Melinda Beyers
In the Brooder
- Sep 19, 2020
- 3
- 11
- 18
I'm about four years into keeping hens and really love these birds, though I am more pragmatic about them than many people I see on my local facebook chicken lovers' page. This morning I accepted two hens who needed to be rehomed, bringing my little flock to 8 hens. However, my chicken coop was built for four hens. It is 4 ft. by 3 ft. with a sloped roof from the 3 ft. front wall to the 2 1/2 ft. back wall. The roost stick is installed on a slight diagonal, so it's about 3 1/2 ft. long. It was built with two nest boxes in one end, with the hens' door on the opposite end. My hens use a separate small, two hen coop to lay their eggs. Four of my girls roost on the stick, and two have been sleeping in one of the nest boxes in the big coop. Tonight all eight are inside, and I hope the new hens use the other nest box. However, now that the coop is so full, would it be better if I modified it? Should I cut the bottoms out of the nest boxes so they roost on the 2" stick that fronts them? Should I remove the wall between the next boxes? Should I remove the wall under the front of the next boxes, opening the whole floor as one expanse? Or can I wait and see if they seem happy, stay healthy and continue to lay well?
Thanks!
Melinda
Thanks!
Melinda