Coop upgrade | question

Mandee297

Songster
Jun 30, 2020
143
169
141
Southern New Jersey
So we’re going to be converting the shed in bottom Two photos into a coop for our four gals. Nest boxes on bottom, little door to get in and out and roosting poles.
Going to add ventilation with hardware cloth up top.
How many chickens could roost and nest in this if we ever wanted to add to our flock? 8 max? This is a DIY project but we want our gals to have a better setup than our rinky dink prefab coop (that they’re pictured in.)
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It will be attached to their run so just laying and sleeping in it
 
The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:
  • 4 square feet in the coop,
  • 10 square feet in the run,
  • 1 linear foot of roost,
  • 1/4 of a nest box,
  • And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.
How big is the shed?

For 8 hens you need:
  • 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
  • 8 feet of roost
  • 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
  • 8 square feet of ventilation.
  • 2-3 nest boxes.
Where are you located? Climate matters tremendously when considering chicken housing.
 
The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:
  • 4 square feet in the coop,
  • 10 square feet in the run,
  • 1 linear foot of roost,
  • 1/4 of a nest box,
  • And 1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.
How big is the shed?

For 8 hens you need:
  • 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
  • 8 feet of roost
  • 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
  • 8 square feet of ventilation.
  • 2-3 nest boxes.
Where are you located? Climate matters tremendously when considering chicken housing.
Hi there!
so our four girls have 150 sq feet in run (Altho they free range a half acre during day.
this shed is 2 ft. 8 in. x 4 ft. 5 in. x 6 ft.
Just thought this would be better than their current small prefab coop. They’ve been in that a year and a half now. We realized we had this in storage so wanted to repurpose. We live in New Jersey. Mild winters and summers.
.
 
Hi there!
so our four girls have 150 sq feet in run (Altho they free range a half acre during day.
this shed is 2 ft. 8 in. x 4 ft. 5 in. x 6 ft.
Just thought this would be better than their current small prefab coop. They’ve been in that a year and a half now. We realized we had this in storage so wanted to repurpose. We live in New Jersey. Mild winters and summers.
.

It's probably better than the prefab, but do you get snow?

If yes, is the run covered?

If yes, if it's secure enough to leave the pop door open all the time, and if you provide a windblock on the windward sides of the run so that the chickens can go freely in an out no matter the weather then you can treat the run as part of the coop in an Open Air type arrangement. :)
 
It's probably better than the prefab, but do you get snow?

If yes, is the run covered?

If yes, if it's secure enough to leave the pop door open all the time, and if you provide a windblock on the windward sides of the run so that the chickens can go freely in an out no matter the weather then you can treat the run as part of the coop in an Open Air type arrangement. :)
Yes we do get snow. Half the run is covered and we do a doggy door the gals use to go in and out of coop. So yep that’s basically what we do now. ☺️☺️ This would just be a bigger coop. Thank you for your feedback !!
 
It's probably better than the prefab, but do you get snow?

If yes, is the run covered?

If yes, if it's secure enough to leave the pop door open all the time, and if you provide a windblock on the windward sides of the run so that the chickens can go freely in an out no matter the weather then you can treat the run as part of the coop in an Open Air type arrangement. :)
And we’d be cutting an opening in the front the girls could use.
 
Yes we do get snow. Half the run is covered and we do a doggy door the gals use to go in and out of coop. So yep that’s basically what we do now. ☺️☺️ This would just be a bigger coop. Thank you for your feedback !!

And we’d be cutting an opening in the front the girls could use.

I'm a great fan of Open Air arrangements.

As long as the run is secure enough for the pop doors to ALWAYS be open it might well work. But if you do run into any behavior, health, or sanitation issues of the sort caused by crowding you'd need to rethink. :)
 
At just 2' front to back they won't have room to get on and off the roosts.

Maybe frame it a bit so the doors stay open thereby extending the side walls then build a new front wall and fix the roof so it is closed up.

That would double the size it is now but it would still be a tiny footprint so would not be effective for 8 birds.
 
At just 2' front to back they won't have room to get on and off the roosts.

Maybe frame it a bit so the doors stay open thereby extending the side walls then build a new front wall and fix the roof so it is closed up.

That would double the size it is now but it would still be a tiny footprint so would not be effective for 8 birds.
I really like this idea!!
 

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