Coop progress...Suggestions?

[Keltara]

You have a beautiful family. And I love your coop! How many birds fit in there?
I have to quickly redesign my coop plans due to serious unforeseen car trouble that is about to rob my coop budget.
Also. Swimming chickens!

Awesome!

Thanks Sara. I have 6 beautiful Buff Orpingtons. We are at our limit in our coop. Actually 2 birds too many, but since they free range from dawn till dusk and only go into their coop to lay an egg and sleep, they don't have an issue with it. The rule of thumb is 4sq. ft. per bird inside the coop and 10 sq. ft. per bird in the run. I wish I had a bigger coop, but grateful for the one we have!

 

[teresacakes]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! My co-worker is building it for free and he has put A LOT of time and energy in it so I feel pretty guilty asking him to make major modifications, so I'll try to do them myself if the need arises. The angled pieces of plywood on the top sides could easily be removed and replaced with hardware cloth for ventilation. I didn't realize how small the chicken door is, I hope that isn't a problem. I get my chicks the first week in May, so they will be small for a while. Roost bars will be added, I didn't think about them roosting in the nest boxes, is this a major problem?

 

[Keltara]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions! My co-worker is building it for free and he has put A LOT of time and energy in it so I feel pretty guilty asking him to make major modifications, so I'll try to do them myself if the need arises. The angled pieces of plywood on the top sides could easily be removed and replaced with hardware cloth for ventilation. I didn't realize how small the chicken door is, I hope that isn't a problem. I get my chicks the first week in May, so they will be small for a while. Roost bars will be added, I didn't think about them roosting in the nest boxes, is this a major problem?

When chickens roost at night, they poop A LOT. If they sleep in their nest boxes, they will poop in them A LOT. So yeah...it's an unfortunate issue. Sorry!

 

[Keltara]

You could however close off access to the nest boxes at night. Just be sure to open them up first thing in the morning. It would be kind of a pain, but it would be better than the alternative.