If I had it to do all over again . . .

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

. . . i wish i would have made just one big coop and a very large pen. Instead, i kept adding on more smaller coops and pens, as i got more and more chickens, to where now i have 8 separate chicken pens with their own little coop. Some are very hard to get into and out of - like my bright idea of buying a 4' tall pen thinking "Hey, the chickens are short. They don't need a 6' tall pen". So now i have multiple waterers and feeders to tend to, 8 pens to clean (not counting the duck, geese, and goat pens). i was just outside looking and thinking if it's even feasible to redo things at this point.

Anyhow, the morale of my sad story is - Always Plan for More Chickens!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

This same thing happened to me, ESF! Last year this time, I was tending to 11 different coops. Tiny ones (and one big one). Rabbit hutches, really plus my metal shed coop (and two homemade ones).

But it burned me out.

Now look at me. I downsized my chickens, and moved everyone into my metal shed coop. I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy.

I put all the waterers (5 of them) by the front gates (I have two large runs and I put a pop door between them) so I just bring the hose and fill all of them at once.

I built 2 large feed shelters that even I can sit underneath with furring strips and clear plastic roofing (I had one but built another) , so I can choose which one to operate out of and put the feeders there. A metal pail is there too so I can dump the remaining feed into it at night.

It literally takes me 5 minutes to do evening chores now. Morning chores would also take just a few minutes, but I like to spend a lot of time out there for fun in the morning.

Make the switch!!! You have YEARS ahead of you.

Cut holes in your fencing and add closeable pop doors to make it all one big run if you want. (I sold some of my hutches, converted two others to small feed shelters, and use the others for chicks and hospitals.)

 

[fireguy56]

Hey, I feel your pain. I originally was gonna build a small coop for my wife once she and I got the chicken bug from one of the grandkids. After giving it some thought, I figured I would build one big enough to walk in. Seemed logical. Glad I did. Now I'm building our second walk in coop for Bantams. The chicken thing is really addictive. Hopefully you can build a large one in the future to serve your purpose better. Good luck.
Erik

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Five minutes to do evening chores! My evening routine takes hours. But, i do break things up over the evening, with rest time in between.

You know, i like that idea of making openings between the pens. That one with the 4' tall door is right next to one with a 6' door. If i took out that one side, i could just go in the tall door and service both coops. Both those pens have silkies and showgirls, and there would be some fighting at first. But i think things would settle down over time. i did build up the top on that 4' pen so it's 6' tall inside. But that short door is a pain.

My husband did just say maybe we could turn our shed out there into one big chicken coop. Right now it's used for storage of feed and tools. But it has electrical running to it. i think the worst part of the small coops is in the winter time. When we have the super nasty days with high winds, there just isn't enough room for them to stay inside comfortably. Hmmmmm. i wish my husband would have told me 4 years ago when we first moved here that i could have that shed as a chicken coop.

 

[redhen]

My hubby says the same thing... just ONE big building...with seperate enclosures for my chickens and pigs and geese...
Because in the winter its such a witch to water and feed them all seperately...

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
Go for it! Make your chores shorter somehow!!

 

[hallerlake]

Quote:
I looked at the four foot pen, and the price difference, and almost bought it, but realized I needed to get in there, too, in time.
Except for weekly cleaning, my morning and evening chores take about five minutes.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Quote:
i wish i would have thought about that before i bought it. It just didn't occur to me. And i could struggle in there until i threw my back out once and realized how silly it was. And hey, i'm loving the idea of five minute chores morning and evening!

 

[AZWhiteKnight]

20/20 hindsight - I should have just put in a chicken barn!

 

[chickendales]

im lucky i have one coop with breeding pens and only time i use out door pen is in summer for growout pens