Coop training

[munchkinsmommy]

Bear with me lol. I am new to this and don't know all the right terms. I have six 7 week old chickens (5 hens and 1 rooster I believe). We recently moved them into their coop/run. The coop is elevated and inside the run. We bought it from tractor supply. The chicks have gotten pretty good at going up the ramp into the coop/nesting box area at night by themselves. There is no door however to keep them from going back down. Are they supposed to be locked up in that area at night? If they go down the ramp it is still enclosed and well fortified against predators. My hope eventually is to let them out during the day to free range at least for a few hours.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you have the coop I'm thinking of it will probably be too small when your birds mature.

They technically don't need to be locked in, I never lock mine in, but they should be out of the elements and safe from predation at night.

 

[munchkinsmommy]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...se-chicken-coop-up-to-8-chickens?cm_vc=-10005
It says up to 8 chickens. We have 6.

 

[Pork Pie]

I leave the pop door to my coop open, which leads to a secure run. It's fine and saves you having to be up at the crack of dawn during the summer (or at times when the weather is unfavourable) to let them out.

In terms of coop / run size - this link may be useful -
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need
A member bought a coop recently that advertised it was suitable for up to 10 birds. I looked at the dimensions and it was not even suitable for more than 1! Pre-fab coop companies dupe people - it's very annoying.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The reason to lock them in the coop at night is predator protection. If you feel that run section is safe from predators there is no reason to lock them up.

That looks like it could be tight for six chickens, time will tell. Most of the prefab coop manufacturers use industrial spacing for chickens and that usually does not translate well for us. They are dealing with thousands of chickens and have things pretty automated. Those things make a difference compared to a small backyard flock.

I don't know where you are located or what kind of winter weather you will have. If they get stuck in that enclosed section only you could have behavioral problems. You might anyway but that's not guaranteed. They may be fine behaviorally. Chickens poop a lot and it can build up. The smaller space thy have the faster it builds up. You may have to work fairly hard at poop management to keep the smell down. But again, maybe not that hard. You don't have enough extra room to handle problems if they show up. I value that flexibility, it can greatly reduce stress if something happens.

A lot of people keep chickens in those small prefab coops with numbers like you have. Often it works out though sometimes there are problems.

I think your biggest test will be through their adolescence. Cockerels mature at different rates but sometime between 3 and 5 months the hormones will hit that cockerel. The pullets will still be totally immature and that cockerel will be under total control of his hormones. It's often a very stressful thing to watch, especially if you are not used to chickens. It's quite possible at that time you will decide you don't really need that cockerel. If you can make it through that phase they normally settle down to a well-behaved flock but often watching them go through puberty and become mature adults is not for the faint of heart. That tight space will probably make that process rougher.

I'm not going to tell you that the coop you have wont work, it could. But more space normally makes the chicken experience more pleasant. Good luck!

 

[Dayrel]

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...se-chicken-coop-up-to-8-chickens?cm_vc=-10005
It says up to 8 chickens. We have 6.

Unfortunately, they lie seriously mislead. If you've ever seen pictures of factory farms where chickens are standing shoulder to shoulder, those are the kinds of space numbers they base their capacity on.

The coop area is roughly 3'x3' (9sqft) including 3sqft for the nesting boxes and the total roosting bar length in the coop is < 4 ft. The lower run area is about 21sqft. I bought that exact same coop this spring. I have three full-sized hens in there now and consider it tight.

These numbers are not gospel and it is guaranteed that someone will criticize me for bringing them up, but commonly used number for healthy backyard full-sized chicken raising: 4sqft/chicken in the coop, 10sqft/chicken in the run, 1ft/chicken sleeping roosts. I generally let them out twice/day which I believe reduces space pressures for my three.

You might want to browse this thread where a number of us discussed it when it went on sale this spring and how we built/upgraded them: TSC Coop/run modification/design thoughts?

PS- I will never buy another commercially-made coop again. They are built cheaply. This coop lacks many security features and likely won't last more than 2-3 years as-is.

[Edit] I see you have already assembled the coop. Some suggestions to help it last longer and be more secure if you haven't already done so:

• Paint!!! The paint used on this coop is extremely thin. You should add another coat of a good weather-resistant paint to help it last longer.
• Very thin boards around the coop area. The slats look good compared to flat plywood walls, but are very thin and mine have already warped some from the weather over the last 4 months (even with the extra paint). (1) I've had to use short screws to fasten the main door slats to the two backing strips. (2) I've had to use short screws to fasten the frame from the smaller window to the wall- it was warping and eventually would have fallen off. (3) I have a couple of small gaps in the main coop wall slats from warping, but for now they are minor.
• The staples used to hold the hardware cloth (good) to the frame are too small and widely spaced (bad). I added additional screws and washers to help hold it firmly in place.
• No door for security at night. Depending on your situation, you can live with that, but a bigger problem is the coop has nothing to protect against digging predators (for me mainly raccoons). I added an automatic door opener as a second layer defense at night because my coop is mobile. If yours is going to be in a fixed location (far more common), then you will want to seriously consider adding rocks around the outside of the coop or an underground fence "skirt" around the coop to keep out digging predators.

 

[Ridgerunner]

If the pop door is never closed, as far as the chickens are concerned the coop is not 3x3, it's 3-1/2 x 7. Still tight in my opinion and they don't have a run, but many people make that work.

 

[Dayrel]

Agreed. There are multiple ways to relieve crowding pressures:

• Limit number of chickens.
• Free range time outside of fixed coop/run.
• Adding significant external run space.

 

[aart]

Bear with me lol. I am new to this and don't know all the right terms. I have six 7 week old chickens (5 hens and 1 rooster I believe). We recently moved them into their coop/run. The coop is elevated and inside the run. We bought it from tractor supply. The chicks have gotten pretty good at going up the ramp into the coop/nesting box area at night by themselves. There is no door however to keep them from going back down. Are they supposed to be locked up in that area at night? If they go down the ramp it is still enclosed and well fortified against predators. My hope eventually is to let them out during the day to free range at least for a few hours.

Welcome to BYC!
You've gotten the bad news...but don't despair too much or long,
there are plenty of solutions.

Long term, that little coop will make a great grow out for future chicks or broody coop or isolation/sick bay coop.

 

[Toothpick]

I've got that same coop with 6 chickens. NO way 8 chickens would be comfortable in there. Especially if they don't have a run other than what's inside the coop. My 6 chickens make a mess in there weekly that I have to clean. They have a 20x20 run so it works out.

I put them in the coop when they were feathered and left them in the coop for roughly a week before allowing them to access the 20x20 run. Now they go in the coop every night on their own and come out every morning. And I found 4 eggs today in the same nest box. They all use the same one.

Everything @Dayrel has said is true. I've had 2 boards pop off that I've had to tack back on. And buried hardware cloth all around the coop to protect from digging predators. If the coop makes it through the winter it will be a miracle.

I think it's a great temporary solution. Until you can build or buy a bigger, better coop. But if you plan on keeping it and getting the most out of it you'll want to make the upgrades suggested for sure. At least paint. Even if it's the Barn & Fence paint. It will work and better than nothing.