2 Coop question

[ckelley]

For those of you with two coops on the same run, do they divide themselves, or all end up in one coop? I have 4 right now, and I'm getting 15 chicks in June. They will brood using the play pen method for 8-9 weeks (I think that's right- it will be my first time with two age groups)

So potentially 19 hens, and I'm thinking I need a second coop in July....

 

[ChickenCanoe]

As creatures of habit, they USUALLY end up sleeping wherever they've slept for a while.
I know someone with 2 buildings on each end of a long run and they put themselves to bed where they were raised.

I have 7 housing units and most free range. For the most part they put themselves where they've safely slept before but there is occasional drift to other units.

 

[ckelley]

Good to know!

I might then build a smaller coop for the 4, and transition them to that, and put the others in the big coop? IDK. Lol.

The problem you see is that according to our City code you can only have 8 (per lot) so I figured since we have 2 lots =16 chickens. A few more shouldn't be a problem unless they really try to count them, and I have many that look the same. If I build a bigger coop, I'll want more and the cycle will continue because I want them all...

 

[chixmaidservice]

I have my original small coop and a larger one I built after chicken math set in, and they divide nicely between the 2 coops every night.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Good to know!

I might then build a smaller coop for the 4, and transition them to that, and put the others in the big coop? IDK. Lol.

The problem you see is that according to our City code you can only have 8 (per lot) so I figured since we have 2 lots =16 chickens. A few more shouldn't be a problem unless they really try to count them, and I have many that look the same. If I build a bigger coop, I'll want more and the cycle will continue because I want them all...

Maybe if you have your run spanning the boundary between the 2 lots and build one coop on each lot, you'd be perfectly legal.

You shouldn't have a problem unless a neighbor complains.

I wanted to add that I love having multiple coops. It is a bigger hassle feeding 7+ flocks but for quarantine, injured, sick or broody birds, having multiple housing options is a Godsend.

It takes a long time to transition from one building to another. Even if penned away from the old building, they'll continue to try to get to the old building.

 

[ckelley]

We only have one neighbor adjacent to the run, and I have literally never seen her

I’ve heard her call for her dog, and that’s it. We are on a corner, with an alley behind us. The house across the alley has an empty lot between them and us. You can see my coop from the street in the winter, but once the hedges fill out, you can’t see anything! What you can see now is just the coop, and the run is behind it and there are trees in that back corner that also cuts down on visibility.

I doubt we will have any issues, but you never know. The neighbor may sell her house to some chicken hating loonies or something. Lol. Maybe I can talk the new owners into selling me part of their lot and then I can have 24...