Is my coop big enough?? Please reply! 🙏

[McChooky]

I’ve never understood why this sort of coop isn’t seen more often here. It’s a good way to increase space when you just don’t have a very large footprint to work with. Lower for daytime activities (eating and laying), upper for nighttime (roosting.)

I took my roof off and made my coop taller after recommendations of building a bigger coop. (my chickens love the big community nest box on the side)Its a lot of work to modify one after its built but a lot cheaper

 

[McChooky]

My 1st coup was built for 6 hens I raised from baby chicks(I still have 4 of them)but over the years I added 8 more chickens so I converted the run into a coop and run combo.My 12 chickens have almost 300 SQ ft and free range some days.Every year I say I'm going to build a new coop but my chickens love what they have so I think I'll leave it as it is and make them a new bigger run

Is that a big vent on top of a sunroof?

 

[Torripine]

We have wild birds who eat the chicken food (we tried getting anti-wild bird feeders but they didn't work) but a roof wouldn't solve that problem. The way my run is set up, with the tree in the middle, I can't really make a roof that would be secure enough to keep the small birds out. Also, they can get in through the run wall, not to mention section of the run with the shorter fence would be impossible to add a roof to.

I mean you definitely can a few ways, we have like a forest area next to our regular run it’s so they can forage during the day, I fenced it in with cattle panels and 1/4 inch hardware cloth and did a tree weave as the roof. the areas on a hill so wasn’t a good fit for hardware cloth and 2x4s but before that I just had some plastic anti bird netting for agriculture up there worked good for keeping birds out but not predator proof. Either way your run is really not safe, I would if your not gonna do a predator proof top
at least make it taller and use 1/2-1/4 inch hardware cloth with a dig skirt of about a foot because anything could get into your current setup.

 

[Jen-the-Hen]

Also the "coop door always open" is concerning.
Looks to me like a racoon would not have much trouble getting over your fence some night.
One thing I learned was that once you have chickens, you soon learn just how many chicken eating critters you have in your area.
Sure, all can be quiet and tranquil for a while at first, then it's like the news gets out that you are serving free fresh chicken. and you start loosing one a week then one a day or maybe dozens in one night.
The ones in the tree you find headless in the morning.
All you find of your favorite hen, is a pile of feathers...
Not trying to scare you but would rather you get prepared.
I purchased a few trail cameras and was shocked just how many different preditors are roaming around by back 40. This includes Raptors, owls, fox, coyote, racoon, possum, weasel, bob cat, bear, feral cat, neighbors dog, Heck! Sometimes my dog!
I have lost chickens to everything on the above list except bear. He just sniffed around my coop looking for a way in.

 

[Jen-the-Hen]

Also the "coop door always open" is concerning.
Looks to me like a racoon would not have much trouble getting over your fence some night.
One thing I learned was that once you have chickens, you soon learn just how many chicken eating critters you have in your area.
Sure, all can be quiet and tranquil for a while at first, then it's like the news gets out that you are serving free fresh chicken. and you start loosing one a week then one a day or maybe dozens in one night.
The ones in the tree you find headless in the morning.
All you find of your favorite hen, is a pile of feathers...
Not trying to scare you but would rather you get prepared.
I purchased a few trail cameras and was shocked just how many different preditors are roaming around by back 40. This includes Raptors, owls, fox, coyote, racoon, possum, weasel, bob cat, bear, feral cat, neighbors dog, Heck! Sometimes my dog!
I have lost chickens to everything on the above list except bear. He just sniffed around my coop looking for a way in.

Well that long list of predators makes me really glad me and my three chooks are living in New Zealand! The girls sorted out my fluffy Seal-point Birman when they were still pullets (being SL Wyandotte girls they're comparable weight and visual size - feathers and long-fur included!) She was approaching them with interest in the BBQ area that was all enclosed for them, and dominant girl took a run at her sqwarking and flapping, and Suzie high-tailed it up and over the 4' fence, and has kept her distance ever since!

 

[Jcbaker]

I just want to say... We were all beginners once (some of us still are)! Mistakes are going to be made, no matter how informed you are on chicken care. Nobody knows everything. Ideally, we will all be learning always.

Though it does drive me crazy when people get an animal on a whim (not saying that's what you did) without enough research and preparation, finger pointing doesn't help. "You should have done x", well, they didn't, and we can't turn back time. So let's try to help the situation now!

I agree that you can get away with the size of your coop with 11 birds but they are not going to be happy if they're shut in there for any more time than is necessary (just sleeping, basically). And roosting time is when a lot of aggression can come out as the chooks quarrel over who sleeps where, so keep an eye on them in the evening to make sure nobody is being bullied too severely. Some pecking is normal, a bloody comb isn't uncommon, but severe injury is not normal. Maybe put a camera in there so you can watch from your phone or computer at night, or if you can't do that (trust me, I more than understand money constraints— we are below the poverty line), spend time watching them get ready for sleep in the evening. See who bullies who, if anyone. How do they prefer to roost? Who likes to sleep next to each other? You can add more roosts if you need to, that's simple. And they don't all need to be high off the ground. A 2x4 on a couple bricks or cinder blocks is good enough. If you have heavier birds they'll appreciate a lower roost.

Nest boxes are pretty easy too. You can build them out of wood, cut a hole in a plastic storage bin (sand the edges so nobody cuts themselves), use a bucket on its side... Be thrifty! Having chickens doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg.

View attachment 4076509
I put this bucket in the run so the girls lower down the pecking order don't have to fight for the nest box in the coop. They have used it a few times now!

General rule of thumb is one nest box per 3-4 birds. They will share but they'll also fight over them.

View attachment 4076537
View attachment 4076539
I ended up taking out the divider because, I mean... Come on now

Now, we have a rather crappy prefab coop. It's advertised for up to 6 birds but honestly it should hold no more than 3 standard sized chickens. We have 5. The thing is, they have a run to spend most of the day in and I also let them out for supervised yard time, so the size of the coop isn't too much of an issue. So far. They're starting to quarrel more at bedtime now.

Our run is also pretty small for 5 chickens (7'×8') but it works for now. Great for chicks, not so much for grown birds. Yours looks nice and spacious. If they get out daily, that's another reason not to be too stressed about coop size.

To expand your coop, someone mentioned raising it up and building onto it underneath. I like that idea! In addition you could expand outward. You can look for scrap wood and other materials at hardware stores, construction sites (obviously ask before taking anything), some people put scraps out by the road for free, and you can even sometimes find good stuff at the dump/recycling center. Just keep your eyes open!

I wouldn't necessarily go with the 4sq ft of coop space per bird if they're getting daily outside time. The more time they spend in the coop, the more space they'll need.

I found this camera on Amazon for my nest boxes and have had them for a little over a month now and they are working great…clear picture. You do have to charge it if you don’t have electricity to your coop so I bought a second one to swap out while the other is charging but, they are only $26.99 and have 10% coupon if you are a prime user. They set up extremely easy and are WiFi so you can see them anywhere using the app that was pretty easy to work with. I would recommend these and they are a smaller size camera. They use a sticky pad on the back of them which isn’t conducive to a dusty chicken environment so popped the back off the mount and screwed that in and then popped the mount back on it and they work great.

 

[ChaosMom]

I found this camera on Amazon for my nest boxes and have had them for a little over a month now and they are working great…clear picture. You do have to charge it if you don’t have electricity to your coop so I bought a second one to swap out while the other is charging but, they are only $26.99 and have 10% coupon if you are a prime user. They set up extremely easy and are WiFi so you can see them anywhere using the app that was pretty easy to work with. I would recommend these and they are a smaller size camera. They use a sticky pad on the back of them which isn’t conducive to a dusty chicken environment so popped the back off the mount and screwed that in and then popped the mount back on it and they work great.

Got a link, or product name?

 

[Jcbaker]

Got a link, or product name?

Whoops…got going a little too fast and forgot to copy it into my post. Sorry

https://a.co/d/3GDu8Dy

 

[50-45-1]

Well that long list of predators makes me really glad me and my three chooks are living in New Zealand! The girls sorted out my fluffy Seal-point Birman when they were still pullets (being SL Wyandotte girls they're comparable weight and visual size - feathers and long-fur included!) She was approaching them with interest in the BBQ area that was all enclosed for them, and dominant girl took a run at her sqwarking and flapping, and Suzie high-tailed it up and over the 4' fence, and has kept her distance ever since!

Does New Zeland have any preditors? You certainly have hawks, right?

 

[TOMTE]

Does New Zeland have any preditors? You certainly have hawks, right?

New Zealand's wildlife is very unique. The only ground predators they really have to worry about are introduced rats, ferrets, stoats, and possums. The only native birds of prey are the New Zealand Falcon, the Swamp Harrier, the Barn Owl and the Morepork Owl. There are some vagrant raptors too that end up in NZ during migration, and the Little Owl which was introduced.

A falcon would be hard pressed to take down a standard sized chicken and I don't think the owls would even try. Harriers would probably be the biggest worry wrt aerial predators.