Coop(s)

[Madie'sOddFlock]

I've posted quite a few times with different questions and ideas for my coop... which sadly is still yet to be built. But I've been forced to wait on other people. Anyways, I have a little 2 nesting box coop for 10 16 week old chickens. There's a local hardware store that is giving a 3 nesting box coop away on Friday(may the odds be in my favor). And even if I don't win it, I'm still thinking of buying a few more cheap chicken coops to possibly either connect into one or just leaving separate in the same run. Because I'm in Maine, I plan on building a lean-to over the coops to protect them from wind and snow.
Any ideas??? And this is just a plan b which would be easier and faster than my plan a...

 

[snow5164]

Before you waste your money on multiple small poorly build coops , I’d price out sheds .

Coops are often built with shoddy materials that won’t stand up to wind or rain or snow.

But a shed is often built better..

Also go to a lumber yard collect a few business cards and get a carpenter to build you one.

Good luck

 

[rosemarythyme]

For 10 birds in your climate you need to go bigger than the minimum. In a warm climate 40 sq ft would be fine, but you'll want more, 60 maybe, even 80, depending on how much snow you get and if your run is covered or uncovered. You really need to consider something other than those tiny prefabs that hold 2 birds max. A shed would be an ideal starting point.

 

[Chad Oftedal]

Even if you did do the multiple coops - which I agree with others, I’d avoid - I don’t know that they’d choose to split up nicely and go evenly among multiple coops. They are a flock animal, and self separating I don’t think would be something they’d be inclined to do. They’ll be thinking “safety in numbers”, not “let me go to this other coop because this first one is full”.

 

[PetesChicks]

Like others have said, a shed would be a better choice for your money. Way more durable, the pre-fab coops would be lucky to make it through a Maine winter. And also easier to care for your chickens with a walk-in. Go as big as you can, they probably won’t go out much in the snow, and they will appreciate the extra room inside during the winter.

 

[purslanegarden]

You might be able to get a quick coop set up with those A-frame designs. That should give them some place to hang out until you have your design in mind.

I know that sometimes it takes time to settle in on a design or layout. It's just the nature of thinking that we only want to build the coop once, so make it good and right!