One large chicken house or 2 small ones for new flock?

[KCGirl]

Hi. If you have some tools, patience, and some general ideas of how to use a saw and drill, I would highly consider building your own. I downloaded very detailed plans of a nice coop on Etsy, and the instructions were so thorough that even my dad (who is a former contractor) was impressed with the detail. The steps listed, and materials list were spot on, and it really has made the whole process pretty easy. Plus, if you have the know how, you can edit the plans to your needs/wants. I think we were under $2k all in on a coop and run combination, (coop is 8-10ft, run is 8x16ft) that is covered, and should be good for 12-16 chickens.
If you have the time and some help, I think building your own is a great idea. Plus, if you have kids, it's a great way to get them involved on the project as well.

Thank you! I just might try it. I really want to build one-

 

[KCGirl]

Hi, welcome to the forum, glad you joined!

Where are you located? That's important information for a lot of questions. It's mostly about weather. There is a big difference in the Fjords or Norway to the jungles of Costa Rico, the peaks of the Himalayas to the coast of the Gulf South of the US. If you modify your profile to show where you are located it will always be available and can really help us answer. If you are somewhere with severe cold in winter you may need more room and a pretty solid coop versus an open air structure where it never snows.

Some people have separate coops. Coops are generally where they sleep. If you have decent weather they should spend most of their time outside during the day. Nests are typically in a coop but some people have nests separate. It's not a case of one way being right where everything else is wrong. There are usually many different ways of doing anything that can work.

Your plans and goals for your chickens matter also. I raise mine for meat and to play with genetics, the eggs are mostly a side benefit. I give most of mine away. I have one main coop for the laying breeding flock but a couple of coops/shelters for some to sleep in when it gets crowded. And ways to isolate a section of run with a shelter.

I don't know what you already have or why it is only good for 7 hens. Depending on your climate and how predator proof your run is it may work out better than you think. If you are only going to have a flock of hens with them all the same age or level of maturity you can get by with less than if you will have a rooster or two and will be raising chicks or integrating new chickens.

Without knowing a lot more about what you have and what you plan it's hard for me to come up with concrete recommendations. In general I think it is easier on you to have one coop and run that can handle all of your chickens though having a second coop with its own bit of run where you can isolate a chicken if you need to can be very handy.

Thank you for the thoughtful insights and the welcome