Please give me your opinion

[homestead 101]

It over 4 feet in the peak

 

[tmarsh83]

It over 4 feet in the peak

Cubic feet only matters for changing air and air volume. They can't suspend in air when there isn't floor space for them.

You can cram as many birds in there as you want, but you'll have problems.

 

[flyin-lowe]

The "recommendation" is for 4 square feet of floor space per bird. So the height doesn't matter. If you live in warm climate where the birds would only be inside at night or during the rain you can go a little less. In my opinion in BC you need more then 4 square feet per bird given the fact they will be held up in there many months out of the year. I'm no expert but there are many people on this site that are. You should listen to them and not try to justify going with the advice that the person who sold you this overpriced coop has to say. You also need to have approximately 1 square foot of ventilation per bird. That means if you could put 5 birds in there you would need to cut out 5 square feet of wall space to place vents. By the time you do that you won't have much left.

It seems to me the options are to: Use that coop for 2 birds. Attempt to get your money back and start over, count your losses with that coop and start over, or sell that one and start over. I know it's not what you want to hear but you will be saving money and heartache in the long run.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

It's too small. Can you get your money back and buy a shed ?

Gary

 

[flyin-lowe]

We haven't gotten to the run yet. It's only 30 square foot. That itself is sized for 3 birds.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

You're probably thinking by now that everyone here is 'piling on', but as said by Flyin-Lowe, there are many people (I'm certainly not one of them) that have a lot of experience raising chickens and want to help.

We bought a pre-fab coop the same day we bought our chicks. It was advertised to house 6 chickens. We brought home 6 chicks. As those tiny chicks grew and grew, it quickly became apparent that the coop wasn't going to work. We live in the Midwest with snow, rain, cold, heat and predators. After putting in 6 full grown chicken, a feeder, a waterer and a dust bath area there was no space for movement. We sold it on Craigslist, unused, to someone raising Silikes.

Here is was... cute but not practical.

So we quickly got to work repurposing an existing (dog) shed as a coop and adding on a run. The shed is 8' x 18' (8' x 9' is used for the chickens, the other half for storage). 8' x 9' = 72 sf With 6 chickens that is 12 sf/per bird. The covered run is 8' x 16' = 128sf. With 6 chickens that is 21sf/per bird. Even with that space and considering our climate, I wouldn't add more that 2 chickens to the setup. We can't free range due to predators, so that is their living space.

Chickens need space and good ventilation to thrive, that small coop isn't going to provide either for that many birds.

 

[homestead 101]

My. Older chickens were inside 1 or two days this winter. I am planning on letting them free range as they get older. My option is that if they just sleep in there, then they can have a smaller coop.

 

[JackE]

My. Older chickens were inside 1 or two days this winter. I am planning on letting them free range as they get older. My option is that if they just sleep in there, then they can have a smaller coop.

5 full size hens in there, you are asking for trouble. Too small, and not enough ventilation. You may get away with it during the warmer months, but in the winter, if you get a bunch of snow, that's when the trouble will come. Usually, when there is deep snow on the ground, the birds may spend much more, maybe all, of their time in the coop. In a small coop like that, they will pick and tear at each other. And with the insufficient ventilation, humidity will be high, and frostbite and possible (More than likely) respiratory problems will show up. As others have posted, go bigger.

 

[tmarsh83]

My. Older chickens were inside 1 or two days this winter. I am planning on letting them free range as they get older. My option is that if they just sleep in there, then they can have a smaller coop.

Agreed.

"Smaller" is relative though.

And this coop is battery cage size.

You do you what you want. They're your chickens, but don't expect the seal of approval from the community here. You're pushing the envelope of sound management.

 

[homestead 101]

I am planning to ad a second story for roost with a plywood floor. That should add 4.5 more square feet for roost. Thanks to everyone on here for all the advise. I really want to give them a happy life. Any one have any ideas on how to make even more room with out building a new coop