Bought a house that came with a coop but I need some advice on this setup.

[Snowlily]

We bought a house that came with a coup and run. We kept chicken when I was a child but this would be my first flock. Is this setup usable? I have never seen anything like it. There is an “upstairs” which I assume the ladder is supposed to connect to. And it has a hole that opens to the garage. There were heating lamps set up up there as well. Should/would the chickens hang out up there? There is no little chicken door only the two big ones that fold down. How many chickens could I comfortably keep in this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We live in NNY btw and get really cold winters.

https://imgur.com/a/W24gSe8

 

[WIchickMama]

A little fixing up but it looks good. Might add a chicken pop up door but I think that would be more for ease than need. As far as how many chickens it will hold, how big is the coop?

 

[Snowlily]

A little fixing up but it looks good. Might add a chicken pop up door but I think that would be more for ease than need. As far as how many chickens it will hold, how big is the coop?

The lower floor is 5x8 ft and the upper floor is a little less than half that. I assume I would put the ladder thats laying inside the coup in the coup to connect the two floors and they would just hung out up there if they want? And the little hatch to the garage is there to clean the upper floor?

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Smart of you to collect information before you get the chickens. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially for housing.

Can you get more photos of the coop, inside and out?

Also the measurements for each section of the coop and of the run?

One thing I can say right off is that for the safety of your birds you'd want to cover that chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth because chicken wire is only good at keeping chickens in. It doesn't keep predators out because raccoons and dogs can tear right through it.

 

[Snowlily]

Welcome to BYC. Smart of you to collect information before you get the chickens. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially for housing.

Can you get more photos of the coop, inside and out?

Also the measurements for each section of the coop and of the run?

One thing I can say right off is that for the safety of your birds you'd want to cover that chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth because chicken wire is only good at keeping chickens in. It doesn't keep predators out because raccoons and dogs can tear right through it.

The lower floor 5x8 ft, the upper floor is half that minus that opening going to the lower floor. I assume they had that ladder that’s laying in there connecting the two floors and the hatch to the garage is there to clean the upper floor? We already plan on installing hardware cloth. There is a hole in the chicken wire and a deep hole in the ground under the coup where I think something made a den. Do I need to cover the whole run including the top or just the bottom?
We are in NNY and the winters can get well below 0. Hardiness zone 4b.

 

[3KillerBs]

When I had a smaller setup I loved having a fully predator-hardened run so that I never needed to close my pop door.

In your area an actual roof on the run will improve your usable space because chickens don't like snow.

If you can get more photos we'll be able to make better suggestions.

 

[bgmathteach]

The lower floor 5x8 ft, the upper floor is half that minus that opening going to the lower floor. I assume they had that ladder that’s laying in there connecting the two floors and the hatch to the garage is there to clean the upper floor? We already plan on installing hardware cloth. There is a hole in the chicken wire and a deep hole in the ground under the coup where I think something made a den. Do I need to cover the whole run including the top or just the bottom?
We are in NNY and the winters can get well below 0. Hardiness zone 4b.

I agree with 3KillerBs regarding covering the run. You will not want to shovel it in the winter., plus it will keep out hawks and owls,and also make it so that you can leave the coop to run door open on the dog days of summer (raccoons can't get in if fully secure roof)
You might also consider adding a little insulation and then plywood over (painted or sparurethane for easier cleaning) - especially in the top half of the coop where they will most likely roost at night (roof & walls - but still ensure enough ventilation) plus adding an actual roost if not present - I didn't see one in the pics, but might have missed it.)

 

[Snowlily]

Thank you for your advice! I’ll take more pictures and will measure the run when I back home from work tonight. I was already thinking about adding a roof myself.

 

[bgmathteach]

We bought a house that came with a coup and run. We kept chicken when I was a child but this would be my first flock. Is this setup usable? I have never seen anything like it. There is an “upstairs” which I assume the ladder is supposed to connect to. And it has a hole that opens to the garage. There were heating lamps set up up there as well. Should/would the chickens hang out up there? There is no little chicken door only the two big ones that fold down. How many chickens could I comfortably keep in this? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. We live in NNY btw and get really cold winters.

https://imgur.com/a/W24gSe8

The 'how many' question is tough to answer. How big is the run? (Sounds like you have around 60sq. ft. in the coop itself?) What type & breed of chickens? (Bantam, standard size heritage, etc.).

One of the other members wrote a really helpful article about this. Let me see if I can find it and insert a link to it here. I think it was written by RidgeRunner, but not sure (want to give credit where due! It's a great article.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

 

[3KillerBs]

You might also consider adding a little insulation and then plywood over (painted or sparurethane for easier cleaning)

Adequate ventilation renders insulation irrelevant -- the temperature and humidity inside and out are supposed to be the same. It also provides an ideal home for rodent pests.

One of the other members wrote a really helpful article about this. Let me see if I can find it and insert a link to it here. I think it was written by RidgeRunner, but not sure (want to give credit where due! It's a great article.)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

I cannot recommend this article more highly. @Ridgerunner did an excellent job of explaining why guidelines are *guidelines* rather than hard and fast RULES.

However, the Usual Guidelines are a helpful baseline to start from:

That is, for each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop,
• 10 square feet in the run,
• 1 linear foot of roost,
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.