Big Green Hen House: Modification Recommendations?

[grohfrog]

I recently purchased the Innovation Pet "Big Green Walk-In Hen House" from Tractor Supply Co. as a starter coop for my son's "Backyard Chickens" 4-H project. Assembly was very straight-forward, and while I'm very happy with the purchase, I would imagine that there are modifications that could take this coop from good to great.

Here's the completed coop:

I'm open for recommendations: What would you add or modify to make this a better coop?

 

[grohfrog]

Rather than assemble the frame directly on the ground, I built and leveled a treated 4x4 post frame.

To deter digging predators, I scraped away loose stone around the base of the coop and stapled chicken wire around the base of the coop:

Once installed, I covered the mesh with stone (mostly for aesthetics):

 

[sylviethecochin]

Does that thing have any ventilation at all? I don't see any, beyond that one little sliding window. That might be a problem.

 

[mixedbreeds]

Yes I was wondering about ventilation as well but man you sure did a wonderful job on that hen house it looks very nice.

 

[grohfrog]

Does that thing have any ventilation at all? I don't see any, beyond that one little sliding window. That might be a problem.

It has two screened, sliding windows, one on each side. There are also two doors on the front of the coop, inside the run area, one sliding door to the ramp, and the other a larger swing-open door.

Perhaps add some adjustable ventilation at the peak on the front and back walls?

 

[sylviethecochin]

It has two screened, sliding windows, one on each side. There are also two doors on the front of the coop, inside the run area, one sliding door to the ramp, and the other a larger swing-open door.

Perhaps add some adjustable ventilation at the peak on the front and back walls?

I'm no engineer, but I don't think those little windows are high enough to let out air—and as a Pennsylvanian, I know I wouldn't be leaving the big doors open in winter, a period when you need a lot of ventilation.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop.47774/

 

[Enchanted1s]

Rather than assemble the frame directly on the ground, I built and leveled a treated 4x4 post frame.

To deter digging predators, I scraped away loose stone around the base of the coop and stapled chicken wire around the base of the coop:
View attachment 1353773

Once installed, I covered the mesh with stone (mostly for aesthetics):
View attachment 1353774

I agree with all of that, but if you are going to do the dirt work, I would use hardware cloth instead of chicken wire.

 

[jthornton]

None of the coops I've seen in any store had any ventilation, they all looked like doll houses. Chicken wire is only used to keep chickens in, a raccoon can rip through it very quick. For a skirt use 1" x 2" welded wire. Read about ventilation in the Modern Fresh Air Poultry House book. Inside the run remove the wood from the gable end and replace it with hardware cloth screwed down with fender washers. Remove the nest box and put it in the run lower than the floor of the coop. I assume the roosts are just sitting on the floor like most prefab coops. A photo of the inside would help.

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JT

 

[grohfrog]

Alright, here's a photo of the roost bars (taken through one of the next boxes):

And a shot of the front of the coop from inside the run, showing the ramp door and the second, larger door:

The roost bars do sit up off of the floor pan. Also, I can't imagine it would be too difficult to cut in some more ventilation and staple in welded wire, especially on the side facing in to the run. I'll have to pick up a roll of welded wire and will just lay it over the top of the chicken wire that's already in place.

Do you find that having an additional next box accessible directly from the run is helpful? Perhaps I just build another nest box and put it down in the run?

 

[grohfrog]

After the 4x4 post frame was leveled, I left a layer of stone in the run area, and then covered that stone with few inches of a mix of dirt and pebbles. My hope was to keep the soil in the run porous enough to allow incidental water to drain away easily.

This photo was taken of the chicks on a play day, but it shows the ground coverage: