Expanding the Chicken Family

[XanderWiFi]

The first pic is just another corner shot where 6 roost boxes are. Please note Vader the Creeper Chicken doing what she does best: creeping.

The second is where I could put the chick escape room. It could easily be 2x2/2x3/3x3 and fit underneath the 2nd level of support 2x4s.

 

[XanderWiFi]

Just some miscellaneous shots of the run. In terms of predator proofing, the current plan is to line the edges with 10 inch+ planks and build herb and flower beds along the sides. If determined enough, they could dig, but it would be through clay and quartz filled ground.

I invite ideas, criticisms and compliments alike. I am weighing out the risk of the chicken tunnel leading into the garden for risk of hawks.

 

[Folly's place]

It's nice!
Mary

 

[XanderWiFi]

Aart gives great advice. Early integration is far superior to later integration. Do you ever let your birds out for supervised free range? If so, that's the perfect opportunity for those early meetings, along with the panic room set up as outlined by @azygous . You might also want to look at the huddle box and the wool hen as options to get your littles into the coop sooner rather than later. My chicks with MHP set up wean themselves off heat by 4 - 5 weeks of age. And my temps at that time are most likely much lower than yours!

I like to have my littles begin integration process around 3 - 5 weeks of age, and finish it long before they are 10 weeks old.

We definitely do! In addition to having plenty of run space, anytime I am outside working (which is most of my off days), I am armed and letting the girls knock down the surrounding bug population around the house. If the temperatures allow, definitely will be some meet and greets.

 

[aart]

You could turn the existing coop/run combo into a larger coop under the existing roof.
Framework is all there, just replace mesh with solid walls.
Then build an attached run.

 

[XanderWiFi]

Lol. I just tucked the girls in for the night and found all 9 on the one top bar...Perfectly content. Just wondering why I was sitting in there staring at them.

 

[XanderWiFi]

You could turn the existing coop/run combo into a larger coop under the existing roof.
Framework is all there, just replace mesh with solid walls.
Then build an attached run.

I was thinking about that and plan to look into some youtube videos tonight on coop expansion. My neighbor does construction as well and I can hope I can entice him into lending a hand with a 12 pack to pass the time!

Between the widely recommended numbers, having a mix of bantams/layers, people's recommendations here I am going to shoot for the happy medium number of 4 s/f per bird. So I need to turn my current 42 s/f into 60 s/f.

A 3x6 "loft" would accomplish this and still allow 6-12 feet of roosting 2x4 space. Can someone please tell me why adding surface space upward is not an effective method of adding "space" for the birds to be away from others?

 

[aart]

A 3x6 "loft" would accomplish this and still allow 6-12 feet of roosting 2x4 space. Can someone please tell me why adding surface space upward is not an effective method of adding "space" for the birds to be away from others?

I guess it could 'work', but it certainly isn't the best solution.
A few things that I see as problems with adding a partial second floor/loft.
-Could interfere with ventilation, blocking air flow from below and putting birds too close to upper vents in winter.
-They will all want to be up there and access up and down for birds could be tight.
-You'd lose some ability to walk into and around the coop.

 

[XanderWiFi]

Mother of pearl. At least it won't be as bad as this... ^^^^