Coop renovation?

[mariabela]

I currently have only two chickens, a hen and a rooster, but I hope to get more. Currently, my coop is a 4x4 house and 4x10 run. I want to extend the run and add more accessories for the coop, cause right now it’s just their feeder, water, and a tire with dirt and leaves in it. Any ideas?

 

[Debbie292d]

Chickens need minimally 4 square feet in a coop and 10 sq feet for a run, so I think if you're adding more than another chicken or two, you may also besides extending the run, look to expand your coop. Could you post a picture and people could help give you ideas?

As for entertainment, I've heard of folks throwing a bale of straw or hay in their runs whole and let them tear it apart. In the winter when ours are stuck in the coop, we'll buy a cabbage, drill a hole through it, and hang it from the ceiling.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The big old clutter thread has lots of ideas: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/page-6#post-25037140

 

[aart]

I think if you're adding more than another chicken or two, you may also besides extending the run, look to expand your coop.

Definitely need a larger coop.
Integration works much better with. extra space.

 

[Sally PB]

"Gee, my coop/run is/are too big," said nobody, ever.

Really, more space makes their lives better, and yours too. They will probably be happier, calmer, and easier to care for.

 

[mariabela]

 

[mariabela]

Thanks so much for your advice! Does anyone have experience with plants in their coop? I’m not sure how to go about that yet, but I was thinking of adding some raised beds about two feet off the ground and nailing it to a post.

 

[Debbie292d]

Thanks so much for your advice! Does anyone have experience with plants in their coop? I’m not sure how to go about that yet, but I was thinking of adding some raised beds about two feet off the ground and nailing it to a post.

They would jump up there and be scratching in it and if anything did grow, they'd eat it.

You would do better to sprout wheat or some other grain and feed that to them. I do trays I bought on Amazon but you can use a jar or a cookie sheet depending what you prefer to do. I soak a cup of hard red winter wheat overnight. (I got in bulk at our feed mill). The next day I spread them on a tray and cover it with damp paper towels. I spray it daily and in about 3 days it's sprouts. I let it grow to about an inch high. You'd need 3-4 trays basically to keep a rotation going but with those few chickens, I'd go real small scale and maybe use a loaf pan or something smaller to test it out.

Here is one article showing larger scale than I do. There are oodles of various threads and articles on BYC if you want to search for others, just type fodder or sprouts in the search.