Can I get some coop advice?

[Rasputin66]

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 .

Thousands?! No, girl! I bought a circular saw/screwdriver set from Home Depot for $90. I bought a kid's playhouse on Craigslist for $50 and modified it with scrap wood I found on the side of the road. I made some upgrades and put in about an extra $200 including the automatic door, shutters, vents, screws, etc. But if you just collected free scrap wood of Craigslist, you'd just be in for the tools plus screws, etc. For the run I bought a roll of cheap fence and topped it with chickenwire. It's not really all that expensive to build yourself. And you'll learn useful skills.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It's a pretty nice looking coop even though it's small, so not a bad pick up. I know most of these have already been answered but I'll just go down the line...

1. I'd put 3 standard hens in there, which isn't bad to start off with. Since you can only have 6 birds total staggering the ages of the flock is a better way to keep supplying yourself with eggs. If in the future you want to expand the flock and are ready to build a bigger coop, you could sell this or just keep it for an isolation unit.

2. Can those windows be punched out (I assume it's glass? Plexi?) They're cute but if they were open and securely covered with wire it would be better for ventilation, provided your wind direction won't push rain in. You can probably also put some openings in the human door, like cutting out the upper octagon shape between the wood trim or installing some louvered vents in the two octagons? Again it depends on how wind/rainstorms blow in your area.

3. I'm pretty lazy with run design so 10x10 dog kennels are always the option I think of first, since they're not too expensive and work as a fairly sturdy base and can be modified later if needed. They're not exactly pretty but you won't have any line of sight issues with kids playing in the yard. With a little coop and a little flock you can simply put the coop inside the run. You will need to make some additions based on what predators you might have in your area (i.e. lots of hawks = netting over the top, raccoons = hardware cloth around the bottom few feet).

4. I wouldn't have them inside, especially the waterer. Put them in the run, or if you remove one bank of nest boxes, a feeder could possibly fit in that area.

5. I'd rip out the dividers on one side of nest boxes and that'll give you a little more floor space. Maybe even put a feeder in that area if you want to keep it out of the elements.

6. Honestly I'd just scrape it out and hope for the best. Maybe contact the previous owner if you still have their info, and ask if they've had any sick birds (of course they could lie about it, but you already bought the coop, so just explain you're new to this and trying to figure out how to best clean it). Wood doesn't really clean well unfortunately... you can mix a little bleach with water and spraying it down and letting it air out, but that's about as much as you can do with wood.

 

[Ribh]

Just a suggestion ~ but seeing as your coop is so close to the house could you enclose underneath the deck as part of your enclosed covered run. My girls love under my verandah in summer as it's lovely & cool & gives protection from the weather.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Just a suggestion ~ but seeing as your coop is so close to the house could you enclose underneath the deck as part of your enclosed covered run. My girls love under my verandah in summer as it's lovely & cool & gives protection from the weather.

I was thinking of suggesting that too especially since there's no tree cover for shade but I personally wouldn't want to be crawling under there, trying to install wire to keep them from going too far under. If the deck clearance was a little higher it probably would be an easier task.

 

[Ribh]

I was thinking of suggesting that too especially since there's no tree cover for shade but I personally wouldn't want to be crawling under there, trying to install wire to keep them from going too far under. If the deck clearance was a little higher it probably would be an easier task.

True ~ but if they free range @ all they will probably head there anyway. May be best to be pre~emptive...?

 

[rosemarythyme]

True ~ but if they free range @ all they will probably head there anyway. May be best to be pre~emptive...?

True... though I admit I misread "free ranging won't be a normal thing" as "free ranging won't be a thing."

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

I just constructed my own coop. I have a decent size window (that opens lol) 2 household register vents that can be opened and closed, and a roof vent (like you have on your house). I am always second guessing if I have enough ventilation lol. Good luck.

 

[123RedBeard]

If you can smell amonia, or see condensation/frost on the wall, you don't have enough ventilation.

-------------------------------
First I think you need to figure out the REASON (or explain it to us) you want chickens?

I'm usually the oddball when it comes to space ... the "standard byc" answer is 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, plus 10 sq ft per bird in the run ... I think much bigger is, much better! I like to see 6-10 sq ft per bird in the coop, PLUS 100+ sq ft in the run for EACH bird! and still you will have mostly bare dirt in six months!

However ... there are always exceptions! Some birds get along with other better ... some birds scratch more than others, then of course is the weather ... and actual yard location.

Another factor in the size equation ... is what size of birds are you talking about? Giant 13-15 pound birds? Or One pounders? ... ???

When faced with a limit of birds by law ... there are ways to cheat the size "rules" ... by getting smaller chickens, if you already have a tiny coop, just get tiny birds!

Most "Large Fowl" (LF) (regular sized chickens) will range from 4-9 pounds ... "Bantam's" are just tiny size versions of the LF, usually 1/4- 1/3rd size of the LF counterparts. While there are some breeds that are only available in bantam size.

So ... without knowing what the purpose of you getting chickens ... I'd say 2, maybe 3 at most LF hens could work in that coop, I would definitely remove the dividers on one bank of the nesting boxes, and open that up to the "floor space".

While under the deck run area is tempting ... what you have to decide is ... do you want to have to crawl under there to retrieve a chicken, or eggs?

I would suggest putting in a ground to bottom of deck fence to restrict chickens going any farther under than say 2'.

For the run I'd suggest you get a 100' long roll of 5' tall 1"X3" 14 gauge "welded wire" fencing ... "T-posts" will hold it up, set it up in a 25' square around the coop, using part of it under the deck ...

For ventilation I'd try to see how the windows were installed, and try to remove them in one piece, then put hinges at the top of them, and install 1/2" hardware cloth on the inside of the coop, to keep critters out while windows are open ... also looks like your barn coop would benefit from a cupola for added ventilation.

 

[Ribh]

I would suggest putting in a ground to bottom of deck fence to restrict chickens going any farther under than say 2'.

Great idea. That's how I would do this.

 

[123RedBeard]

Generalizing ... bantams tend to lay smaller, and less quantities of eggs, and more likely to go broody, than their LF counterparts ...

The space gained by eliminating one bank of nesting boxes would be "floor space" for bantams, but may be too short for LF ... ???

While I'm not a fan of bantams (I only ever had one) ... they tend to be popular ... partly because they are good pets and cute, however if big eggs, and lots of them are important to you ... than you would be better off with a production type LF ...