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

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kjorgey

kjorgey

Songster
Mar 24, 2020
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Pennsylvania/North of Philadelphia
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
 
Welcome To BYC! Chickens like to roost together, they will most likely all roost in the same coop. You could seperate them at night, it is impossible to tell wether it will cause problems, but I'm inclined to say that it won't if they are free ranging together.
Don't take this the wrong way, but prefab coops can be cheaply made and not very durable. I'm not saying yours is but I find it is best to either make your own or find someone selling one. Having 2 coops might work but it would be better to have one bigger coop. Good Luck!
 
Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

Could you please post a link to that specific coop? It needs to show dimensions as well as layout. And where are you located so we know climate? Those prefab coops generally don't have a good reputation on here. You've seen one reason, they often overstate the number of chickens it can realistically hold. And often they are just not that well designed for chickens. People do use them but often they have to make modifications. I like to know what you have to work with before I get too specific.

Your chicks are coming in a month. I assume day-old chicks. Many of us brood in the coop but many brood in the house, garage, or other outbuilding. So you have at least a month and likely two months before you need a coop. My gut feel is that you will be better off returning it but you need a plan as to what you are going to do.

They will probably all want to sleep together. You might be able to train them to sleep a few in each one but it would probably be a lot of work. I would not plan for that. And they could change at any time, even if you trained them.

Chickens need a certain amount of room when they are awake. They don't care if we call that room "coop" or "run". Those words are not in their vocabulary. What matters is that they have room somewhere when they need it. One reason many of us lock them in the coop section only at night is for enhanced predator protection. If you consider your run to be predator proof so you don't need to lock them up at night they can have a lot more room when they wake up. That would require some modifications and may still not give enough room. Many of them are just not that practical when it comes to roost space and height or for feeding and watering. That's the type of thing I'd look at if you post a link to that coop.
 
Thanks for asking. I am a nurse practitioner in addition to being a cancer patient myself. I am past the worst of the chemo. My numbers are good and will be done with treatment by June. I am very active and in good health otherwise with a good prognosis. Today, we purchased the same coop and decided to put one coop on the left and the other on the right, with one large enclosed run area. 3 Hens will be comfortable in each. This winter, my kids and my husband got the flu and they were vaccinated and yet I never got sick. I intend to wear a mask when I clean my coop, even if I didn't have cancer. This coop does have good ventilation (soffit joints) and two small windows each. We plan to ensure they don't' get drafts at night as they roost. Great article. Thanks for sharing. This site has a LOT of great info. I soaking it all in.
 
Thanks for the advice. Actually, the coop is very good wood quality and well made. It unfortunately, did not specify its size correctly. We decided to purchase a duplicate coop. We will put one on the left, one of the right with the larger run area in the middle. 3 Hens will fit comfortable in each now. I will NOT buy a premade one again. Next time I will listen to my husband and let him build it. It however will work out and will be a nice area for the chickens in the end...I pray.
 
Thanks for the response. Here is the coop link. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...construction-chicken-coop-70401d?cm_vc=-10005

Here is what we ended up doing. We purchased the exact coop. We will have one on the left, one on the right, with the run area in between. My husband already dug out the base, is going to bury chicken wire under the entire coop/run area. It will be predator proof. 3 birds in each coop will give them just under 4 square feet each and enough roost space & 3 nesting boxes in each as well. I have to trade out the roosts for round dowels, reinforce areas where draft can get in, but other than that it is a pretty solid little coop. I will allow the birds to roam freely in their protected area during the day and hopefully, when I introduce them to their new home at 6 weeks, it will all work out. Problem in our area is, with the corona virus...it is hard to get materials and we are under a curfew. I could always take them back to Tractor Supply, but some advice I got was it may be good to have an area I can enclose off if a chicken needs to be separated from the coop. My son is also making me a chicken tractor for the yard and it will have an area to isolate a hen if need be as well. So much to learn. This down time has been a great time to absorb all this important information. Any additional advice?
 
kjorgey said:
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
Click to expand...
Hi Kathy, sorry to hear about your health condition, hopefully your new ones will bring you great joy! It’s really unfortunate, but I think you need to return the prefab coop and just build one for yourself. I don’t think it would work out to have two separate coops and one run. It will cause problems and you will most likely have to end up redoing it completely.
 

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