Illinois, Does anyone know where I can get a coop built?

[rosemarythyme]

FYI, that coop has been posted here several times and I don't think it's nearly as large as folks think it is. For 8 chickens you'll want roughly 32 sq ft of coop floor space. The enclosed part of that coop is maybe half that. You can make alterations to try and make the entire unit work as a coop though, and then add a properly sized run (80 sq ft+) to compensate.

See this thread: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1168505/build-a-bigger-run-or-free-range - I'm pretty sure that's the same coop as the one you bought.

 

[kfdaycare]

Thank you rosemarythyne. There are two sizes of that coop, this is the larger one. I think you're right...will likely be small for 8. We started with 4 this year...and won't add more for a year or two. My husband is going to expand the run and we will also free range part of each day.

Probably will be our starter coop..but I'm excited to start...LOL

 

[rosemarythyme]

Good to know! I think this will do fine for 4 chickens, and certainly if you decide to expand your flock, you can also upgrade on the coop as well. I'm doing something similar, 4 chickens in a small coop with plans to upgrade to something much nicer and larger later.

 

[kfdaycare]

What kind of chickens do you have? I picked up my chicks today. 2 Barred Rocks, 1 Buff Orpington and 1 Easter Egger.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I currently have a Buff Rock, an Easter Egger, a Buckeye and a Welsummer, and between the 4 of them we get far more eggs than we can easily eat. So while I'd like to get more chickens in the future, I'm going to do it slowly, and wait until egg production starts dropping off a bit. By that time I think we'll be ready to take down the old shed on our lot and put up a nice shed/mini barn to house about a dozen birds. My small prefab coop will probably get recycled as an outdoor brooder/integration unit for new chicks, so they can safely grow up alongside the adult birds.