Help me, PLEASE, find a compliant chicken coop and run !

[Robert Kazlauski]

Help! I am so frustrated. My County ordinance allows me to have 4 hens and no roosters. That is fine. But they require that each chicken have at least 3 sq. ft. in the coop and at least 10 sq. ft. in the "enclosure." Is "enclosure" the same thing as a run? Please let me know what you think.

So, they say for 4 chickens I will need a 12 sq ft. interior coop area (ie. 3 ft. by 4 ft.). And 40 sq ft. "enclosure" area (4 ft by 10 ft.).

I can NOT find a coop and run meeting these measurements. I have searched for hours and hours and am soo frustrated. I have found many nice smaller coops, but none that are compliant with my county ordinance. Can anyone please name a particular coop and run that meets my needs and let me know who sells it? And/or send me a link. I want it to be duable and affordable. Not junk or overpriced.

Thank you for your help. I appreciate ANY help you can give me!

 

[tripletfeb]

If you are handy with tools, your best bet would be to build one yourself. Lots of plans on this site

 

[Robert Kazlauski]

If you are handy with tools, your best bet would be to build one yourself. Lots of plans on this site

NO, i REALLY AM NOT HANDY, SORRY TO SAY.

 

[Gax000]

I’m afraid you are going to have a hard time finding a prefab coop with attached run suitable for 4 hens. You might try looking for a suitable coop and placing it in a large dog kennel. You would still have to add hardware cloth over the chain link to keep your hens safe.

if you aren’t handy, it will be quite expensive to meet your requirements.

 

[StinkyAcres]

That is wonderful that the county only allows adequately sized coops.
If you absolutely cannot have one built by a carpenter or build one yourself, an OverEZ coop (https://overezchickencoop.com/products/large-overez-chicken-coop) perhaps placed inside something like this (https://www.amazon.com/OFIKA-Chicken-Outdoor-Poultry-Steeple/dp/B09CP7161N/) might work.

 

[nuthatched]

Can you find a friend, neighbor or handyman that can build from plans? I wouldn't recommend a preferred, too small, too expensive.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/small-coops.18/

 

[Robert Kazlauski]

Can you find a friend, neighbor or handyman that can build from plans? I wouldn't recommend a preferred, too small, too expensive.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/small-coops.18/

i could find someone who would charge me. but i dont know how much they will charge. thanks for the suggestion.

 

[rosemarythyme]

While it's great your county is taking into account the welfare of the birds, keep in mind that minimums are just that, minimum. If you can go bigger, I highly recommend it. For 4 birds I'd aim for something like a 10x10 dog kennel that you can reinforce with hardware cloth, and put a coop of at least 16 sq ft (not including nest boxes) inside for extra protection and to remove the need to connect the two.

I'm not at all handy so I paid for a shed and run to be built but obviously building to specification isn't cheap.

 

[StinkyAcres]

i could find someone who would charge me. but i dont know how much they will charge. thanks for the suggestion.

Should be a lot less than buying a prefab! And I agree with @rosemarythyme - go bigger for happier hens!

 

[avjudge]

You can absolutely get a prefab coop that is the right size for four or more hens. You just won’t find it at tractor supply etc.

For example, we got a prefab barn from these people, and they do chicken coops as well:
https://www.horizonstructures.com/chicken-coops/chicken-coops
I would note that their barns are actually constructed by another company and Horizon and a number of other companies act as middlemen. I think it is likely to be the same with the chicken coops, so you will probably find a number of companies selling similar products.

I know people still find fault with these structures (particularly their ventilation) but in terms of size and strength (real lumber) they are head and shoulders above box store/catalog offerings.

That does still leave you with the issue of the run, but a dog kennel beefed up with hardware cloth is a reasonable option. If you have the space in your yard, and plan to keep the chickens restricted to the run, go as large as you can. You will find that the minimum 10 ft.² really isn’t enough to keep chickens happy.