I inherited my sister in laws obsession

[Ashllen]

The run is also about 5x6 (a little more but I'm rounding down because of width of support beams)

 

[Ashllen]

It's a mix bag of chickens all average hens except one Brahma and I think the rooster is a smaller breed. He's a rescue and is about the same size as my new Hampshire red.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Needs a lot more ventilation but at least there's some overhang to work with so that helps a lot. That's probably part of the reason why the birds are opting to sleep out rather than in. Aim for at least 1 sq ft per bird that can safely be left open 24/7.

 

[aart]

Looks like you could put huge vents in both gable since they are protected by nice roof overhangs....but you need to cover them with 1/2" hardware cloth to keep and predators out.

If the tarp is needed to block leaks in the roof, best to re-shingle before the chipboard roof sheathing starts to rot.

We are in the nw area

Welcome to BYC! @Ashllen
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[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC!

I got my sister in laws coop when she moved. It's 5x6 ft (hen house) has a run attached (haven't measured that yet) but I free range them so they only ever use it when it rains. I was wondering what is my chicken limit? Internet says 12-15 but I wanted to be sure.

The Usual Guidelines are:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Add appropriate ventilation and redo the roof to stop leaks and you have the makings of a very nice coop for about 7-8 hens. So much better than the common "dollhouse" prefab!

Here's information about ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

And a good article explaining why those guidelines are *guidelines*, not hard-and-fast *rules*: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

 

[Ashllen]

Thank you! She made it ages ago when she first started raising chickens. So there are just a few things that need to be changed to make it perfect

 

[Ashllen]

My dad and I had a good laugh yesterday when we went to build the roost... my coop is crooked! The reason it was having leaky problems on one side is because the building tips left making the roof useless for covering the wall from rain. I have that whole side tarped for now. (I had 1 day of no rain this weekend and it was the day we planned to make the roost, of course.) But I think they like the new set up.

 

[Ashllen]

Had to leave a light until after dark and take away the tree branch so they would stop being stubborn and use the darn thing tho!

 

[Ashllen]

Plan on adding a gutter to the exposed side and gonna calk up the cracks on that side once it dries out a bit.