Bad start with chickens; now what?

[K0k0shka]

I disagree with you on this particular sized coop (not the run). I am going by what my eyes tell me and doing the math on the size coop provided.

Like I said earlier, on a good day when everybody gets along, it's different, and might be fine, but here we have a bullying situation where space is even more important. So, with this current set of birds and the aggression that's going on, this coop is too small.

 

[ReelFaster]

Like I said earlier, on a good day when everybody gets along, it's different, and might be fine, but here we have a bullying situation where space is even more important. So, with this current set of birds and the aggression that's going on, this coop is too small.

We agree to disagree

 

[3KillerBs]

First, that is a MUCH better coop than I expected to see. So many people end up with those tiny, "Dollhouse" coop-and-run combos that aren't really suited to even 1 chicken. Yours is bigger than many people start with and really well ventilated -- another thing that is often overlooked.

If you'd started with 4 birds all the same age and used to each other it probably would have worked. I've got 5 in a coop meant for 4 and they're fine because they're docile breeds that were raised together and because I have a huge run.

That’s how we ended up with two younger ones, as I didn’t want to bring home just one young hen to be with the two older ones.

This was a good instinct. A lone chick with two older hens would have been in very bad shape.

I am surprised to hear the coop is too small, as it has two roosting bars (each probably 5 feet long) and 6 laying boxes. If I’m not mistaken this size coop is marketed as being suitable for a much larger flock.

As has already been said, the manufacturers of the premade coops often claim numbers based on the legal minimums for commercially-raised chickens -- who are subjected to all sorts of intensive management.

The other good news here is that you have PLENTY of room to expand and a nice build to work off of.

Can you manage something like this structure I just turned into a brooder? https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

It's a light frame of 2x2s with a metal roof that's covered in hardware cloth and weatherproofed with tarps.

As a brooder I covered all 4 sides with tarp. For anything but new-hatched chicks I'd have only covered the windward end and half of the long sides.

In fact, you could put some tarp on those 4x4 pens and use them this way until you can do a new integration process and get the flock together.

 

[lunahills]

So what can I do in the meantime, anything? Unfortunately I can’t build a new coop and a run today or even before this weekend, so it sounds like I need to give some or all of them away ASAP.

 

[3KillerBs]

You don't have to panic and give away your chickens.

It's stressful right now, but I think you've got what you need to make things work with a little time and ingenuity.

 

[3KillerBs]

So what can I do in the meantime, anything? Unfortunately I can’t build a new coop and a run today or even before this weekend, so it sounds like I need to give some or all of them away ASAP.

You could partition off your run to separate the birds and put tarps up to keep the weather off the birds.

Even cardboard would work for the partition (as long as you're not expecting heavy rain), though some kind of wire would be better to start the "Look, don't touch" process.

 

[3KillerBs]

Look what I did inside my pen with a large dog crate, some tarp, and some scrap metal siding.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/mini-coop-or-integration-pen-from-a-large-dog-crate.76593/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/outdoor-broody-breaker.76592/

 

[ReelFaster]

So what can I do in the meantime, anything? Unfortunately I can’t build a new coop and a run today or even before this weekend, so it sounds like I need to give some or all of them away ASAP.

That depends on how much you want to keep them or put into this. If your willing to engineer a few things you can make it work. But if your fed up and not really wanting to add and put time into your setup then perhaps it's time to rehome them.

 

[lunahills]

Look what I did inside my pen with a large dog crate, some tarp, and some scrap metal siding.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/mini-coop-or-integration-pen-from-a-large-dog-crate.76593/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/outdoor-broody-breaker.76592/

We do have a dog crate and actually put that inside the run for now with the bully hen in it for an hour or so just to give the little ones a breather outside in the run. But I suppose I could put the little ones in there at night for now rather than in the coop. I hate to leave them outside because I feel they’re vulnerable to predators, but maybe with a tarp to cover the crate they’d be ok? Could it be months before they are able to roost in the coop peacefully at night?

 

[3KillerBs]

We do have a dog crate and actually put that inside the run for now with the bully hen in it for an hour or so just to give the little ones a breather outside in the run. But I suppose I could put the little ones in there at night for now rather than in the coop. I hate to leave them outside because I feel they’re vulnerable to predators, but maybe with a tarp to cover the crate they’d be ok? Could it be months before they are able to roost in the coop peacefully at night?

I can't give guarantees, but with the protection of the dog crate along with the protection of the run I'd be willing to do it myself.