Am I doing this right?!

[Crazy Maizie]

I have a few obstacles but can add more. I would say she’s just pestering for the most part. Sometimes she leaves them alone and then randomly she will get this crazy eye look and chase them. But only a peck or 2. I don’t think any of them have gotten hurt or injured.

Night time is a little more tricky. For about 5 nights now the bully sleeps in a crate in the shed. The other 2 big girls seem to be accepting them. They try to peck the little girls while they are getting on the roost but shockingly, me yelling at them gets them to stop. Not sure how it’s going to go when the bully is reintroduced for the night. We are planning to build the bigger coop this weekend so hopefully that helps

How do you access the inside of the coop?

There's always one that wants to guard the roost.

 

[Mrs. K]

For your own peace of mind while you are gone, I would separate them. You can start over when you come back.

 

[jslater14]

How do you access the inside of the coop?

There's always one that wants to guard the roost.

There’s a large door on the side I can open and access it

 

[Crazy Maizie]

There’s a large door on the side I can open and access it

Is there anyway to build onto it or are your plans to start from scratch? For chickens, it's recommended 4 square foot per bird in the coop. But, that's if their only area to run around is the coop - like if you have to lock them up due to predators. It looks like your run is pretty safe?

 

[jslater14]

Is there anyway to build onto it or are your plans to start from scratch? For chickens, it's recommended 4 square foot per bird in the coop. But, that's if their only area to run around is the coop - like if you have to lock them up due to predators. It looks like your run is pretty safe?

We are probably going to add on to it. I do think it needs to be bigger, regardless. And needs more ventilation. We have enough room to extend it out to the side a couple feet.

I wouldn’t say it’s completely predator safe. My husband used chicken wire which can be pushed through. But we live in the city and don’t have issues with daytime predators that can access the run. At night we have an automatic door that closes off the coop. We did lose some girls prior to that