Coop From TSC

[The Coop Crew]

Hi guys. This might be a long post so if you read to the end, thank you.
When we decided to get chickens we bought a coop from TSC. It said it was big enough for 5-7 chickens. At the time I did not know that TSC used factory farming as a reference for space per chicken. We only have 4 girls but I know it’s still a bit too small. Luckily the girls have been together since hatch so they seem to do okay.
The coop came with a roosting bar but I feel like it is too low and the chickens hit their heads on it but I have no way to make another/higher roosting bar. Therefore the chickens have been sleeping in the nesting boxes which I know is a big no no. I am at a loss. I’m not sure what to do. We can’t afford to build a new coop right now.
Does anyone have any suggestions? Thank you so much

 

[tlcmurphy]

We have the same coop, ditto the only holds 4 full sized chickens. I’ve given up on trying to get them to not sleep in the nest boxes

 

[The Coop Crew]

We have the same coop, ditto the only holds 4 full sized chickens. I’ve given up on trying to get them to not sleep in the nest boxes

Okay welllll lol I should just give up now then haha.
They are happy and healthy I just feel bad. Ugh. I wish there was something I could do

 

[tlcmurphy]

Okay welllll lol I should just give up now then haha.
They are happy and healthy I just feel bad. Ugh. I wish there was something I could do

I should also say my hens lay anywhere they please in the coop, not necessarily the nest boxes. Oh no, those are for napping’

 

[The Coop Crew]

I should also say my hens lay anywhere they please in the coop, not necessarily the nest boxes. Oh no, those are for napping’

Mine do too. They used to sleep outside of the nesting boxes but not anymore. I even tried to block them off…didn’t work

 

[DonyaQuick]

Do you have a picture of the coop or a link to which one you got, or just a picture of the roost area to see what you've got to work with?

Unpopular view incomming....you also absolutely can do low-ish roosts and have it work. I don't have anything that would be considered a high roost in any of my setups. Depending on how much vertical space you have in the coop area and what the interior of the coop looks like, if your birds are bonking their heads on the bar, you may actually want a roost that's a bit lower within the coop - at least assuming the floor of the coop is already elevated, which is common for prefabs. It may not be the absolute perfect thing but it can be better than having birds sleep in the nest since it gets their fluffy butt feathers up off the shavings. I have some very heavy birds in prefabs and do a sanded 2x2 on top of 2x4 segments that sit directly on the coop bottom, and they do great with it. The roost is above the shavings just enough. I actually just had to add a ramp to some higher roosts my largest setup because one of my heavy girls has a sore foot and coming down from that is hard on her.

 

[The Coop Crew]

Do you have a picture of the coop or a link to which one you got, or just a picture of the roost area to see what you've got to work with?

Unpopular view incomming....you also absolutely can do low-ish roosts and have it work. I don't have anything that would be considered a high roost in any of my setups. Depending on how much vertical space you have in the coop area and what the interior of the coop looks like, if your birds are bonking their heads on the bar, you may actually want a roost that's a bit lower within the coop - at least assuming the floor of the coop is already elevated, which is common for prefabs. It may not be the absolute perfect thing but it can be better than having birds sleep in the nest since it gets their fluffy butt feathers up off the shavings. I have some very heavy birds in prefabs and do a sanded 2x2 on top of 2x4 segments that sit directly on the coop bottom, and they do great with it. The roost is above the shavings just enough. I actually just had to add a ramp to some higher roosts my largest setup because one of my heavy girls has a sore foot and coming down from that is hard on her.

Oh great idea!!! I didn’t think of that! I will try to move it down! The coop is raised above the enclosed run.
Here’s the link to the coop we have
Producer's Pride Sentinel Chicken Coop, 6 Chicken Capacity https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/producers-pride-mini-defender-coop-mdc001

 

[tlcmurphy]

So I lied, I actually have a different TSC coop, but they all have the same issues with the roosting bars and the chicken apartments, I mean nest boxes

 

[KimbosKluckers]

I’d like to see the set up too. I also have a pre fab (very frowned upon here) With modifications I make it work. I believe mine is a bit bigger and I have 6 chickens but they’re happy.

 

[The Coop Crew]

I’d like to see the set up too. I also have a pre fab (very frowned upon here) With modifications I make it work. I believe mine is a bit bigger and I have 6 chickens but they’re happy.

I posted the link above I haven’t made any modifications so it looks just like the one in the above link