Is my coop okay? What would you do? (PIC HEAVY)

[FaithM]

I will be getting my chicks in late April and I am starting to plan for building my run and changing the coop. I am getting 3 silkies, 1 d'uccle, and 1 bantam barred rock. So with 5 bantams, they shouldn't need that much room, right? I just moved into a new house and when we were moving, our agent said that she was selling a house that had a free chicken coop that we could take! So now we have this coop, but I'm not sure if it's even usable. It's pretty small (6 ft. long x 4 ft. deep)... I think it probably needs some more ventilation, but I'm really not sure. It obviously needs a thorough cleaning. If this was your coop, what would you do with it?


Front


Right Side


Left side


Back (there are two nesting boxes and then the back door)


Looking in through the back door. You can see a corner of one of the nesting boxes in the left hand corner.. Straight ahead there is a roosting bar. Ignore the ramp in the corner, I forgot to take it out before taking pictures.


This is a better picture of the view looking at the left side from the back door. Again, ignore the ramp. Should the nesting boxes be more covered for privacy?


View through back to right side.


I have plenty of space around this coop to build a run as you can see:



Now if this coop does not work out, I do have a back up plan. My new house has two shed type things that you can see in the background of the picture above. I was going to use one of them for Nigerian Dwarf goats in the future, but the other one is free. Here are some pics:


As you can see, it's a very basic frame. It doesn't even have a roof, but it's really big. I would guess probably 9 feet tall, 6 feet deep and 6 feet wide? I haven't taken precise measurements.




It has more than enough space around it too!

So, what do you all think? Is the first coop usable, or should I start fresh with the second coop? Thanks for any input!

 

[boskelli1571]

Hello there & welcome

Space wise your coop is certainly big enough for bantams. It looks ok - Personally I prefer the nest boxes up higher, but it's not essential. Check the vent holes to ensure the mesh is tight - do the holes have covers if necessary? - check all seams & joins to ensure tightness (a weasel can squeeze through a 1/2 inch gap). Make sure you clean the coop thoroughly - did I say THOROUGHLY??? You don't know what diseases may be lingering there. Scrape all the poop out (put on the garden) and scrub with bleach/water mix. After 2 or 3 scrub downs, vacuum out the corners with a narrow suction nozzle (remove any left over mites etc.) and sprinkle liberally with insect powder suitable for poultry. Don't forget to do the ramp also. That's what I would do - I'm sure others will come up with other tips also.
Good luck & enjoy, Sue

 

[FaithM]

Hello there & welcome

Space wise your coop is certainly big enough for bantams. It looks ok - Personally I prefer the nest boxes up higher, but it's not essential. Check the vent holes to ensure the mesh is tight - do the holes have covers if necessary? - check all seams & joins to ensure tightness (a weasel can squeeze through a 1/2 inch gap). Make sure you clean the coop thoroughly - did I say THOROUGHLY??? You don't know what diseases may be lingering there. Scrape all the poop out (put on the garden) and scrub with bleach/water mix. After 2 or 3 scrub downs, vacuum out the corners with a narrow suction nozzle (remove any left over mites etc.) and sprinkle liberally with insect powder suitable for poultry. Don't forget to do the ramp also. That's what I would do - I'm sure others will come up with other tips also.
Good luck & enjoy, Sue

Thank you! The vents don't have covers, but I don't think that they would be too difficult to make..? I will definitely clean it thoroughly. It's absolutely disgusting right now. The cleaning tips will be very helpful!

 

[kateseidel]

This looks plenty big enough, with a nice run. I didn't notice where you are living, but if it was mine (I am in North Carolina), I would get out the Sawz-all and cut a bigger window on one side, and across the front and cover them with hardware cloth. My hens like a low nesting box, but I don't have Bantams so maybe they have different preferences.

Will you be able to create a fully enclosed run so they can come in and out of the coop as they please?

I'd definitely keep the other shed to roof - assuming you are like most of us, it won't take long for your flock of 5 to grow to 20 and then you'll need a new coop. I am particularly fond of run-ins converted to coops.

 

[cstronks]

You may also want to use some Diamataceous Earth in there to kill any leftover mites and whatnot. Make sure it is food grade DE and sprinkle some around, scrub it in a little with a broom, and then blow it out when finished. This should do away with whatever is leftover from the past owner. Also, you may just want to replace the roost bar in there. It looked pretty dirty, and a new 2 x 3 x 8 from your local home store should eliminate having to deal with that (and it will only set you back about $2!)

As for the goat houses...why can't we all be so lucky to buy a house with leftover farm stuff! Best of luck to you!

 

[FaithM]

This looks plenty big enough, with a nice run. I didn't notice where you are living, but if it was mine (I am in North Carolina), I would get out the Sawz-all and cut a bigger window on one side, and across the front and cover them with hardware cloth. My hens like a low nesting box, but I don't have Bantams so maybe they have different preferences.

Will you be able to create a fully enclosed run so they can come in and out of the coop as they please?

I'd definitely keep the other shed to roof - assuming you are like most of us, it won't take long for your flock of 5 to grow to 20 and then you'll need a new coop. I am particularly fond of run-ins converted to coops.

I was wondering about ventilation and your suggestions sound great! I would worry about rain getting in if I put a window in the front. Is this a problem for you? I live in rainy Washington state.

I am going to build a fully enclosed run for them.

Thanks!

 

[boskelli1571]

If you are a handy person, you could probably find a small window to recycle. It doesn't take much to cut out and build a frame. That way you could open/close as weather dictates. Sue

 

[FaithM]

You may also want to use some Diamataceous Earth in there to kill any leftover mites and whatnot. Make sure it is food grade DE and sprinkle some around, scrub it in a little with a broom, and then blow it out when finished. This should do away with whatever is leftover from the past owner. Also, you may just want to replace the roost bar in there. It looked pretty dirty, and a new 2 x 3 x 8 from your local home store should eliminate having to deal with that (and it will only set you back about $2!)

As for the goat houses...why can't we all be so lucky to buy a house with leftover farm stuff! Best of luck to you!

I will consider DE! Would you use that over bleach to clean out mites? I will definitely replace the roost bar. Thanks for the suggestions!

I was very excited to see the sheds there too! They also had a chicken coop on the property, but it was overgrown with blackberry bushes and looked like it was big enough for about 2 chickens..

 

[kateseidel]

I have the best of all worlds here in North Carolina - 100 degrees in the summer, 10 degrees in the winter, 97% humidity almost all the time! To deal with the rain (and provide more warmth in winter), we took two pieces of plexiglass the size of the front "windows", framed them in 1x2s, and put hooks on the top. We hang them in front of the "windows" when the rain is heavy or lengthy, or when it is cold, and then we just take them off and store them next to the coop when not needed. In my last coop, we created "shutters" with the plexiglass and would just open or close them depending on the weather.

 

[1muttsfan]

Scrub it out good with soap and water first, you cannot disinfect anything that is dirty, Then if you want you can apply a disinfectant. If you use bleach you will need to rinse it REALLY well, as it is toxic both to touch and to breath in. I prefer peroxide-based disinfectants.

You could add ventilation by cutting some long vents along the top of the higher wall, covering them with hardware cloth. Do you get snow where you are? A window would be nice for light on the days when the weather is inclement and they stay inside.