Chicken coop initial choices

[redknife]

I’m building a chicken coop for a friend. Their son will provide the directed labor.
Question of the day is wood choices.
We keep chickens so have some chicken know-how. I like this general design:

Note that this is an image from http://Carolinacoops.com and the design will have modifications (this is not being sold and I am doing this free for our friends). The friend and family want to build, don’t have extra $, and have a young teen who is interested in learning. Thus, buying the one you see is not an option. Access to coop clean out/etc is on the side not seen.
The goal is durability (let’s say 20+ yr), healthy hen environment at the lowest cost.
Bottom plates: PT ground contact rated
Upright frame members and door frame: white oak vs cypress vs cedar. I suppose KDAT pine would be an option but the prices I’ve seen are very high. These will be painted.
Trim pieces: same as framing posts or PVC?
Siding: T111
I’ll probably orient the roof vertically and provide a ridge vent.

Bonus Joinery question: for a simple rectangular frame screen door that won’t sag: drawbored bridle joints, DB M&T, Loose tenon, forget the simple rectangle and add diagonal support? (Maintaining gaptolerance over time is important to reduce predator intrusion)

Any thoughts, particularly recs on wood, or general advice would be appreciated.

 

[KenOfCary]

PVC trim is a little more expensive but will last forever and is easy to work with. I'd put a diagonal brace in the door - sort of a Z shape.

Will it rest on a slab or wood frame? If the latter then I'd add chicken wire under the wood or hardware cloth. If a slab then add j-bolts to fasten it down.

Just some random thoughts as I have no experience with raising chickens.

 

[redknife]

Thanks Ken. Dirt/grass floor in the run area. Ply probably covered with sheet vinyl in actual coop.
You mentioned the J bolts. I do worry about this thing becoming a big sail. As depicted, there are no tie downs.

Since initial post, found that cedar is not great for chickens- respiratory reaction.

 

[Gofor]

If painted, I would go with KDAT for the ground contact, and regular SPF for the rest. (Neighbor did this and it has lasted for quite a while.)

As for the door, one diagonal from the bottom hinge side to top of the "swing" side should provide good support. Glued bridle joints should work fine for the joinery, and can be augmented with screws or dowels. Draw-boring on soft wood isn't near as effective compared to hard woods like oak (IMHO).

For floor (if on dirt) and bottom several feet, steel woven farm fencing is much superior to chicken wire for keeping out 'coons and foxes.

Go

 

[KenOfCary]

Thanks Ken. Dirt/grass floor in the run area. Ply probably covered with sheet vinyl in actual coop.
You mentioned the J bolts. I do worry about this thing becoming a big sail. As depicted, there are no tie downs.

Since initial post, found that cedar is not great for chickens- respiratory reaction.

In that case I would pay particular attention to anchoring it firmly with something like house trailer tie downs. As you say - a heavy wind storm could do a lot of damage. And make sure borrowing animals cannot get under the edges, but I may worry more about predators here than in your area. We have everything from coyotes to bears here to worry about.

 

[Roy G]

Looks like your chickens are going to have some hefty legs doing all that climbing up to the nest boxes. How big is the coop going to be? You might size it based on the number of anticipated chickens. We had a 6 x 6 coop for 10 chickens, but they had free run of the backyard during the day. I like Buff Orpingtons because their eggs are large and they are pretty regular layers. We had a rooster and his crowing was sort of neat, didn't wake us up but gave our place a rural character.

Roy G

 

[redknife]

Looks like your chickens are going to have some hefty legs doing all that climbing up to the nest boxes. How big is the coop going to be? You might size it based on the number of anticipated chickens. We had a 6 x 6 coop for 10 chickens, but they had free run of the backyard during the day. I like Buff Orpingtons because their eggs are large and they are pretty regular layers. We had a rooster and his crowing was sort of neat, didn't wake us up but gave our place a rural character.

Roy G

Yes we’re going for thick juicy legs! Actually first mod is lowering the coop a scosche. Just enough to allow them to run under. This family’s little girl (6?) wants to get the eggs so lowering will help that too.
Coop itself will be 4x6. They are just starting with two chickens but I like providing some space to grow. Don’t want to go much smaller. I’ve seen these tiny things and I don’t see going that route.
We have about 20 and need to restructure at some point. Our coop is a converted shed(6x8?) with pretty big pen and fishing line overhead to reduce predators above.
I think they’ll selectively free range. We free range everyday then coop at night. We’ve seen tons of predators in the area but so far no casualties during the day.
i’ll let Them know about the Buff Orpingtons. We were probably going to peel off a few of our young hens for them but with just a couple maybe it would be better to pick the best egg layers. Thanks