Can I get some coop advice?

[Tulips08]

Sorry for the length...
I am a brand new, soon-to-be chicken keeper. As of right now, I have no chickens or chicks, but I do have a little coop. I have a bunch of questions and I'd love some help so I get started off right and I'm not scrambling or kicking myself down the line.

About my coop: I bought it used for $200 (I have a very small budget to start this adventure and could not spend $500+ on a coop alone right now). It is 3'x4' with 4 exterior nesting boxes on both sides for a total of 8 boxes making the width of the entire structure approximately 5'x4'. It has no run- I have to build that. This will not be my forever coop... but I had to start somewhere, right?

About my yard situation: According to town ordinance, I have to have a 100' setback from every property line to my coop location. That means I have one place on my property where my coop can go legally (even though it actually puts the coop right up against my house and closer to my neighbors' houses than if I placed it closer to my rear property line which is backed by woods, but that's neither here nor there at this point). No roosters are allowed. I am allowed up to 6 chickens. Free-ranging is allowed and I have an acre lot, but we have lots of predators and my yard is not currently fenced, so that probably won't be a normal thing.

Questions:
1. How many chickens can I fit in here? I'm hoping for 3-4 if I build a large enough covered run which would protect from weather.

2. Does the coop have enough ventilation or should I somehow add more? The windows do not open, there is just one "vent" on one side. Any suggestions for adding more if needed?

3. Any suggestions for a run design that will not completely overtake the view from my deck/inside of my house? I need to still see my kids in the yard. Should I spin the coop around and place the run near the taller section of my deck? I'd like to make a run that I can attach to this coop or any other coop I have in the future, so I'd like it to be nice and big or able to be expanded. Or should I go down the hill somehow? This will be my first attempt at building anything so I'd rather keep things on flat land if I can.

4. Where would you put the food or waterer in the coop? Since it's so small is there some way to not take up a bunch of floor space?

5. Do I need all 8 of the nesting boxes if I'm only having 3-4 hens? Is there some way to repurpose them into something better or is it best to leave lots of options for nesting?

6. How clean/sanitized does the coop need to be to house new chickens? I don't know if any of the previous owners' birds had any illnesses or anything. Is there a great way to get it really, really clean?

7. What else am I not thinking of?

Pictures (hopefully these post properly, it's my first time doing this):

 

[Folly's place]

Welcome!
I'll try to help a bit here.
It's wood, and can't really be 'sterilized', so if the previous chickens had Marek's disease, it would need to have been vacant for years to be safe. You can clean it out with some kind of cleaner, and spray bleach all over, but that's not enough for Marek's disease.
For Mycoplasma, vacant three weeks and some cleanout will be fine. Definitely empty those nest boxes, and spray the interior with permethrin for mites and other bugs.
More ventilation!!! You may manage three standard sized hens in there, and that's three sq. ft. of openings all year! A big hardware cloth covered opening in the door, and make those windows hinged at the top as 'awnings' with hardware cloth covering the openings. It's cute, but not really very well designed, sorry.
Having a covered run is best, so at least plan for fencing and netting on top to keep out hawks during the day.
Everyone loves chicken!
Predators will range from rats, weasels, raccoon, raptors, to very large dogs (do you have bears?). The more secure your coop and run, the fewer awful experiences you will have.
I just lost half my flock to one of my own dogs, due to a fence failure. Try to manage as well as you can, because any losses are too many!
Feeders and waterers can be outside if under a roof.
Mary

 

[trumpeting_angel]

I went today to look at a used coop and the owner, a former breeder and long time chicken keeper, told me not to when she discovered I had chicks. She said that grown chickens who had built up immunities could be safe if it was cleaned out well, but my littles would be at risk.

Other ways to add ventilation is cutting vents high up near the eaves and covering them with 1/2” hardware cloth. Venting the ammonia is more important than keeping them warm, according to what I’ve learned. Getting cold-hardy breeds is good.

IMO, that’s far more nesting boxes than your 3 chickens will need! Maybe you can shut off a couple and use them for storage, and/or take out the dividers and give the girls a little extra play space. No more than 2 needed.

It can hold 3. More will be crowded, which is a health and behavior risk. Around here, people suggest 4 sq. ft. per bird as a minimum

I’m new too. Good luck!

 

[Tulips08]

Welcome!
I'll try to help a bit here.
It's wood, and can't really be 'sterilized', so if the previous chickens had Marek's disease, it would need to have been vacant for years to be safe. You can clean it out with some kind of cleaner, and spray bleach all over, but that's not enough for Marek's disease.
For Mycoplasma, vacant three weeks and some cleanout will be fine. Definitely empty those nest boxes, and spray the interior with permethrin for mites and other bugs.
More ventilation!!! You may manage three standard sized hens in there, and that's three sq. ft. of openings all year! A big hardware cloth covered opening in the door, and make those windows hinged at the top as 'awnings' with hardware cloth covering the openings. It's cute, but not really very well designed, sorry.
Having a covered run is best, so at least plan for fencing and netting on top to keep out hawks during the day.
Everyone loves chicken!
Predators will range from rats, weasels, raccoon, raptors, to very large dogs (do you have bears?). The more secure your coop and run, the fewer awful experiences you will have.
I just lost half my flock to one of my own dogs, due to a fence failure. Try to manage as well as you can, because any losses are too many!
Feeders and waterers can be outside if under a roof.
Mary

Thank you so much for your reply! I'll go for 3 hens, then. That's why I didn't get any before asking because I didn't want to over-crowd them. And you're totally right, the coop is cute but not super functional. I'm not very attached to it, so I'm happy to cut it open and get more ventilation in there. As I said, it's just to start... I'm hoping to sell it next year and build or buy something big enough to hold our max amount of hens allowed (6, which would be 24 sq ft, right?). On the bright side, it is not flimsy by any means, so it does have that going for it.

We have every predator known to man except weasels/mink (including my own 100 lb dog who goes out on a lead rope that won't be near the chickens, but stuff happens). We do have bears.

I appreciate the advice! Thanks!

 

[Tulips08]

I went today to look at a used coop and the owner, a former breeder and long time chicken keeper, told me not to when she discovered I had chicks. She said that grown chickens who had built up immunities could be safe if it was cleaned out well, but my littles would be at risk.

Other ways to add ventilation is cutting vents high up near the eaves and covering them with 1/2” hardware cloth. Venting the ammonia is more important than keeping them warm, according to what I’ve learned. Getting cold-hardy breeds is good.

IMO, that’s far more nesting boxes than your 3 chickens will need! Maybe you can shut off a couple and use them for storage, and/or take out the dividers and give the girls a little extra play space. No more than 2 needed.

It can hold 3. More will be crowded, which is a health and behavior risk. Around here, people suggest 4 sq. ft. per bird as a minimum

I’m new too. Good luck!

Thanks for your reply! I have no chicks or chickens yet, but since I have a used coop it looks like I may just jump straight to adults for their safety. Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely only be going for cold-hardy breeds since we have four solid seasons (but not as much snow and cold as you get up in Vermont).

Looks like I'll need to locate the proper saw and get to cutting some holes.

Good luck to you on your new adventure too!

 

[Folly's place]

I'm not convinced that TA's advice from 'long time chicken keeper' about adult birds being safe in a used coop, rather than chicks, is valid. This is very poor advice if Marek's disease is involved!!! Some of us have avoided this disease for decades, through paranoid biosecurity and good luck. Others have it forever. Try to be careful and lucky!
Mary

 

[Tulips08]

I'm not convinced that TA's advice from 'long time chicken keeper' about adult birds being safe in a used coop, rather than chicks, is valid. This is very poor advice if Marek's disease is involved!!! Some of us have avoided this disease for decades, through paranoid biosecurity and good luck. Others have it forever. Try to be careful and lucky!
Mary

Thanks for the note! I guess I'll just have to take my chances since, while I'm confident I could sell this coop, there's absolutely no way I can get a well-made brand new coop to start. And I can't build my own as I don't have tools of my own. I have to borrow them and I can't borrow them for months. And I certainly don't have the budget to buy tools and coop supplies as that would go into the thousands of dollars pretty fast .

I did see the chickens that were housed in this coop... the hens had babies and the owner had to upgrade to a shed-sized coop. No one looked ill, but I also know that that doesn't really say they weren't carriers.

I've seen people say they've bought used coops on this site before as I've been reading for a while... do they just cross their fingers and hope for the best too? Should I just sell this thing and wait a year or is Merek's a risk that I would run regardless because it's just so prevalent? Would doing a thorough cleaning with Oxine at least help my odds? I guess I'm just trying to weigh my options out loud. I appreciate your honest answers.

 

[Folly's place]

You could ask the previous owner about any health issues there, although answers may or may not be helpful. Any cleanup will definitely help too, and then there's Lady Luck, or karma, or whatever.
When I buy chicks, only from good hatcheries, I have them vaccinated against Marek's disease, and keep them isolated away from the coop and flock for over two weeks, so they can build immunity. Chicks hatched here aren't vaccinated, and act as 'canaries in the coal mine' for the flock. So far, so good!
No bird comes back here, and no birds come in from other flocks, and I have no near neighbors with chickens. Luck, and paranoia!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

You have a reasonable small coop to begin with, for those three first birds, so modify it and enjoy! Be very careful about where your new birds are from; vaccinated chicks are safest!
Mary

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Thanks, Mary, for clarifying. The OP could use medicated feed and get her chicks (or birds) vaccinated before coming into the coop, so that could mitigate two possibilities (Marek’s and Coccidiosis), right?

So much to learn!

I am wondering about trying to convert the excess of nest boxes into living space. If they would ever use it, etc.