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shortstack04

shortstack04

Hatching
Nov 10, 2015
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Hello!! I am new and was hoping to get some input!
We have recently turned an outdoor dog house into a coop with a run attached. I have only 3 chickens and cant figure out how to set up the inside so that they arent pooping and laying eggs in the same spots. Also, how can i arrange the feeder and wateter outside in the run if some of the sections of the roof are wire? Should it be completely covered? Any suggestions on how to make this more functional for snow and rain days? Since they dont always get time outside of the run area. I was thinking sand...

Thanks!!!
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Welcome! This will make a nice brooder later, but it's VERY small for three standard hens now. A shed roof over the whole thing, sturdy enough for the snow load where you live, will make the entire structure a better coop for them. Mary
 
Thank you!! I planned on building another coop similar to the one pictured below on the opposite side of the run. Or off to the side of the run. This should hopefully help out with more space. We will be putting more panels for roofing on the rest of the run like the end section of the run has now so the whole thing will be covered. I was planning to leave the sides open. On the weekends we leave the run roof open so they have full roam over the entire yard. Do you think this will work?

700
 
I think that 15 sq. ft. of floor space would work for three hens, and a structure that you can walk into is much more user friendly; in other words, a shed or three sided building, with attached run. These small cutsie prebuilt coops are pretty much a waste of money, sorry. A modified garden shed makes more sense. Mary
 
HI,

As someone is currently using a prefab coop for three chickens, I wanted to second that I think you will be much happier with the walk in design. Some issues that I ran into with mine are space (it's big enough to sleep in, but too small to stay in during the day or to add supplemental light), weather (preventing meltwater from dripping on the chickens if it does snow, we had to put plywood up so that that their food wouldn't get wet, and also turn the coop so that rain didn't get through the door) and ventilation (my Dad added some vent holes, and I also pick up their overnights every morning). We replaced the roosts that it came with after the poultry vet told us they were the wrong size for their feet. It's been a bit of an adventure that I think could have been avoided if we started with something like a shed.
 
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I totally agree with the last two posts. A prefab shed is probably not much more expensive than an off the peg coop and so much better, in terms of cleaning, storing food, giving room for more chickens (we all suffer from that problem - in fact i am getting 4 additional layers today) etc etc. Fitting out a shed can be very simple - a few planks of wood or tree branches (thats what i use for roosts) and a couple of plastic basins for nest boxes and you are sorted (although i realise that many people would want something less ramshackle than mine, but the chickens don't seem to mind). If you click on my avatar, there should be a couple of photos of my shed / coop just to show you how simply and cheaply you can set something up that works).

CT
 

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