Afraid I made a mistake with a PP Defender coop/run...?

[Magda12]

Well, the run is awesome.
Do you have the cover for it?

No and they don't sell it any more! But I was just going to get a tarp and some bungees to throw over it. Plus they were charging like $80 for the cover.

 

[NatJ]

Yes the coop looks tiny. Good news! put a cover on the pen, or a tarp to cover the pen, and use tarp, double layer of shade cloth etc to cover the 2-3 windward sides of the run. Put some roost bars in the run. Put hardware cloth around the lower portion of the run, starting at the ground and going up to a bit higher than roost height. And a hardware cloth apron around the perimeter. Voila! A predator proof big coop/run with plenty of ventilation, wind protection etc. for all those birds!

(The idea of the HW cloth, is that if racoons come and scare the birds away from one side and into the "hands" of the rest of the racoon family, the HW cloth will prevent this---the chickens can't get anywhere, no matter how scared, that isn't protected with the hardware cloth.

I like this idea.
It turns the whole "run" into a big coop, and they can still use the nestboxes in the current "coop" to lay eggs in.

I originally planned to get 4 chicks, but ended up having to order 10.

If you rehome or butcher some of them, you could get down to the 4 you originally wanted, which means each one has more space in the coop/run.

Looking at the pictures and guessing, it MIGHT be big enough for 4.
If you follow the common guideline of 4 square feet per chicken in the coop, 4 of them would need 16 square feet (not counting the space taken up by the nestboxes.) You could measure that area to see how big it actually is, because I am making guesses from the photos and I cannot find actual measurements anywhere on that page.

 

[aart]

I like this idea.
It turns the whole "run" into a big coop, and they can still use the nestboxes in the current "coop" to lay eggs in.

Well, except the OP lives in a rather harsh winter climate.

 

[springvalley123]

Well, except the OP lives in a rather harsh winter climate.

Well that would make tarps etc problematic.

 

[Magda12]

Ok, it sounds like I may need to offload a few chickens. If I go that route, any suggestions for how to sell them? Where to look for a buyer, how much to charge, etc. I would normally give them away, but I've put a bit of time and money into them and would like to recoup some of that.

 

[Krugerrand]

Ok, it sounds like I may need to offload a few chickens. If I go that route, any suggestions for how to sell them? Where to look for a buyer, how much to charge, etc. I would normally give them away, but I've put a bit of time and money into them and would like to recoup some of that.

Welcome from SWPA! I've been looking to add a pair of bantams to my flock this summer and have been watching Craigslist. I'd start with watching that and get an idea of what people are asking for their chickens. Don't be afraid to ask what you want for them. Most people I find are selling basic sex-links. The price for yours would be understandably higher. Plus, I'd only meet people to do the exchange.

There is a Pennsylvania page, but I find that heavy on Harrisburg and Philly - not much for our side of the state.

 

[aart]

Ok, it sounds like I may need to offload a few chickens. If I go that route, any suggestions for how to sell them? Where to look for a buyer, how much to charge, etc. I would normally give them away, but I've put a bit of time and money into them and would like to recoup some of that.

Craigslist, a local poultry facebook page, flyer at your farm store, state chat thread here at BYC..
Depending on age of chick, 5-30 bucks, the closer to laying age the more you could get.

 

[YellowRoseFarm]

We had a similar problem. We purchased a different Producer's Pride coop/run that I can't even post the link to because it's no longer on the website. The packaging said "Chick Days 2022," so it's entirely possible it was a one-time thing. We planned to build our own but found it cost-prohibitive for what we need - we have 14 birds, and I have zero intentions of parting with any of them. As a temporary solution, we bought two coops and connected them. Yes, it seems counter-intuitive on cost, but it wasn't. Once we've collected enough materials (my husband is a contractor), we plan to repurpose the welded wire panels and nesting boxes in our build. The rest of the coop pieces will get washed, disinfected, Kilzed and painted, and turned into a playhouse for the kids.

 

[Magda12]

We had a similar problem. We purchased a different Producer's Pride coop/run that I can't even post the link to because it's no longer on the website. The packaging said "Chick Days 2022," so it's entirely possible it was a one-time thing. We planned to build our own but found it cost-prohibitive for what we need - we have 14 birds, and I have zero intentions of parting with any of them. As a temporary solution, we bought two coops and connected them. Yes, it seems counter-intuitive on cost, but it wasn't. Once we've collected enough materials (my husband is a contractor), we plan to repurpose the welded wire panels and nesting boxes in our build. The rest of the coop pieces will get washed, disinfected, Kilzed and painted, and turned into a playhouse for the kids.

Yeah, I might have my son rig up something for me. The coop is pretty nice, but sounds like it's just too small. It's a shame because the darn thing took us 6 hours in 95 degree weather to build!!

 

[springvalley123]

Yeah, I might have my son rig up something for me. The coop is pretty nice, but sounds like it's just too small. It's a shame because the darn thing took us 6 hours in 95 degree weather to build!!

Even if you end up selling some of your birds now, enlarging/enhancing the coop portion would help you integrate additional chicks later on.