Built a large enclosure...Do I need a "coop"

[kylerdboudreau]

My chickens insist on sleeping on TOP of their coop instead of of inside it. I've tried repeatedly to break this habit but they have fought me over it.... with sometimes hilarious results.... until I gave up and let them have their way. It's quite warm overall where I live, and even on chilly winter nights they have been fine. I just hate having to clean the roof of the coop every morning.

Hahaha. Yeah, that would make for a messy roof. Thanks, good to know. I guess it's their life, and they get to sleep where they want to sleep.

 

[DragonflyAcres]

Hahaha. Yeah, that would make for a messy roof. Thanks, good to know. I guess it's their life, and they get to sleep where they want to sleep.

I tried telling mine, "It's my life too, and I don't want to clean this roof off every morning," and they just squawked at me, so...

 

[kylerdboudreau]

It looks like your enclosure is chicken wire? But it's electrified, right? I would let them sleep out. I was just talking about those nestera coops on another thread with someone who loves theirs. They said the ventilation is adjustable. You might want to make sure it's open for maximum ventilation because a lot of times that's why chickens won't sleep in their coop. Every time I have put a coop in an enclosure the chickens have chose to poop on it rather than sleep in it. And the raccoons have noticed lol.

Copy that. Yeah, I have stainless steel chicken wire on the inside and buried. Then electric wires running on the outside. The Nestera coop is fine I guess...And they totally slept in there for a few months. Something changed and I'm not 100% sure what. Kinda wondering if a weasel got in and freaked them out. Have a weasel trap set outside the coop now to see if there are any visitors.

 

[Bawkbok]

Congratulations on your flock. I like the way you 'junked up' your run. Looks like mine - I can hardly move around without tripping over a log, stump or some other perch. They use them all. Your birds are pretty.

 

[kylerdboudreau]

Congratulations on your flock. I like the way you 'junked up' your run. Looks like mine - I can hardly move around without tripping over a log, stump or some other perch. They use them all. Your birds are pretty.

Thanks! Yeah, you're totally right. They climb and perch on all of that. Just want them to have fun in there. We're about to add one more bird: A barred rock. She hatches in a couple days. But the buff orpingtons are awesome. Our 2-year old marches out there and picks them up and they just go with it.

 

[Bawkbok]

My orpingtons won't let me pick them up without yelling bloody murder. Perhaps I can borrow your toddler?

 

[aart]

The Nestera coop is fine I guess...And they totally slept in there for a few months. Something changed and I'm not 100% sure what.

Probably got crowded and stuffy in there.

We're about to add one more bird: A barred rock. She hatches in a couple days.

Hmmm...this could be a serious challenge.
Adding a single bird is the hardest integration....
..and your setup is fine for what you have now, but integrations work best with lots of space that would be hard to add on with all those hot wires.

 

[chooki]

Thanks! Got sort of carried away on the build. Hahaha. But it's kept the foxes, bob cats, black bears, coyote and raccoons out.

Yes, but I am thinking, just in case of some harsh days in winter, when there are not many food choices out there. And predators know there are just happen to be three birds in a closure and they can see almost everything in it. In their desperation, a predator might start to try their luck by finding a weak point. First, your chickens will panic, they will probably do stupid things like flying into walls and hurt themselves if there isn’t a coop where they can hide. Also a ‘black box’ such as coop can act as a short time deterrence because predators don’t know what’s inside.

IDK, Maybe I am just thinking too much.

Plus, you can use the coop for integration - by putting the new bird inside the coop and close the door with something like wire mesh, so your three chickens and barred rock can see but not touch each other.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hey thanks! Our winters are cold. I'm mean, not Montana cold. But our average winter low for January is 24 degrees. But it can drop lower than that for sure. Just not the norm.

Should I (like the other post mentioned) leave it in there for the occasional cold? And with that, I guess I'm wondering where they're gonna lay their eggs. If they feel safe roosting high do they want a high nest area too?

Totally new to chickens. Thank you!

I think most of us are in agreement that it's best to leave the coop in there for shelter. I would open up all the ventilation in the coop to make it as inviting as possible, as it looks dark and closed up in there.

24F isn't that cold so they may choose to ignore it anyhow.

Nests should be lower than roosts (or they may end up preferring the nests instead of the roost, and fill them with poop) but otherwise can be placed at a height that's convenient to you.

 

[kylerdboudreau]

My orpingtons won't let me pick them up without yelling bloody murder. Perhaps I can borrow your toddler?

Oh really??? Are they buff or lavender? I think the L's lose some of their friendly breeding for the look. We got these when they were tiny chicks, so they've been subjected to handling since early on.