Bit if a dilemma here

[Krugerrand]

does sleeping in the nest box cause issues?

My coop has great ventilation ... the nest boxes, not so much. 2 winters ago (also in SW PA) during that extended cold spell, all 4 hens crammed into a nest box to stay warmer. I thought they 'knew best' for themselves, but they had some bits of frost bite as a result. The nest boxes got really damp which led to the problems.

 

[mowin]

Just start building one, or get a shed delivered. Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

I was thinking about what I'd do if I was in your situation, also putting myself in your Mom's shoes, wanting aesthetically pleasing.... Show her this coop below. And read the part about cleanliness. Obviously you're not going to buy this coop but the point will be that you can build something beautiful or upgrade a pretty shed for the same money. Bigger is better. Most that you order are indeed going to be smaller and it's going to be harder to clean. So it's only temporarily pretty. Think functionality and how to keep it clean. She's truly going to dislike a messy, smelly chicken situation so try to present a win/win. My objective is functional AND pretty and it's taken me a very long time to achieve it but I have.
https://tlbacres.com/chicken-coop-tour/
Also look at the Large and Medium coops Articles on BYC. A few really pretty coops in there and a ton of great ideas. Good Luck!

 

[perkolator]

Where are you located that you have a weird law limiting the size of the run? You sure you weren't seeing something about 10sq/ft being the minimum recommended space for a chicken?

If your mom needs the aesthetics of the current plastic Eglu coop, maybe she'd take a liking to a plastic/resin shed coop, or even perhaps a converted childs playhouse? Or paint whatever you get with something like PlastiDip so it matches?

 

[Poppy Putentake]

Hi Logar,
What I would do in your situation:
Ask your mom whether she prefers a commercially bought coop because it would look nice and finished, while a homemade coop could possiblbly look very rough.
I would say that commercial copps do tend to meet a consistent, acceptable, standard of finish, while homade coops can be all over the place as far as appearance goes. To some people, looks are just not important for a chicken coop. Others do make thier coops look very nice. (The files section of this site has pictures of some coops that I'd be proud to live in if they were people-houses. ;^) ) You could show some of those pictures to your mom and promise to set a high standard of finish for your coop and make it enhance, not detract from, the looks of your back yard.
As far as practical connsiderations go, this site is also full of posts from people diappointed with the comercial coops they bought. You could probablly easilly build a better-functioning coop yourself than most of the commercial ones. Designing and buiding your own coop would also be a chance to improve your building skills, which will very probablly help you in future years when you have your own place to fix up.
PS: The commercial coops you mentioned are also very much on the small side.

 

[Logar]

Here the part that talks about run size.

But anyway, I am really considering the walk in OverEZ. It has a Dutch door with hardware cloth meaning on hot summer days I can leave it open. It still would need some modification for added ventilation. Any thoughts on that?

And thank you everyone for your suggestions but I have tried all of them to no avail.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Adding ventilation to an Over EZ style coop usually entails opening up the soffits. A couple examples:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coop-modification-recommendations.1517556/#post-25543595

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas-heat.1540139/page-2#post-25998208

 

[Logar]

Adding ventilation to an Over EZ style coop usually entails opening up the soffits. A couple examples:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coop-modification-recommendations.1517556/#post-25543595

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/texas-heat.1540139/page-2#post-25998208

Ok thanks. Seems relatively simple. Now just need to decide if an OverEZ is really the one I should go with

 

[Sefirothe]

Since you are in western PA you should be able to get a shed from Steel City Sheds in Ohio. I’m in NEPA and jumped on one of their free delivery specials. I got an 8x12 coop shed delivered for $2200. That’s with tax and a window added to the back wall opposite the door which I recommend, it lets in a decent amount of light and adds ventilation.

We built the run on to the pop door side. We still have plans to add more ventilation as with summer coming on it will get hotter inside.

The only thing is maybe make sure they place the nest box lower. I think they misunderstood my request to have the nest box placed mid right side. I meant mid between front and back….not floor to roof!

 

[Logar]

She has been convinced to get a bigger coop.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-villa-chicken-coop-12-chicken-capacity Look at how amazing this coop is that she found! It is so amazing! The roomy 4.4 square feet! We are definitely looking for a new coop because ours are way too big for anything less than 8 million chickens