Coop question

[masonrenosolomon]

Hi. I recently got 24 chicks. I’ll be keeping them all for another week then finding homes for 9 of them and will keep 15 for now n maybe 12 or 13 in the long run. Easter Eggers (Americana’s, saffire olive eggers, piraire blue bell, starfire green eggers) , marans, faverolles. Hubby n I are building a 6 x 8 walk in coop with outside nest boxes. My question is : when there are external nest boxes does that count towards the total square footage? Would 4 or 5 nest boxes count as an extra 4 or 5 square feet? My hubby is on here also. So I’ll have him post pics of the coop when it’s finished. I will start with 300 square foot run for now. It really doesn’t seem like much space. I know it’s 10 sq ft per bird in run. But still. . We are building it to be Fort Knox. Put hardware mesh under floors and will wrap the whole exterior with in. Hope it doesn’t allow predators to climb easier ( there will be cat fencing around coop roof too). The run will be 1/2 inch fully enclosed in hardware mesh. Then my great danes’ outdoor kennel will be connected too. Of course wrapped in hardware mesh. If something gets in it’ll be determined. . We have all the predators here. Bobcat, coyotes, Fox, bear, weasel, hawks., owls and fishers. Guess the coop won’t be a match for a bear. Maybe if we add some electric fencing?

 

[IamRainey]

It's an interesting question I don't really know the answer to. But, of course, that doesn't stop me from having thoughts.

If you're starting with 12-15 chicks you might as well accept now that you'll eventually have a good many more. Plan for them now as you'll never be sorry you have too much space. That said, quibbling over 5 sq ft of nesting boxes isn't the answer.

6' x 8' of coop space sounds good for a dozen hens. But give them even more generous space in the run. And lots of roosting bars both in the coop and out in the run.

If it were me, I'd put a sturdy permanent roof over the run and make sure it had wide overhangs for protection from sun, rain and predators. I also dug my hardware cloth into the ground 18" rather than having it under the chicken's space. And just to be safe -- I wanted Fort Knox too and I'm happy to say that in 2 years of having roving coyotes in our neighborhood we haven't had a single attack!!! -- I put 12" square concrete pavers around the perimeter as well. And don't panic -- most of this is stuff you can do over the next 12 months or so if it's too much now. (But dig that hardware cloth in when you install it!)

Then, the most important part of all is HAVE FUN! And get ready for some "free" breakfast! (If my husband were writing this he'd tell you our breakfasts will get amortized into the "free" category in the next 50 years or so...)

 

[mowin]

Unobstructed floor space is your SQ footage. Outside nest boxes don't add SQ footage. 6x8 is tight for 12 full sized hens.
Climate, size of the run will dictate how many is recommended.
If they will be cooped up for week/s at a time because it's -20 and lots of snow, 4 sq ft per is tight. If you down south where it rarely gets below freezing, and there's a large run (10+ sq ft per) you might be ok.

 

[IamRainey]

If they will be cooped up for week/s at a time because it's -20 and lots of snow, 4 sq ft per is tight. If you down south where it rarely gets below freezing, and there's a large run (10+ sq ft per) you might be ok.

EXCELLENT point, mowin! I'm in SoCal and the only time my chicks are closed up in the coop is when they're first out there and imprinting on where "home" is so I downplayed the coop space idea. I'm glad you took a more universal approach!

 

[masonrenosolomon]

Thanks for suggestions! I do plan on burying hardware cloth around it all N adding a sloping covered roof to run. Also adding a cat fence around the walk in coop so nothing jumps onto the roof. I Also bought a 6 x 6 overEz chicken coop that’s getting delivered next week to put in the run too. It’ll be open during the day. Plan to add perches n swings n such in run. A dust bath in coop n one in run. Coop will have lots of roosting bars. If the 8 x 6 coop gets too small I can always move a few hens over to the “overEz coop”. Just think one we are building will be more secure. I caulked every crack in the one we r building. It’s framed with floor n roof so far! Will have a window that will be meshed on both sides n lots of ventilation near roof. While coop will also have mesh stapled to outside walls. N thinking bout painting the bottom with roofing tar that turns to rubber (blackjack 57). Read it works great to wipe down. And maybe wallpapering the walls so they wipe clean. Also poop boards angled with vinyl over it to wipe clean under roosts. As far as the run I do plan on increasing it eventually this year or making a extra run to rotate them into. But I’ll start with the 300 square feet as it’s costing a fortune already n that’s what I have here now. Maybe able to squeeze 325 sq ft run out of it with my supplies I have here. Then in a few months expand it. I’ll probably wean the flock down to 8 to 10 after I c what colors are being laid. N after I c how many eggs I’ll be getting. I know it’ll be a lot. Maybe too many? Think at least 3 dozen a week. . Then I need to figure out feeding. Thinking bout making the pvc pipes for food. N for water using the nipples n a bucket? What ya think? Now do I leave a both a water n feed in coop? Or water too much moisture? N food attract predators? Hmmm

 

[masonrenosolomon]

This site is awesome! All of you chicken people are great! I’ll be posting pictures of a chick that I’m not sure what she/he is. Try to get it posted this week. She looks different than the others. Almost like a vulture. But with feathers. Dark body with yellow vulture looking face? Maybe she’s one of the blue bell eggers? The Americans Easter Eggers are all chipmonked. I think ? The two saffire olive eggers are silver grey with baldish heads, two starlite green eggers are yellow with tan stripes. Ugh. I actually have three that I’m not sure of. Would love to know so I can keep one if each for egg color variety. Ha