First Coup, is it up to par?

[KickingChicken]

Hi-
Here is my first coup and I put my first chickens in there today. I am just wondering if I can get a little advice on the security of my coup. I put chicken wire all the way around the run and the front of the coup. The front I am a little worried about as there is not a board going across the front. Do I need to lock them up in the coup every night, or since I have an enclosed run they can go in and out freely. We have opossum and I am sure raccoons. Can they dig in there? I have an 8 foot fence around my whole backyard. Does anyone see any other additional problems with my coup? I added the bucket waterer and feeder after these pictures were taken... I have two chickens now. As a side note, how many do you think this size coup could handle.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Nava]

chiken wire would not keep safe your chickens, as it is very easy for a predator to break in

 

[jenesis536]

Nice job for your first coop - it's a little hard to see what you did for the coop itself since it's just a side view though. How big is everything? From the looks of it, I would say that the size of the coop is fine for the 2 chickens... it doesn't look very big so I probably wouldn't add any more. You might want to have another chicken or two there in case you lose any and that way there isn't one left alone though... can you add to it somehow?

Also - try yanking really hard at the chicken wire. You will find that it bends and streches quite a bit. Before we put washers/screws into ours (and just had the staples), it would just yank right out. Predators can get threw that no problem. They will definitely dig under it or just tear through the chicken wire. You could line the bottom half with 1/2" x 1/2" hard ware cloth and then put heavy logs or cement (missing the word but those large bricks) all around the base of it and that could help quite a bit.

I would hate to see you lose one or both of your girls so think you need to reinforce it some. You would be surprised what comes out at night. Raccoons will walk across power lines, climb fences easily...

 

[KickingChicken]

Good point, hard to tell how many can fit in there if I don’t give you a picture of the front. The two sides are the nesting boxes and the middle area is for roosting. I still need to add a metal roof or shingles. Dang, I should have gone with ½ hardware cloth. Its going to be really hard to lock them in at night since the door is in the middle of the run. Crawling in there is going to get old quick.

 

[OkChickens]

It looks like a 2x4 or 2x5 coop.. Just a guess probably 2 maybe 3 but it would be a tight fit. What breeds would you get? Also where are you and how is the weather?

-Nate

 

[drumstick diva]

Boy that sure is a long way up or down for your hens - should keep them well exercised.

 

[ARose4Heaven]

Absolute MUST...add 1/2" hardware cloth all the way round the run. Either bury it 8 - 12 inches in the ground or make a 12 inch skirt of it all the way round to keep out cats, dogs, rats, weasels...etc. Even if you are in the city...raccoons will come. A raccoon will make very short work of the chicken wire!

Otherwise, looks like you did very well. Looks well built.

 

[Caddy-Corner-Chick]

I think you did a great job for your first coop, but I agree, I would reinforce with hardware cloth and would find a way to lock them inside at night.

 

[Judy]

I wouldn't bother to lock them in. I know a lot of people on here do. I figure, what's the point of a run if it's not predator proof? I'd invest in enough hardware cloth, I'd get 1/2" since it's a little cheaper and the chicken wire is already there, and I'd cover the whole run plus 2' of the ground around it with the hardware cloth, well secured.

That climb won't hurt them a bit; in a small run they need exercise.

 

[BayouPoules]

Chicken wire... keeps chickens in,.. keeps nothing out.