How do I improve my chicken coop?

[DaGoober]

 

[Show Sebright]

Can you get a closer veiw in the insides coop? How many chickens are in there?

 

[DaGoober]

There are 9, one rooster and 4 3-4 week old (maybe older) chicks

 

[DaGoober]

 

[DaGoober]

 

[DaGoober]

 

[drinkoj]

COOP chicken math
4 sq ft = 1 chicken
4 sq ft X 9 chickens = 36 sq ft inside the coop

That coop looks tiny, almost like it's barely able to hold 3 chickens if that.

RUN chicken math
10 sq ft = 1 chicken
10 sq ft X 9 chickens = 90 sq ft inside the run.

If that run is a 10x10 ft dog kennel with the coop inside it. Man that's a tight squeeze.

1) Make that coop house bigger.
2) Put that coop house outside the kennel and connect it with a chicken tunnel or an enclosed wood chicken tunnel.
3) Get rid of that chicken wire, it hold chickens in but doesn't stop predators from getting in; mice can chew through it. Hardware cloth 1/2" around the run, 2 feet both up the side of the fencing and as an apron on the ground to stop diggers.
4) Get some 2x4s or good tree branches and stick them in the run for the chickens to roost on.

Letting others say more.

 

[rosemarythyme]

You have a waterer in the coop? There's no room in there for food and water so I'd move all of that out into the run.

The chicks are small now so it probably doesn't look as crowded, but in the photo of the rooster alone... he takes up about 1/4th of the coop simply standing still. I don't see how it's possible to fit 9 adult chickens in there.

You can try converting the whole thing into a coop but it might be a bit difficult with this unit with the way it's constructed, so this is just general conversion advice for prefabs with mini run attachments:

So to turn it from 2 small "boxes" (tiny coop above tiny run) into 1 bigger "box" you'll want to remove as much of the inside coop wall as possible, plus the floor. Take out the old roosts too.

Nests might be able to stay as is, or may need to be relocated elsewhere or replaced - depends on the structure of the coop and how things inside stack up once done.

Run a new roost(s) lengthwise across the newly open space. Ideally you’d like 12” per bird but 10” can suffice in many cases.

Board up some of the external wire walls so that the roost area is protected from winds and rain. Do NOT fully cover up all the wire, you need ventilation and natural light, so at the very least a few inches under the roofline should remain open. If your climate allows for it, you can leave entire walls open with just the mesh, but I don't know how cold it gets in winter - though you also make it convertible for the season by covering up open walls for winter, and then uncovering for hot and humid summers.