Money poorly spent?

[nathana1984]

I also have a question while i have a few people on this thread that seem to know what they are talking about.

What if i took part of the floor out and built an area/box underneath the coop? And just use a ramp for them to get up to area just to nest and have the living space below.i would remove the roosting bars and just have that area clear with hole in floor for birds to walk up through. The area underneath would be enclosed and safe.just think of it like a two story house. Walk around , eat and such downstairs and then go upstairs just to nest. And of course i would be building fencing around coop. To keep them safe.

I understand this still will not allow me to have many chickens due to limit nest space. But if i could have maybe 4. I could learn how to raise and cares for chickens with a smaller number of them and once i understand everything that goes into raising these animals i could move on to bigger and better coops and projects.

Hope that makes sense. Cant get internet at my location so have to use smart phone. Trying to explain stuff on internet is hard enough. Using a cell phone to explain a thought is next to impossible lol.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Unfortunately I agree with most of the others on the value of that. Whoever built it doesn’t keep chickens. The roosts are too low, no ventilation, way too many nests for that size, and poor predator protection which you could correct by adding good locks. If you can’t return it, about the only use I can see for that is as nests for your eventual flock. Even then, I’d modify it to add ventilation. It gets hot in Virginia. Unless it is kept in the shade, those nests could become an oven.

You can follow the link in my signature for my thoughts on space for chickens. I know people without experience need guidelines and a place to start, but I really don’t believe in magic numbers for much of anything to do with chickens.

Bee, my basic laying/breeding flock is one rooster and 7 or 8 hens. That’s what I try to carry over winter, but a late broody hatch means I have some I’m waiting on whether to put in the freezer right now. I bring in an outside rooster every four or five generations to keep the genetic diversity up. I wind up with way more eggs than I can eat. I have to depend on an incubator and brooder since not enough hens go broody, but between that incubator and broody plus any broody hens I get, I get plenty of meat. Between hatching, growing out, and butchering, my flock topped out at 43 chickens last summer at one time of a whole lot of different sizes. I have an 8’ x 12’ main coop and a 4’ x 8’ grow-out coop with assorted runs and electric netting. I also have a 4x12 isolation coop I sometimes use for a broody and her chicks to overnight when it gets crowded. With all that, it did get pretty crowded when I had a large group approaching butchering size and age, but I get by. I know you know we all have different ways of doing things, but by depending on my incubator and brooder built into the coop I only have to buy feed for 7 or 8 hens over the winter.

Nathan, if you raise that coop and remove the roosts like you said, where are they going to roost? They normally roost in the highest place they can find. That would be your nests and they poop a lot at night. That makes for messy eggs.

I’m not a huge fan of cutting holes in the floor, in that small a one especially. It takes away too much walking/maneuvering space. Elevating it to give them more room underneath is a good idea, but I’d consider elevating it a couple of feet and building a secure run around it. Maybe close in three sides of that elevated part beneath that coop so you give them shade in the summer and a wind-protected place they can go in bad weather.

 

[nathana1984]

Thanks for response ridge runner. I think will elevate it and close in three sides. Take the nests out of the raised section and maybe put them underneath in the closed in bottom section. That way the have more room up top and they dont nest on same level as roost.

Again sorry for such questions. They maybe seem amateur and thats because they are. Ive read a bunch of stuff all over internet and when i feel like i have a handle on things i realize i dont lol.

Again i realize im not going to get any meat with this set up. Just want to be able to raise a few chickens and understand that process and maybe get a few eggs. Once i get my feet wet and understand how to raise and handle chickens ill move on to bigger and better plans.

 

[Ridgerunner]

No need to apologize for anything. We all have to start somewhere. Just wish we’d gotten you before you bought that. I know it has to be frustrating for you.

 

[nathana1984]

Thanks for understanding and yes i wish i got here before this thing was purchased.

So do u think after elevating it and closing it with three walls. Taking out the nest up top and putting them on the three closed in walls underneath l is ok? And everything closed in with fencing. I would only have 3-4 chickens

Or do nest have to be in same enclosure as roost? Ive read a few different answer to this question.

 

[OScarlet]

I have a temporary nest box in my run right now because I haven't built the permanent ones yet. My ladies are fine with it in the run although on days I let them out late they queue in front of the nest boxes (they will only use them one at a time for some reason even though there are two of them) with their legs crossed. So mine wouldn't care if they had a nest in the coop or not.

 

[nathana1984]

Thanks oscarlet. Then that will be my plan.

When god gives you lemons, make lemonade hehe

 

[bluefrog87]

The best solution I can come up with is sick chicken coop/broody hen. This coop would be for 1-2 chickens you are trying to quarantine/ sit on eggs.

If you cover in plastic and Tupperware, it's great to disinfect. Otherwise, I'd return it if you want to raise meat birds.

 

[bluefrog87]

Thanks for understanding and yes i wish i got here before this thing was purchased.

So do u think after elevating it and closing it with three walls. Taking out the nest up top and putting them on the three closed in walls underneath l is ok? And everything closed in with fencing. I would only have 3-4 chickens

Or do nest have to be in same enclosure as roost? Ive read a few different answer to this question.

If you elevate it you still have the sq ft issue

the nest just have to be in a shady dark location

taking out the nest would maybe get you 3ish but it's still no where close to 12

 

[nathana1984]

The best solution I can come up with is sick chicken coop/broody hen. This coop would be for 1-2 chickens you are trying to quarantine/ sit on eggs.

If you cover in plastic and Tupperware, it's great to disinfect.  Otherwise, I'd return it if you want to raise meat birds.

Yeah ive come to realize i will not be raising meat birds in here. And just want to raise a couple hens to understand the process of raising chickens. Then once i get a firm grip on everything plan it out better and bigger. But i will use this time for learning and making what i have into something useful. Thanks for suggestion and help