We bought this old playhouse for $40, painted it, and converted it into a coop for our 6 speckled sussex pullets. It's still a work in progress. We plan on laying linoleum and adding a big run made with old privacy fence panels. Here's what we have so far. Suggestions and comments would be much appreciated.
Very cute and you're off to a great start. Just a couple of suggestions; chickens want to roost/sleep on the highest point they can get to so be sure your roosting bar(s) is/are higher than your nest boxes, otherwise they'll be sleeping and pooing in the boxes and nobody wants that. It does look a little small for the number of hens you have so you may also want to consider putting an addition on your coop. The typical recommended space inside the coop is 4 sq ft per bird and 10 sq ft per bird in the run. Not having enough space can lead to poor health and bickering and the bickering can lead to injuries and even cannibalism. Catch trays under roosts are also a huge help. Chickens poo the most when the sleep so by having trays underneath the roosts to catch it all making for quick clean ups and saves on the cost of bedding.
Thanks for the info! We have a tractor that we kept them in as chicks so I'm going to keep it in case of over crowding issues. My husband also plans to build a platform with a good wide ladder on top of the nesting boxes with an additional roosting bar. I'm not sure if it's because they're used to the tractor or what but they all currently sleep huddled together on the floor. I got them all together as day old chicks and we are really lucky that they've never fought (fingers crossed) and usually prefer to be close together. Of course they are just getting to laying age, so who knows how that will change in the future. They roam my privacy fenced acre lot all day and forage constantly so I'm hoping we can keep that up since we haven't had predator issues so far. I have the wire for a big run though and I think it'll be helpful if we are away for extended periods of time.
