Is my coop big enough?

Radena said:

I have two covered areas, connected. One is 10'x10' chain link dog kennel(covered with tarp). And 8'x10' hoop green house I made with welded wire livestock panels. They join with gate. My roosting coop house is 4'x5', which has three 4' long roosting areas. I could could take out the three remaining nest boxes and add another 4' roost. The roosting coop is small but this also helps with keeping them warm. I may tarp around the 10'x10 during winter. Last winter I had 9 chickens in this setup. But this winter I ended up with 14. Really good deal on two month old pullets ($4.00). I wanted more but already know I am pushing it. These chickens are free range until it snows.

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rebrascora said:

Hi Alex and welcome.

I'm also in the UK and have a similar coop for my bantam pekins.

It is definitely going to be on the tight side for your girls particularly roost space wise.... Light sussex are big broad birds and come winter when it's freezing you want them to be up on the roost not standing on a cold metal tray where they may get frost bite on their toes. The current roost space is definitely not sufficient for all 3. That said, light sussex are reasonably mild mannered birds, so if you can increase the roosting space and increase the run area with an add on section, you might get away with it, but it definitely needs some modification to even consider it longer term, for your 3 girls. It also needs to be located in a sheltered spot as they don't like wind blowing through the run.

I fitted two half round fence posts to the bottom of the long sides on mine to act as skids, so that I can drag it along the ground and give them fresh grass each day although at the moment they free range the lawn. The fence posts also provide more rigidity to the construction.  

Good luck whatever you decide.

Regards

Barbara

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SunHwaKwon said:

I used shower curtain liners on mine last winter so that sun and heat could get through and the wind would be blocked. They don't hold up well unless you get the heavy duty ones though and that gets expensive on a large setup like mine and yours. I think I will try to find clear tarp like for painting to use this year. I'd really like something I can use multiple years.

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Radena said:

My green house is covered with 6 ply opaque plastic. I am trying to get some left over green house plastic from local green house nurserys. I did snag a couple of sliding glass door panels I could use on one end. Free on craigslist.

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Radena said:

Sometimes. I am pretty good at anchoring tarps and other things if needed. made a 11x18 run outside the green house for the new pullets today. I love those livestock 4x16 welded wire fence panels. Line it with chicken wire. All you need is one Tpost per panel. Pound the post so it is in the center of the panels. And wire the corners together.

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