installing bantam coop

[Beau plus penny]

so our coop is pretty huge it a hallway in the middle and one side is chickens and the other side doesnt have anything except a goat and there a lot of extra space not currently being used so im gonna build a bantam coop with 45 sq ft

 

[ChickenChick46]

This area will open up to an already existing run, correct? As long as the chickens will have access to a large run or to free range, I think 45 SF is a good size for a small bantam flock, personally. They don't need a ton of room in the coop so long as they come out of it regularly and aren't doing much more than sleeping or egg laying in there.

@thecatumbrella has been through so much with her flock and has done allll the coop research. You should get her thoughts.

 

[Beau plus penny]

since theres only 4 of them i was going to let them in the run with the standard under supervision because the outside area on the right of the coop isnt really a run because that where the goat is but i dont know how much longer he'll live

 

[Beau plus penny]

ill get better pictures of the area we are builidng it when i get home

 

[thecatumbrella]

Oh wow, that is a great use of space! And if you're only starting with 4, that leaves plenty of room to integrate new ones in the future.

I will caution you that I've heard some horror stories about integrating bantams into a large fowl flock. It's one thing if everyone grows up together, but if the large fowl were there first, they can cause some serious injury to smaller birds. Definitely read up on the see-no-touch method, if you're not already familiar, and supervise like a hawk. A lot of people seem to end up partitioning a separate space for their bantam flocks.

 

[Beau plus penny]

so our coop is pretty huge it a hallway in the middle and one side is chickens and the other side doesnt have anything except a goat and there a lot of extra space not currently being used so im gonna build a bantam coop with 45 sq ft

also a majority of the structure is already there bc im pretty sure the whole thing was a coop at one point or there where to coop areas. yea the coop is super old

 

[Beau plus penny]

Oh wow, that is a great use of space! And if you're only starting with 4, that leaves plenty of room to integrate new ones in the future.

I will caution you that I've heard some horror stories about integrating bantams into a large fowl flock. It's one thing if everyone grows up together, but if the large fowl were there first, they can cause some serious injury to smaller birds. Definitely read up on the see-no-touch method, if you're not already familiar, and supervise like a hawk. A lot of people seem to end up partitioning a separate space for their bantam flocks.

yea thats what this structure is i might actually make a run outside too seperate from the standards

 

[ChickenChick46]

since theres only 4 of them i was going to let them in the run with the standard under supervision because the outside area on the right of the coop isnt really a run because that where the goat is but i dont know how much longer he'll live

My neighbor had bantams (she's only got 1 left) with her standard flock that includes brahmas, Orpingtons, Ameraucanas, a zombie, Oliver Eggers, lots of BYMs, and I'm sure others I've missed. That little bantam is more than capable of holding her own. The others never had any trouble either. Supervision is definitely advised, at least in the beginning. But your bantams may integrate with your flock just fine.

 

[Beau plus penny]

good thing we are building a bantam coop