Afraid I made a mistake with a PP Defender coop/run...?

[Magda12]

So I bought this coop for my chickens. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...ender-chicken-coop-2020-1168239n?cm_vc=-10005. I originally planned to get 4 chicks, but ended up having to order 10. Coop says for 10-12 chickens. I have all colored egg layers (Americauna, Olive Eggers, Marans), not sure of exact breeds yet. Now I am worried that the coop isn't going to be big enough.... We built it in our side yard, which has plenty of extra space to allow free ranging or build a fenced in larger area, so they will definitely have more room than the run allows for (unless we aren't home or something, which is rare). My concern, however, is the coop size. Am I going to have issues?

Also, I plan to use the deep litter method. I am worried after reading some people saying this thing lets in a ton of water (we get a lot of rain here). Anyone else have one? Neither my husband nor I am particularly handy, so we were really better off buying than building... Really hoping we didn't waste all that money! I am down for some modification, as long as it doesn't involve a ton of tools we don't have.

Any advice? Much appreciated!

 

[springvalley123]

Yes the coop looks tiny. Good news! put a cover on the pen, or a tarp to cover the pen, and use tarp, double layer of shade cloth etc to cover the 2-3 windward sides of the run. Put some roost bars in the run. Put hardware cloth around the lower portion of the run, starting at the ground and going up to a bit higher than roost height. And a hardware cloth apron around the perimeter. Voila! A predator proof big coop/run with plenty of ventilation, wind protection etc. for all those birds!

(The idea of the HW cloth, is that if racoons come and scare the birds away from one side and into the "hands" of the rest of the racoon family, the HW cloth will prevent this---the chickens can't get anywhere, no matter how scared, that isn't protected with the hardware cloth.

 

[aart]

Yep, probably likely too small for 10-12.
But they never give obvious dimensions of the coop area. SMH.

You could always sell some of your birds.

Welcome to BYC! @Magda12
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Magda12]

Southwestern PA, an hour and change south of Pittsburgh

 

[Battlepants]

Found someone working with this coop and at around 7:00 they show the inside of it.

Yea, this thing is pretty small. There is no way I could fit 10 chickens in here. I would probably do 3 full size chickens OR 4-5 bantams, and that's pushing it. If anything, it might be worth modifying this to remove a few of the nest boxes just to get more walking-around space in there.

 

[Magda12]

Found someone working with this coop and at around 7:00 they show the inside of it.

Yea, this thing is pretty small. There is no way I could fit 10 chickens in here. I would probably do 3 full size chickens OR 4-5 bantams, and that's pushing it. If anything, it might be worth modifying this to remove a few of the nest boxes just to get more walking-around space in there.

Would it be worth just buying another small coop and putting it inside the run? Or are they all going to want to be in the same place? I could also maybe get or have my son build another coop to the same height and connect to it at the side door somehow.

I'm pretty irked because this coop was NOT cheap.

 

[springvalley123]

Would it be worth just buying another small coop and putting it inside the run? Or are they all going to want to be in the same place? I could also maybe get or have my son build another coop to the same height and connect to it at the side door somehow.

I'm pretty irked because this coop was NOT cheap.

As a flock they will automatically do everything they can to roost together.

 

[Battlepants]

As a flock they will automatically do everything they can to roost together.

Can confirm, I've seen overstuffed roostbars just because someone won't scoot down and they are almost knocking off the end bird. They really enjoy roosting together. For this setup, I would be tempted to rip out all the roostbars and try to get one going longways.

On the note of building a secondary box on the side of this thing, this is not a bad idea. Having more room to wander around in the mornings before the door opens will be appreciated. This also makes the coop more enjoyable for those days where they will be cooped up most of the day (rainy or snowy weather, birds tend to stay inside).

 

[aart]

I'm pretty irked because this coop was NOT cheap.

Well, the run is awesome.
Do you have the cover for it?

 

[Magda12]

Also my coop is a newer model, I think, because mine also has an area above the nesting boxes. I'll try to go outside tomorrow and get a pic or video. I'm going to be putting the girls in there probably next week, so maybe I'll take a video with them in there so you guys can see how they fit.