Big enough coop?

[FC16]

Still not very clued up on this, would this be big enough for 4 average sized hens and a cockerel? It’s only for them to sleep in as they’re free range in the day.
Not sure if it’s big enough would appreciate other opinions

 

[mowin]

What are the dimensions? And I'm not seeing enough ventilation.
Guideline is 4sqf per bird of unobstructed floor space.

 

[saysfaa]

Typical nest box size is 12x12 inches. So it is about 3' long. And nest boxes on each side make it 2 x 12" plus the middle is about that... so also about 24" of floor space if it is clear between the rows of nest boxes. 3'x2' make it 6 square feet. That is enough for one chicken. But the roosts are less than 12" high, so there is no floor space.

There are 4 roosts within the coop that 3', evenly spaced. That makes them 9" apart. That isn't room for any chicken to get up on them. Are the roosts even with the floor of the nest boxes? With the floor?.. Oh, it looks like they are a couple of inches above the coop floor - even with the short front wall of the nest boxes. Oh, and I see the dimentions in the second picture: 59" wide, 39" long, 36" high. The roosts are still closer to 9" apart than 10", allowing for the thickness of the walls.

Since it shows a slide out drawer under the roosts, I assume you are supposed to add a sheet of plywood or something to catch droppings? If so, the only ventilation is the window above the door. That is about 12"x 6" - that is the minimum for a half a chicken.

The slide out drawer isn't deep enough for the poop dropped on it to fit under the front wall even without bedding.

If you have already bought this and can't return it... the best option I see is to take the nest box dividers, roosts, and droppings drawer out. Raise the roof of the middle part high enough to become a monitor roof, put one roost in lengthwise 12" to 15" above the floor. I don't where to put two nest boxes.

 

[aart]

Short answer......NO!

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

If it is just to sleep in, then I think it is fine.

 

[saysfaa]

The post locked up so I couldn't write or revise anything.

Anyway, if you get much snow, it will slide off the upper roofs and not off the lower roofs. That would make a lot of shoveling off the lower roofs to be able to open the nest box roofs.

Eh. I think if you can't return it, the best use for it is deconstructed for building materials.

 

[3KillerBs]

No.

Rules of Thumb

• If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.
• If it's measured in inches instead of feet it's too small.
• If your walk-in closet is larger than the coop-run combo you're thinking of buying think carefully about whether you have an utterly awesome closet or are looking at a seriously undersized chicken coop.
• If it has more nestboxes than the number of chickens it can legitimately hold the designer knew nothing about chickens' actual needs and it probably has other design flaws too.

For 5 chickens you need a minimum of 20 square feet -- 4 feet by 5 feet. The nestboxes don't count toward that figure.

Additionally, in order to get the 5 square feet of ventilation you'd need in the correct place -- over the birds' heads when they're sitting on their roost -- and to put that roost in the correct place -- above the nestboxes -- you need at least 4 feet of height.

My Little Monitor Coop is designed to meet all the minimums for 4 hens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/ It's currently housing 5 successfully because I have a vastly-oversized run.

 

[Windrider]

If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.

Heh. Every time I see you quote this, I think: "Well, just like Chihuahuas are toys in the dog world, Seramas are toys in the chicken world."

I think those tiny doll-house coops would be fine for the tinier bantams, but I had the usual recommended dimensions for full sized hens for my bantam cochins and it only seemed "about right," not palatial.

 

[saysfaa]

... I had the usual recommended dimensions for full sized hens for my bantam cochins and it only seemed "about right," not palatial.

Probably because it is so easy to forget the "minimum" part of it.

 

[McChooky]

No.

Rules of Thumb

• If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.
• If it's measured in inches instead of feet it's too small.
• If your walk-in closet is larger than the coop-run combo you're thinking of buying think carefully about whether you have an utterly awesome closet or are looking at a seriously undersized chicken coop.
• If it has more nestboxes than the number of chickens it can legitimately hold the designer knew nothing about chickens' actual needs and it probably has other design flaws too.

For 5 chickens you need a minimum of 20 square feet -- 4 feet by 5 feet. The nestboxes don't count toward that figure.

Additionally, in order to get the 5 square feet of ventilation you'd need in the correct place -- over the birds' heads when they're sitting on their roost -- and to put that roost in the correct place -- above the nestboxes -- you need at least 4 feet of height.

My Little Monitor Coop is designed to meet all the minimums for 4 hens: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/ It's currently housing 5 successfully because I have a vastly-oversized run.

"If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens!"