Chicks Don’t Like Their Coop?

[KristyB]

So if you change one bank of nest boxes to open space by removing any dividers or partitions, that's just under 14 sq ft. Minimum recommendation here is 4 sq ft per bird of open floor space inside the coop (total 32 sq ft for your flock). So you can see it's hard to find a premade coop that's big enough to house more than 3 or 4. But you might be able to get by for a while thanks to your climate, as your birds won't be inside much, just keep a real close eye on behavior.

Good news is if you move the roosts up or install new ones (not sure how many bars it came with, but you'd want 2 in this set up), you should have enough roost space for all.

My husband is going to move the roosts up and cut vents. The dividers are easy. I can remove them when I go outside. I was thinking that we can also add on to the back of the coop since the back wall comes off. That’ll be a project for this fall.

Thank you for all of your help!

 

[KristyB]

Don't think you can really count the non-used nest area as floor space,
it's more about roost length and the ability to navigate the roosts(getting up and down).
Putting 2 roosts in there up above nest doesn't give much landing area, if they can even get up there.
I would only put 1 roost in, 12" away from the wall, leaving 2' to jump down, 3 birds.

That’s probably why the manufacturer put them as low as they did.

 

[50-45-1]

As far as training your chicks to go in the coop at night.
Were they accustomed to a light for a while? If yes put a low wattage bulb in there and turn it on at dusk, like a 40 watt, it my entice them in. after they are in turn the light off and they will stay put until morning.

 

[aart]

As far as training your chicks to go in the coop at night.
Were they accustomed to a light for a while? If yes put a low wattage bulb in there and turn it on at dusk, like a 40 watt, it my entice them in. after they are in turn the light off and they will stay put until morning.

I use a battery powered push light for this purpose...works great.

 

[KristyB]

As far as training your chicks to go in the coop at night.
Were they accustomed to a light for a while? If yes put a low wattage bulb in there and turn it on at dusk, like a 40 watt, it my entice them in. after they are in turn the light off and they will stay put until morning.

Love this idea! Thanks!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Don't think you can really count the non-used nest area as floor space,

I'm reaaally trying to stretch the space that's available. A better option would be to add on to the structure to try and make it larger overall (like extending the floor in the back where the back wall is currently removable, then walls and roof), but that's a lot of work. Otherwise this coop really isn't built for much expansion.

 

[aart]

I'm reaaally trying to stretch the space that's available

Right, I understand, but it's really not stretchable.
Some situations either need a bigger coop or fewer birds.

 

[KristyB]

Right, I understand, but it's really not stretchable.
Some situations either need a bigger coop or fewer birds.

I think we may have another solution. A friend is giving us a really nice shed that we may be able to use to add on to the coop while taking into consideration all of the details that y’all have shared with me.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

Since I don’t have any broody hens, should I just leave my chicks out? I’m physically putting them on the roosts at night. Once they are on, they sleep. I’ll check on them before I go to bed and they are still sleeping. I was out there 6:30ish this morning. 6 were happily chirping in the grass. Two were inside the nesting boxes.

I don’t know whether it is such a good idea to leave the coop open, aren’t you afraid of predators?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I think we may have another solution. A friend is giving us a really nice shed that we may be able to use to add on to the coop while taking into consideration all of the details that y’all have shared with me.

Now that would be fantastic - shed are a great starting point for a coop.