2 Enclosed Coops One Shared Outdoor Run-Good or Bad Idea?

[B-Goock]

I would take them back and either have your husband build a coop & run or go to one of the shed places and spend a bit more.

When I met my wife she had a similar tractor supply coop, and another one she had replaced because it leaked. Both of them she had to built a larger run. Alot of rework time & wasted money.
The other problem is they werent predator proof. She had several massacres occur. The solution was to replace them with a 8x10 shed and she loves that she can actually go inside. Her feeder & waterer are inside now. Wind doesn't blow them over & the feed doesn't get soaked. In the winter her heated waterer doesn't freeze since it's protected from direct exposure.
I added shelving and now the pine chip bails, spare feeders, waterers, heat panel, lights, buckets of treats, etc aren't cluttering up our garage.

Hope the Dr oks your chicken addiction.

 

[Cryss]

I’m glad you’ve researched so well. You’ve included so many excellent ideas you’ve found. Love the natural cave. Kudos! You even see you may have made a boo boo with choice of coops. Hey, I understand. Been there done that trick messing up right from the start. TSC coop claimed to hold 8, barely held 2. I did some fast scrambling to make it usable temporarily. The best thing I did immediately was to give them a run bigger than required. Each bird needs 10 sqft of run. I bought a 10x10 chain link dog run, protected it with 1/2 inch hardware cloth, and voila! 100 sqft of run for 4 birds...that grew to 6 birds...that grew to...
Yeah, bought another 10x10 dog run increasing the area to 10x30. Took 8 months to slowly build an 8x12 walk in coop. Good thing I did. I’ve got 14 hens and pullets and 1 rooster now!. CHICKEN MATH RULES! LOL!
So, my advice is build a run twice the size you need. You need 60sqft for your 6 birds. At least go 100. More if you can. And give thought to starting to make plans to build bigger or buying a wood shed from Home Depot to convert in the next year or 2.
Welcome to BYC! Can’t wait to see this thread as it grows with pictures of the progress and of course your chickens! I love your plans! You really did your research and your woodworking is awesome!

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

I am a beginner and really screwed up with my coop purchase. While it said it was enough for 8-10 birds, it really is only suitable for 3. I am going to have 6 silver wyondontte birds. What my husband is proposing is we purchase an addition coop of the same model. But, this design will require the enclosed areas are divided. One indoor roosting area to the left, the other to the right, with a walk in enclosed run area in the middle, as well as under the houses. My question is, 3 in each area will be great in winter to keep warm. They will all be together during the day in the garden and/or in the run area. Will I be creating more problems dividing them up at night. What are your thoughts? I'd appreciate an answer soon, as I need to know if I should take this coop back. My chicks come April 24th, so I do have some time, but my husband spent an entire weekend clearing out the rocks and prepping the area for the coop, so I don't want to make too much more work for him. Plus, I am undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer and I'm doing great, but not strong enough to be hauling rocks to help if we need to start over. Sincerely, Kathy

Most predators strike at night so the safest way to keep your hens safe is to lock them up when darkness begins. If your hens have free room during the day or live in a house, train them to come back to you at night and go to the coop

 

[aart]

Any additional advice?

Thanks for the link.
No pics of the inside, but I think I see what you called the soffit vents, at least on the sides.
That should help.

I'd not go with round roosts, unless they are 2" diameter.
Don't worry about blocking every tiny crack that might cause a 'draft',
unless water can get in there.

Maybe you said, and I forgot, but....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for the link. Some photo of the inside would have been nice.

They don't mention the actual size of the enclosed "box" but the entire thing is 42" wide, looks like the box is too. The total length is 6 feet and it looks like the box is half that so let's say 3 feet. So the actual box is 3' x 3-1/2' or 10-1/2 square feet. The nest area is 12" wide across the 3-1/2' so that leave a 2' x 3-1/2' roost area. They are putting two roosts in there so I'd guess each one is 2' long. From a roost area perspective only that's plenty for 4 hens. You might even get 6 in there but it would be tight..

For six hens you need two nests. That's all. With those two coops you have six nests, lots of wasted room. That's common with prefab coops.

Since you have ordered the second one my thoughts are to tear out the nests on one of those and make that entire 3' x 3-1/2' area a roosting area and use the nests in the other one. That clean-out tray would not extend under the current nest area but set it up so you could rake the poop from under that into the tray. Without seeing photos I'm not sure what you might have to tear out or not install but I'm thinking a flat piece of plywood at the right elevation. you'd have inside room for feed and water in the one for egg laying.

With the slopes of the roofline you will have a natural leak right in the middle of the run. The peak of that run is 6' high so that edge is probably a head-knocker for you and your husband. And that is a plastic roof. Not sure how to seal that and give it a side slope so water runs off to the side. It's too low to put a gutter under it without making it even harder to get between the two sections.

When you put the two sections together you may have to get a little creative in joining them to keep them predator proof. I can't tell how much that roof section overhangs that end. An alternative would be to not tear our that end and link them together but to build a tunnel between the two so the chickens can walk between. Maybe something 2' high and 2' wide. The downside to that would be that you cannot walk directly between the two but would need to exit one section to enter the other. Or you could make that connecting tunnel section big enough that you could walk through but it will be a head-knocker. I think a tunnel would be easier than trying to butt up the two

I would have suggested an apron around your chicken palace complex to stop digging predators but wire underneath can work. As long as your complex is predator proof you can leave all internal doors open so they have full use of it at all times. It's generally easier to make a coop predator proof than a run, but yours is so small you can probably do that. Many people with smaller runs manage their chickens doing that.

I considered putting the two side by side instead of left and right and making the entire thing 7' wide. Too much work for marginal benefit, if any.

I think the easiest thing is what you are planning. Make the entire thing predator proof and don't lock them up at night after you've trained them where to sleep. You may need to mark them so you know which ones you are training to sleep where. That might work. You may find that they are OK all sleeping packed together. You can always go back later and tear out those nests and expand one roosting area if it is a problem. A lot of the time the problems we anticipate are not the ones that actually show up.

I think your biggest issue will be that area between the two where they connect. Both as a head knocker and channeling water into your run. I'd probably separate the two enough to be able to put gutters on those two ends if it becomes necessary and use a tunnel big enough for the chickens to get back and forth. To get back and forth you'd have to exit the section.

Good luck with it.

 

[kjorgey]

Doc is good with my chickens. She said it will be great therapy My son, who is a carpentry student already started working on the coop. He is combining the two into one enclosed coop and improving it. I am reducing my flock to 4 from 6. We are making our run area from scratch, our own design and my son is going to create a chicken tractor for me using the extra pieces from the run bought in the kit. It all worked out in the end and it will be a lovely, well ventilated, draft free space to allow 4 sq ft. per chicken inside and 10 sq feet outside. Nice having a carpenter in the family to help. Thank you so much for your advice everyone! I had chemo today and feel great. 13 down, only 5 to go! Our vacation is cancelled this year, so the chickens are our gift to each other. Terrific knowledge on this forum. Love it!

 

[kjorgey]

Doc is good with my chickens. She said it will be great therapy My son, who is a carpentry student already started working on the coop. He is combining the two into one enclosed coop and improving it. I am reducing my flock to 4 from 6. We are making our run area from scratch, our own design and my son is going to create a chicken tractor for me using the extra pieces from the run bought in the kit. It all worked out in the end and it will be a lovely, well ventilated, draft free space to allow 4 sq ft. per chicken inside and 10 sq feet outside and then some. Our run will be larger, plus I'm going to let the girls be in the chicken tractor in the garden area and free range when I'm in the fenced in gardens with them. Nice having a carpenter in the family to help. Thank you so much for your advice everyone! I had chemo today and feel great. 13 down, only 5 to go! Our vacation is cancelled this year, so the chickens are our gift to each other. Terrific knowledge on this forum. Love it!

 

[kjorgey]

Thanks for the link.
No pics of the inside, but I think I see what you called the soffit vents, at least on the sides.
That should help.

I'd not go with round roosts, unless they are 2" diameter.
Don't worry about blocking every tiny crack that might cause a 'draft',
unless water can get in there.

Maybe you said, and I forgot, but....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2061656

 

[trekker6]

I contracted camphylobacter, salmonella and Cdiff while I was working with my chickens, I was on chemo for small cell lung cancer which kills our white blood cells, I would not recommend working with chickens while on chemo.

 

[kjorgey]

I am taking only Herceptin now, which isn't a chemo class, but we call it chemo for lack of a better term. Anyhow, it doesn't effect my counts. I did get neutropenic with the first 6 cycles, but that is long behind me and everything is normal.