Expanding size of coop+adding roost

[Myrth]

The side coop wouldn’t be a portable coop. It would be an extension that would give the chicken a place to roost while sleeping (currently they have no place to roost so they sleep on the top floor on the ground.

Do you know how I could find a small (but tall) coop with just enough space to roost? (my current coop can act as the run + nesting box)

Your current footprint is around 30 sq ft... definitely not going to cut it as a run space either. You really need to upsize both coop and run, or downsize the flock.

Right now you're getting away with it because the chickens are still young and smaller, but you really are risking behavior and health issues down the line from crowding them in.

Building a tiny space with "just enough space" for them to roost still leaves your birds with entirely too little space. You have a rabbit run sized appropriately for one or maybe two rabbits. This is entirely unsuited for keeping five laying hens. If cost is the issue in housing, you may want to consider rehoming the pullets.

 

[NatJ]

I have a current small coop without a roost (never knew they needed it). My 5 pullets are around 16-18 weeks old now so I am planning on converting their current coop into a larger nesting area and adding in a separate roosting/sleeping area (look at attached drawing with what i have currently on the left side and what i want to add on the right).

I live in Arizona

You could try adding one of these, or something like them:
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/petmate-superior-construction-chicken-coop-70401d

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/cumberland-cottage-coop-dus200120-dus200120

Ignore how many birds the descriptions mention, but adding either one to your current setup would probably make the whole thing large enough for your current 5 chickens. Each one has 3 nestboxes and several roosts. Your chickens might prefer to sleep on the roost in the "run" part, at least in the summer, because it will probably be cooler there.

Building one yourself or starting with a shed would be sturdier, but those will probably be as durable as the one you currently have. I can't see how thick their roosts are, but you might want to replace them with wider ones. Wood closet rods work well for roosts, or 2x2 lumber (really about an inch and a half each way) if you round off the corners with sandpaper.

I notice that Tractor Supply has several locations in Arizona, so if you want to get one of those coops, hopefully you will be able to find one close enough to be convenient.

 

[CinnaBun]

That is a really small and narrow run. If you have space, consider getting a bigger run, a lot of folks use dog kennels.

Some folks convert playhouses into coops. You can often find these free or low cost. Some dismantle easily too.

Maybe for this season you could get a coop like this and don’t use the nest boxes. Instead put a long roost bar the entire width of the coop? You can attach the coop to run with brackets?
https://www.wayfair.com/pet/pdp/archie-oscar-aria-country-style-chicken-coop-aosc1076.html

 

[Ridgerunner]

Looks like you have a covered run that is 10 feet long and 3 feet high, width unknown. The way that's drawn it looks like the 36" is height. It's probably actually 3' wide. But the way your current coop looks like it is set in the run 3' wide doesn't look right either. I'm confused.

I could not find an active Arizona thread in the "Where am I? Where are you!" section of this forum. It's often helpful to chat with neighbors when you are looking for something. Can you find a local facebook group or some other local social media group that looks like it might be a good place to ask about a building?

I don't know where you are in Arizona but your weather in winter probably isn't that cold as far as chickens are concerned. Your danger is going to be the summer heat. Your coop will need really good ventilation for summers. They will need shade. You probably have weather that they can be outside all day every day which makes coop size a little less important as long as they have access to the run when they are awake.

I am concerned about how I would connect the two (so that the birds can safely travel to the nesting area+run and back to the roosting area (colored in purple in the drawing).

Different ways. Some of it depends on how your current run is put together. One way might be to rip out that end of the current run and add to your run walls and top to tie in to that end of the building. You could make the run a little bigger (or a lot bigger) and have better access to everything.

Another way is to do something like this photo. This is a pop door between my main run and an area I have inside electric netting. Cut a hole in your fence and sandwich it between two boards screwed together. You can make it prettier than this, I just used scrap wood. By sandwiching the wire between two pieces of wood you greatly stiffen the fence and cover the sharp ends of the cut wire. If you screw the two pieces of wood together with screws in the holes in the wire and tighten them it is extremely secure. This gives you something to attach to if you want to attach to it or just give you a good opening.

You can put this at ground level like this and build a tunnel leading to your building out of wire only or wood and wire if you wish. I'd make the tunnel at least 18" high and probably that wide. You could use it as a pop door between two runs but I'd want access so I could get in there. The tunnel could be 6" long or 6'. There are a lot of different ways you could set it up.

If I were building or getting a new building I'd make it a complete coop. That means add nests as well as roosts. Sometimes hens lay right at the crack of dawn. Are they always going I have access to the nests out in the run? I think having the nests separated complicates things. That old coop is still valuable. It would make a great place to isolate an injured chicken if you ever need to, maybe help with future integration, or maybe handling a broody hen.