Got a new coop and already

[rosemarythyme]

We have a wooden coop for our chickens but they are going to get to big to fit all 9 soon. (6 chickens are only 4 months old) so we wanted to get a bigger one for them since once grown they will be bigger them our mama hens lol

How many birds are in here? I'm a little confused if this is 6 younger birds, or 9? Is this meant to be a permanent coop or a grow out?

Unless this is very temporary I'd alter the unit entirely to eliminate the metal pan, and convert it so the entire thing functions as the coop instead of coop and mini run. It's simply too small for even 6 younger birds for an extended period of time and lacks ventilation:

To turn it from 2 small "boxes" (tiny coop above tiny run) into 1 bigger "box" you'll want to remove as much of the inside coop wall as possible, plus the floor. Take out the old roosts too.

Nests might be able to stay as is, or may need to be relocated elsewhere or replaced - depends on the structure of the coop and how things inside stack up once done.

Run a new roost(s) lengthwise or widthwise across the newly open space, depending on how much roost is needed. Ideally you’d like 12” per bird but 10” can suffice in many cases.

Board up some of the external wire walls so that the roost area is protected from winds and rain. Do NOT fully cover up all the wire, you need ventilation and natural light, so at the very least a few inches under the roofline should remain open. If your climate allows for it, you can leave entire walls open with just the mesh, or make it convertible for the season by covering up open walls for winter, and then uncovering for summer.

Example of a modified prefab: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-renovated-prefab-coop.1440258/

 

[GoldenBlossoms]

How many birds are in here? I'm a little confused if this is 6 younger birds, or 9? Is this meant to be a permanent coop or a grow out?

Unless this is very temporary I'd alter the unit entirely to eliminate the metal pan, and convert it so the entire thing functions as the coop instead of coop and mini run. It's simply too small for even 6 younger birds for an extended period of time and lacks ventilation:

To turn it from 2 small "boxes" (tiny coop above tiny run) into 1 bigger "box" you'll want to remove as much of the inside coop wall as possible, plus the floor. Take out the old roosts too.

Nests might be able to stay as is, or may need to be relocated elsewhere or replaced - depends on the structure of the coop and how things inside stack up once done.

Run a new roost(s) lengthwise or widthwise across the newly open space, depending on how much roost is needed. Ideally you’d like 12” per bird but 10” can suffice in many cases.

Board up some of the external wire walls so that the roost area is protected from winds and rain. Do NOT fully cover up all the wire, you need ventilation and natural light, so at the very least a few inches under the roofline should remain open. If your climate allows for it, you can leave entire walls open with just the mesh, or make it convertible for the season by covering up open walls for winter, and then uncovering for summer.

Example of a modified prefab: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-renovated-prefab-coop.1440258/

We are keeping both coops so they can have the old and new to use. It's only for sleep and eggs I guess. So I'm not sure I understand the covering up the open walls? The walls of the run??

 

[rosemarythyme]

We are keeping both coops so they can have the old and new to use. It's only for sleep and eggs I guess. So I'm not sure I understand the covering up the open walls? The walls of the run??

You're misunderstanding, the "run" would be eliminated in favor of expanding this into a single larger coop. You would either need a new run or free range all day.

What this fixes is 1) your metal "floor" issue, as the ground is the floor, 2) help expand the coop space overall (you don't have measurements listed but just from a glance this is probably a 2-4 bird coop at most), 3) address the lack of ventilation.

In a hot enough climate you really wouldn't want to cover up any of the "new" coop walls, or maybe only 1 at most, but in more varied climates you'd want to balance ventilation with draft protection. It's pretty tough when there simply isn't a lot of vertical space to work with.

 

[GoldenBlossoms]

You're misunderstanding, the "run" would be eliminated in favor of expanding this into a single larger coop. You would either need a new run or free range all day.

What this fixes is 1) your metal "floor" issue, as the ground is the floor, 2) help expand the coop space overall (you don't have measurements listed but just from a glance this is probably a 2-4 bird coop at most), 3) address the lack of ventilation.

In a hot enough climate you really wouldn't want to cover up any of the "new" coop walls, or maybe only 1 at most, but in more varied climates you'd want to balance ventilation with draft protection. It's pretty tough when there simply isn't a lot of vertical space to work with.

Oh, yeah they already free roam x3 the metal tray is the thing inside where they sleep. My poor babies this morning was the first time using it and they slipped so much one of my chickens flew out of the coop and hit the metal fence so I needed to find a way to fix it before tonight. So for now I used painters tape and it helped them walk but ik it is only temporary. but yeah they all free roam the coop is only for sleep and laying eggs.

 

[GoldenBlossoms]

You're misunderstanding, the "run" would be eliminated in favor of expanding this into a single larger coop. You would either need a new run or free range all day.

What this fixes is 1) your metal "floor" issue, as the ground is the floor, 2) help expand the coop space overall (you don't have measurements listed but just from a glance this is probably a 2-4 bird coop at most), 3) address the lack of ventilation.

In a hot enough climate you really wouldn't want to cover up any of the "new" coop walls, or maybe only 1 at most, but in more varied climates you'd want to balance ventilation with draft protection. It's pretty tough when there simply isn't a lot of vertical space to work with.

Oh, and about the coop. It is supposed to hold up to 6 chickens and has 3 nesting boxes x3 it's much better then our old one though we will still be keeping the old one the only has 2 nest boxes lol and all the chickens had like no space xD so we got this new bigger one so they can have two coops and more room for sleep/eggs but the slipping on the floor is the main issue now.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Oh, and about the coop. It is supposed to hold up to 6 chickens and has 3 nesting boxes x3 it's much better then our old one though we will still be keeping the old one the only has 2 nest boxes lol and all the chickens had like no space xD so we got this new bigger one so they can have two coops and more room for sleep/eggs but the slipping on the floor is the main issue now.

"Holds 6 chickens" = meets legal requirements of a commercial factory farm set up. That's all manufacturers need to aim for. For bantams the minimum floor space recommendations seen on here are usually double that at 2 sq ft per bird , and you have 9 birds who may or may not choose to use both coops.

It's your flock, manage it how you will. But my solution at least partially addresses every problem I currently see while still utilizing the coop that's in the photos (I cannot speak to the other one since it's only partially visible).

 

[GoldenBlossoms]

"Holds 6 chickens" = meets legal requirements of a commercial factory farm set up. That's all manufacturers need to aim for. For bantams the minimum floor space recommendations seen on here are usually double that at 2 sq ft per bird , and you have 9 birds who may or may not choose to use both coops.

It's your flock, manage it how you will. But my solution at least partially addresses every problem I currently see while still utilizing the coop that's in the photos (I cannot speak to the other one since it's only partially visible).

Yeah they all still like to go into the much smaller coop so we have just been picking up 4 or 5 out of the smaller one and putting them in the new one for sleep lol idk how they feel about the new bigger one yet. But at least now they are not slipping everywhere this time