Bertie-Merle
Songster
I need to add a new coop shelter and roosting area with ladder and maybe some extra run for my two new poults that aren't fitting into my existing setup of a "so-called" 8 chicken coop. (Yeah, "eight", RIGHT!) It is not that crowded for my existing six at night, and there is room left, but too crowded to add in new additions of the size of a Buff Orp and Wyandotte from outside the original flock without arguments, and we know they over-state the hen capacities on these coops right off the bat, right? Right now the new girls are doing fine hanging out on roosts in my covered extension run ... but Hurricane Season is never far away in Texas, so I need to have solid and comfortable housing for them soon that I can easily clean and keep hygienic. (Stooping over 2.5' coop doors to clean doesn't DO that for me, if you get that!).
I've already added an additional 3' x 6' run with white corrugated roof cover to the existing 3' x 5' that came with my coop kit from my original setup. ... Texas heat is brutal and additional run is critical if they have to be locked in because of a possible tropical storm or worse. They are on high land that never floods, but they don't like being locked in, even when it's for their own good, ya know. They're normally free-ranging and they've already "OWNED" my 1/3 acre paddock that they have to run free in .... eaten even my St. Augustine grass!
So, what I want to do is add on a coop to the end of the 6' run to give the Buff Orp and the Blue Wyandotte whatever they need in space to mature and start laying. I'm a single female w/o a lot of carpentry skills, so was thinking of "cheating" by buying another coop kit, maybe with a little couple of feet of additional run, and splicing it into my 3' x 6' extra run. Looking at the fact that my original coop model has INCREASED about $300 in price, well I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions in maybe 4+ to 6+ full sized chicken rated coops that are descent quality and OFF THE GROUND. I live in a semi-tropical area in SE Texas where that's important.
Any ideas on coops you've seen or bought or tried would be great information for me. I don't want to spend more that $350, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to. My max will be set by practicality of quality and value. I understand that buying what are "called" 2-4 chicken coop is absurd, as they are really gerbil houses.
A big plus for me would be having a 4' or higher "walk-in" door to save my poor back, but I know that's likely not possible at the price point I'm looking at of under $500.
Just looking for any good advice that doesn't require met to learn how to become a carpenter at this point in my life!
THANKS IN ADVANCE, ya'll! Love ya! ; -)
I've already added an additional 3' x 6' run with white corrugated roof cover to the existing 3' x 5' that came with my coop kit from my original setup. ... Texas heat is brutal and additional run is critical if they have to be locked in because of a possible tropical storm or worse. They are on high land that never floods, but they don't like being locked in, even when it's for their own good, ya know. They're normally free-ranging and they've already "OWNED" my 1/3 acre paddock that they have to run free in .... eaten even my St. Augustine grass!
So, what I want to do is add on a coop to the end of the 6' run to give the Buff Orp and the Blue Wyandotte whatever they need in space to mature and start laying. I'm a single female w/o a lot of carpentry skills, so was thinking of "cheating" by buying another coop kit, maybe with a little couple of feet of additional run, and splicing it into my 3' x 6' extra run. Looking at the fact that my original coop model has INCREASED about $300 in price, well I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions in maybe 4+ to 6+ full sized chicken rated coops that are descent quality and OFF THE GROUND. I live in a semi-tropical area in SE Texas where that's important.
Any ideas on coops you've seen or bought or tried would be great information for me. I don't want to spend more that $350, but I'm afraid I'm gonna have to. My max will be set by practicality of quality and value. I understand that buying what are "called" 2-4 chicken coop is absurd, as they are really gerbil houses.
A big plus for me would be having a 4' or higher "walk-in" door to save my poor back, but I know that's likely not possible at the price point I'm looking at of under $500.
Just looking for any good advice that doesn't require met to learn how to become a carpenter at this point in my life!
THANKS IN ADVANCE, ya'll! Love ya! ; -)
