're put to bed at sunset every night.  No matter what precautions you take, you still run the risk of predator losses but by making your coop as secure as possible you can greatly reduce those risks.

A fewother thoughts:  I used both a 2x4 and 2 large sapling trees (with the branches cut off) for roosts.  They are at varying heights.  I put a small chest freezer in the coop (no electricity) to keep the feed and treats and other chicken stuff away from rodents.  I have fly sticky tape hanging from the highest portion of the ceiling in the summer.  There are currently 3 nest boxes in different areas and I plan to add more and finally..... I created a wall inside and sectioned off an area for chicks or pullets that I'm introducing to the flock.