Is my coop too small?

[aart]

Do they need a lot of room to walk around inside the coop?

Depends on if your run is weather/predator proof, you can keep water and feed out there, and your climate is mild.

Here in the currently nasty north, my birds have been confined to coop for 4-5 days/nights.

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Here in the nasty North my birds come out of the coop to feed and drink. Hunker down inside the coop most of the morning except a quick 5 minute feeding in the run. Once temp gets 20 F they are mostly out in the run area.

Think I'm around 15 large fowl in a 4x7 coop. Run is space under the coop and a lean to sloped from top of coop to ground. Rule of thumb is they have space and it depends how you manage them where that space should be. I like small coops as the birds have access to outside all day, everyday. If you lock birds in a coop days on end then you need 4 sqft per bird. If you ensure reasonable windbreaks in a run area then half that area per bird is more than sufficient.

 

[Krugerrand]

Some inside/outside pictures would help here. That roost ladder could be a concern for the space it takes up.

There's a high chance that if all these hens grow up together you will be fine. One area where you might run into significant challenges are if you look to replace some hens down the road. Integrating new birds takes a good bit of space as they can be really mean to the newbies ... and space is the biggest help for the new ones to get away from the bullies.

 

[ckeene1990]

It’s not a great pic, but this is from the top.

 

[ckeene1990]

Some inside/outside pictures would help here. That roost ladder could be a concern for the space it takes up.

There's a high chance that if all these hens grow up together you will be fine. One area where you might run into significant challenges are if you look to replace some hens down the road. Integrating new birds takes a good bit of space as they can be really mean to the newbies ... and space is the biggest help for the new ones to get away from the bullies.

 

[Krugerrand]

It’s not a great pic, but this is from the top.

That sure takes up a lot of the space.

 

[ckeene1990]

That sure takes up a lot of the space.

What can I do instead?

 

[Krugerrand]

I'm not loving how that roost ladder looks in in the middle picture. It doesn't look like the top roost is far enough away from the wall. And, it looks like any bird that uses a lower roos will get pooped on (ladder too steep). It is possible to have a) on long roost b) 2 parallel roosts at the same height? c) an 'L" shaped roost?

 

[ckeene1990]

I'm not loving how that roost ladder looks in in the middle picture. It doesn't look like the top roost is far enough away from the wall. And, it looks like any bird that uses a lower roos will get pooped on (ladder too steep). It is possible to have a) on long roost b) 2 parallel roosts at the same height? c) an 'L" shaped roost?

I’m quite new to this. I’m not sure what or how those roost are. I appreciate the help

 

[ckeene1990]

I'm not loving how that roost ladder looks in in the middle picture. It doesn't look like the top roost is far enough away from the wall. And, it looks like any bird that uses a lower roos will get pooped on (ladder too steep). It is possible to have a) on long roost b) 2 parallel roosts at the same height? c) an 'L" shaped roost?

Do they fly up to the roost, do they need a ladder to get up to it?