coop made out of outhouse?

[dandysueranch]

I have 12 chicks coming this week I would like to turn my outhouse i use for a garden shed for their coop down the road. It is a 3 holer so i think it will be big enough for them. Plan on putting in 6 nesting boxes. How high should their roost be off the floor. how big of outside space should 10 to 12 hens have to run.

 

[PapaChaz]

how big is it total? for 12 hens, going on 4 sq ft per girl inside, you'd need 48 sq ft, or 6x8! that would be one heck of an outhouse!

, they'll roost as high as they can, but make it easy to get to for cleaning purposes. figure 10 sq ft per girl for the outside run, or 128 sq ft. just the numbers i've learned from reading all the different posts here when i was studying to build my coop.

 

[wsdareme]

Quote:
PapaChaz is a quick study and is absolutely right! 4 sq feet per bird indoor, 10 sq feet per bird outdoors is ideal. I wouldn't cheat much on that indoor space.

Are you going to teach them to poop in the holes?

 

[patandchickens]

If it's a 3 holer, it should be, what, maybe 4x8? That would be 32 sq ft, which is pretty tight for 12 chickens unless you live somewhere with a super nice climate 365 days a year so that all they need is indoor roosting space and will never want to hang out indoors at any other time.

Measure it. That will give you a better idea what you'd be dealing with.

For 12 chickens I wouldn't plan a run any smaller than 10x12 or 8x16, and larger is a lot better.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat