Expanding size of coop+adding roost

[ChickenPerson1234789]

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).

My concerns with this are in what type of pre-made coop+roost would suffice for 5 chickens (if you have any links that would be very helpful as nothing on amazon/ebay seem to cut it). Additionally, 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).

Any advice/links to this would be dandy.
Thanks

 

[CluckerFamily]

Where do you live? Which state or country?
I have to plan for cold winters so I use 2x4s for roosts.
You could always do the nesting boxes inside the area with the roosts.
I personally would use hardware cloth to connect the two parts.

 

[DobieLover]

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).

My concerns with this are in what type of pre-made coop+roost would suffice for 5 chickens (if you have any links that would be very helpful as nothing on amazon/ebay seem to cut it). Additionally, 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).

Any advice/links to this would be dandy.
Thanks

Two people recommended converting sheds in your other thread.
I also do. That is what I did and it's great.
Look on CL for someone getting rid of an old wood shed. Sometimes you can get them for free. You just have to hire someone to pick it up and deliver it for you. Shed moving companies do that.
You can also contact shed companies and find out if they have any old sheds that they've removed from customers properties.
Check out FB Marketplace for old sheds or even old coops that you can clean up.

There really isn't anything pre-made you are going to find that is adequate to house chickens. The advertising is always deceiving and states it can hold about three times as many birds or more than it really can. And they are made CHEAP. They fall apart in a short amount of time. In a nutshell: they are a big fat waste of money.
Do you have any type of out building on your property that you could convert a portion of into a coop?
Do you have any handy friends with power tools that could help you?

 

[Myrth]

I agree with @DobieLover. If you are going to build a small shed on one end of your run, why not just buy a used shed?

For 5 birds you need a minimum of 5 feet of perch space, although if they are like mine they will all cuddle together on one end of the perch in winter. I used a wooden closet clothes rod for my perch and my birds have loved it. They had an option to use a 2x4 but chose the clothes rod.

Put the nest box in the shed with the roost. That way you can collect the eggs easier.

 

[aart]

in your other thread

Which is here for reference:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-for-5-chicken-coop-run-nesting-area.1435819/

There really isn't anything pre-made you are going to find that is adequate to house chickens. The advertising is always deceiving and states it can hold about three times as many birds or more than it really can. And they are made CHEAP. They fall apart in a short amount of time. In a nutshell: they are a big fat waste of money.

Ditto Dat!

Where do you live? Which state or country?

Yes, please...important info to know.
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[NatJ]

There really isn't anything pre-made you are going to find that is adequate to house chickens. The advertising is always deceiving and states it can hold about three times as many birds or more than it really can. And they are made CHEAP. They fall apart in a short amount of time. In a nutshell: they are a big fat waste of money.

Some places that sell sheds also sell chicken coops (shed with nestboxes, roost, and a pop door.) But you probably won't find one on Amazon, because the shipping cost would be ridiculous. Try looking for a place near you that sells sheds, or tell us where you live and maybe we can help find one. For where you live: just telling what state in the US, or what country, is accurate enough for this. We don't need your exact street address

 

[ChickenPerson1234789]

Some places that sell sheds also sell chicken coops (shed with nestboxes, roost, and a pop door.) But you probably won't find one on Amazon, because the shipping cost would be ridiculous. Try looking for a place near you that sells sheds, or tell us where you live and maybe we can help find one. For where you live: just telling what state in the US, or what country, is accurate enough for this. We don't need your exact street address

I live in Arizona

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I'm going to recommend building yourself, if you have time, skills, and tools. If not, converting a prefab shed is definitely the way to go, then attach a run. If you have to buy a new shed, keep in mind that those plastic rubbermaid jobs are tiny, expensive, and hard to modify - you can't just start punching holes in them to add ventilation the way you can in a wooden shed.

If you are on a budget, look for used/reposessed from one of those shed-sellers on the side of the road. If that's not an option, look into Pallet Coops. and while you are there, consider cattle panel coops and/or runs as well.

Those cute little portable coops on the side of the road run $1600, and have no attached run. The nesting box is essentially on the floor, and while they have good ventilation with those large, sheltered windows, its also pretty drafty for your birds, once you've given them a place to roost more than 6" off the ground.

You CAN do better.

 

[ChickenPerson1234789]

I'm going to recommend building yourself, if you have time, skills, and tools. If not, converting a prefab shed is definitely the way to go, then attach a run. If you have to buy a new shed, keep in mind that those plastic rubbermaid jobs are tiny, expensive, and hard to modify - you can't just start punching holes in them to add ventilation the way you can in a wooden shed.

If you are on a budget, look for used/reposessed from one of those shed-sellers on the side of the road. If that's not an option, look into Pallet Coops. and while you are there, consider cattle panel coops and/or runs as well.

Those cute little portable coops on the side of the road run $1600, and have no attached run. The nesting box is essentially on the floor, and while they have good ventilation with those large, sheltered windows, its also pretty drafty for your birds, once you've given them a place to roost more than 6" off the ground.

You CAN do better.

View attachment 2464533

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)

 

[rosemarythyme]

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.