How big of a run for 10-12 chickens?

[PapaChaz]

Seems to me it would be very easy to wall in the rest of that coop/run to accomodate twice as many birds and just add a large wire run for foraging.

this is what's I'd do instead of trying to tear out something. Just wall it up and then make an external run.

the original 'it's good for 10 chickens' seems to be an industry standard for 'bought' coops and plans. They exaggerate the number it will hold to get your money

 

[TxChick77]

So my options are...
add 2 or 4' to the width. That still won't be enough run space, right?

Close the framing up for the coop itself and add a run. I could still do it raised so I can house/mount the feeders and water under to keep them out of the elements. How big of a run should do?

 

[TxChick77]

And thanks to everyone for their input. Really appreciate it. I was so bummed when i saw the side walls go up. I knew immediately that it wasnt going to work and have been trying for 2 days to figure out how to remedy this before we went any further.

 

[PapaChaz]

One thing to take into consideration when having a raised coop for the chickens to get under. I have done this in the past thinking it was a good idea, BUT, if it's not where you can access it you'll have a devil of a time cleaning, or getting to that occasional egg that WILL be laid under there, and if you need to get to a sick or injured chicken under there.

I learned quick if I needed to try to catch one, that's where they'd go to avoid it. I won't ever have run space under the coop again unless it is big enough (or small enough) to be able to reach into.

There are a lot of great helpful people on this site, glad you're getting some help you can use. Not everyone here is rude, just overlook those people. Read any topic on the site, there will undoubtedly be multiple opinions, none are 100% right or wrong for each situation. But chickens are chickens and the basics are pretty much the same. There's always that one person who has a standard 'down pat' answer they copy and paste into every thread on their particular 'topic of interest'.....you learn real quick who they are and what their response will be without even having to read them, LOL

good luck and keep us posted on how you decide to fix the space issue!

 

[bdjh]

We've got an area under our coop, too. The chickens love it, but like PapaChaz says, it's the first place they go when you're trying to round them up.

It's the only shady area our girls have, so they actually spend a lot of time there in summer, and it's one of their preferred places for taking dust baths.

That's something you'll notice at some point, too.....dust baths.....you'll come across a chicken who's dug herself a hole in the mud, and covered herself in it. She'll be all flattened out, and you'll think she's sick and dying. She's not. She's having a bath. It's weird.

 

[TxChick77]

One thing to take into consideration when having a raised coop for the chickens to get under. I have done this in the past thinking it was a good idea, BUT, if it's not where you can access it you'll have a devil of a time cleaning, or getting to that occasional egg that WILL be laid under there, and if you need to get to a sick or injured chicken under there.

I learned quick if I needed to try to catch one, that's where they'd go to avoid it. I won't ever have run space under the coop again unless it is big enough (or small enough) to be able to reach into.

There are a lot of great helpful people on this site, glad you're getting some help you can use. Not everyone here is rude, just overlook those people. Read any topic on the site, there will undoubtedly be multiple opinions, none are 100% right or wrong for each situation. But chickens are chickens and the basics are pretty much the same. There's always that one person who has a standard 'down pat' answer they copy and paste into every thread on their particular 'topic of interest'.....you learn real quick who they are and what their response will be without even having to read them, LOL

good luck and keep us posted on how you decide to fix the space issue!

Good point about the raised coop and maintenance.

And I've learned from years of being a member on various forums, not to get hung up on the tone of replies. Thanks a bunch.

Gotta brain storm my options. ....

 

[TxChick77]

We've got an area under our coop, too. The chickens love it, but like PapaChaz says, it's the first place they go when you're trying to round them up.

It's the only shady area our girls have, so they actually spend a lot of time there in summer, and it's one of their preferred places for taking dust baths.

That's something you'll notice at some point, too.....dust baths.....you'll come across a chicken who's dug herself a hole in the mud, and covered herself in it. She'll be all flattened out, and you'll think she's sick and dying. She's not. She's having a bath. It's weird.

I love watching my neighbors girls take dust baths. They have a shadey hole right next to our chain link fence. It's so entertaining. I occasionally give them meal worms and its such hoot to see them come running from across the yard when i rattle the bag.
I found one lady in my garge the other day. She was nosing around where I've been stocking up on my chick supplies and feed. She knew right where the bag of worms were. She was running her mouth at me until I threw a few on the ground...hehe

 

[PapaChaz]

I love watching my neighbors girls take dust baths. They have a shadey hole right next to our chain link fence. It's so entertaining. I occasionally give them meal worms and its such hoot to see them come running from across the yard when i rattle the bag.
I found one lady in my garge the other day. She was nosing around where I've been stocking up on my chick supplies and feed. She knew right where the bag of worms were. She was running her mouth at me until I threw a few on the ground...hehe

that's awesome, so much fun to watch them

 

[Ridgerunner]

If I offended you Txchick77, I’m sorry, but I’m not on hereto be an enabler. 10 to 12 chickens in a 4x6 area is way too small. Commercial operations make it work so it is possible but that takes a certain amount of chicken management to avoid behavioral issues and that is a lot of poop in a small area to manage. That’s not a big run area either but it might work.

You are in Southeast Texas. Cold is absolutely not your enemy, heat is. There is nothing magical about calling something a coop and something else a run. Chickens need room, it doesn’t matter if that is in something called a coop, a coop and run, or something else. The only thing that matters is that they have sufficient room when they need it. When do they need it? When they are awake and there is a conflict.

The best idea I’ve read so far is to use the entire structure as a coop and find another way to provide a run area or commit to free ranging them as much as possible. Where you are I would not cover all he sides with siding. Where you plan the coop section now, box in that end of the structure on three sides. On the fourth side, next to what is now the run, enclose that with siding to block rain and wind where they roost and to keep the nests dry. You want to keep the feed dry too. The siding does not need to go all the way to the ground. Make the rest of that structure predator proof so you can safely lock them up at night. You’ll have great ventilation, protection from predators at night or whenever you lock them in there, and they will be protected from your afternoon thunderstorms. Instead of a coop and run, just call it an open air coop.

You may have to train them to roost in the coop section or where you live they could roost in the run area, especially if it has a roof. Just be sure to use small enough mesh wire on the sides of those roosts so a raccoon can’t reach through and eat your chickens piece by piece.

You don’t even need a floor in that coop section. A lot of us use the ground quite successfully. Hopefully that is not in a low area where water collects. You can get a lot of different opinions on this. A lot of people use floors and bedding. You may need to change that bedding out fairly often with a high poop load but many people go a full year or more between changing it out. We are all different with our own unique circumstances.

The main issue I see is that a wet coop and run is a dangerous coop and run. Certain diseases flourish in wet poopy ground. They can also stink if wet. You can cover the top but rain will blow in from the side. If you are on sandy soil you are in much better shape than if you are on clay or some other soil type that doesn’t drain well. One possible fix is to fill in that ground area with sand a few inches deep so any water that gets in there has some place to drain to, but if that is in a low area that collects and holds water you wind up with a bathtub filled with sand. That doesn’t work. You may need to use a swale, French drain, or something else to get the water away. As long as it has some place to drain to it will go if it is sandy.

If you can get them a large enough run area that they want to spend time in it, you can spread the poop out so it doesn’t become too concentrated in the coop/run. A lot of people on here use some type of scoop, think kitty litter, to remove a lot of the poop to keep the concentration down. A droppings board under the roosts scraped regularly can also greatly reduce the poop load. They poop a lot while on the roosts.

There are a lot of other ways to do this, each with their advantages and disadvantages. None of us have all the answers.

 

[TxChick77]

No offense was taken Ridgerunner. I knew it was too small which is why I stopped to figure out to make this structure work.
I've decide to go ahead and close the entire thing. I'll have a long poop board with roast and stall dry against the back 12ft wall. The other side with the extended nesting boxes (4 or 5). That opening is 6ft long. On the other end of that wall, I'll use what was to be the screened door into the run, as the main human door into the coop with the run door in between the two.

We had already purchased the corrugated tin for the roof with a 2ft over hang on either side. This structure was built directly behind our 3 car garage at an angle. I'll be able to build the run off that. For the most part, that area is completely shaded throughout the day. I'll just have to go into the run daily to gather the ends. Which i was trying to avoid.

I've already started adding to the framing to close it in. That way there's no turning back when the honey gets home