help/rate coop (pics)

[peacemaam]

working electricity is hardwired- inside coop and out with one light socket not inside living area




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The opening above is so small, thats what makes me think it was either bantams or something like pheasants







entry to coop








Alright, so my house came with an existing coop and I am thinking it may have been used for pheasants but I am not sure. If you are experienced could you please have a look at my coop and tell me what you think? I will be cleaning it all out and bleaching everything before any chickens go in. Thanks!! the coop itself is 12x7 with 4 nests and the run is ~ 48x12..

 

[coolcanoechic]

It looks great. Lots of space. I do not have any experience with smaller birds, but there is plenty of room there for bigger birds. Given the amount of space you have, there is enough room for 20 + full grown hens there. You should have a few more roosting bars and a few more nesting boxes for that many birds though. Rule of thumb. 4 sq ft of space per bird inside the coop and 10 sq ft of space outside in the run per bird. There should be about a foot of roosting space per bird as well as one nesting box per 3 birds. Enjoy your new place and welcome to BYC!!!!!

 

[4 the Birds]

Looks like you will be adding chickens in the Spring! Nice size coop and I like the sky light. It is great that you have electricity as well. You will want to have a heated water dispenser during the winter months. You may consider cutting a few opening and adding windows for ventilation. It is hard to tell how much ventilation the coop has. I have alot of various size openings in my coop with flap doors so that I can pick and choose how to vent according to the weather patterns. I add mesh to all vent openings to help keep out small birds or predators As mentioned in the other post, I would also add more nesting boxes and have them only open from the front for privacy. The netting over the run may be problematic with ice storms and heavy snow. I would probably add some 4x4s in the run with some sheets of painted plywood or beadboard overhead for some shade. A row down the middle under the netting and then the netting can angle down to the side fencing off the edges. It looks like they may have put a camper shell in the run as an outside shade area?