I'm looking for a new coop and run which I need right away. My husband is having heart problems and can't build what I need. I have 4 hens and 1 pullet. The pullet is growing up to be a very large lady and she is already - at 5 weeks - larger than each of my other hens except the cochin/barnavelder cross. My current coop is rated for 5 hens and has 2 nest boxes but it's crowded inside at night (good for winter warmth but not for summer.) Suggestions for commercial coops are welcome and comments on coops you own - good points and bad - would be helpful. thank you!
You can have a shed built by Lowe's or Home Depot and for the run, put up fencing or use a dog kennel lined with something like hardware cloth along the bottom (aproned out at bottom as well if you are worried about digging predators) with netting overhead if you are worried about hawks. The dog kennel would not be predator proof but would give them some protection during the day. If they are inside a shed it is easy to use covered kitty litter pans for nest boxes (what I do) and cut a pop door - and put an automatic door opener on a timer. I love shed coops. My plastic shed door has to be open during the day in summer (same with my metal shed door), as well as the pop door. So in the summer I have to go close the main door some time before evening, but the auto door closes at dark and I don't have to go out in the dark, which I like. For this particular coop, I HAVE to have netting overhead when I have chickens in there...or else flying predators go right in the pop door!! I have seen a hawk and an owl in there at different times. Both flew away when I opened the main door (I screamed in surprise LOL). You need ventilation in sheds. I have put metal fencing over the door windows and added extra vents in my other shed too.
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Thank you. Great ideas and I would have gone this way if my husband had the strength to build a foundation or assemble a run or build roosts, etc. At this point any construction is impossible and a shed foundation as required by my township would be too much for me to handle by myself. It seems that my best bet would be a coop kit that is rated for 5 or 6 hens with a covered run attached. Of course, chicken wire is too flimsy (we have raccoons around at night) but hardware cloth seems to be a good barrier with small enough grid to keep out the chipmunks. The top is necessary to deter the redtailed hawks nesting across the street. I'm starting my 2nd year of having chickens and I'm learning at an accelerated rate. I've had to cope with predators, had to get chicks for a broody hen, then had to re-home a rooster and I've kept my little flock healthy and happy. Chickens are marvelous!
If you're buying a coop...buy one that's rated for twice as many chickens as you have, they always way underestimate stocking rates.
Thank you for the tip on size. I will definitely take note of that as I have to balance carefully the size of the coop with my desire to "fill it up" because my yard is small and I live in a neighborhood of inground pools, outdoor bars and high-end outdoor kitchens. My husband and I have the only "farm yard" in the development. Thankfully, the immediate neighbors think the chickens are terrific.
Be careful when you choose anything made of 'fir wood". Most of them are very flimsy IMO. I bought one and doubt it will last longer than a year. And it is by no means predator proof. They look really cute in the pictures though.
