Is there such a thing as coop being too big?

[goldeneggtees]

I have found that chickens LOOOOVE the sun and will take little siestas basking in it throughout the day. I would say they need some amount of sun for at least part of their day. Shade is great but not all the time. Just my opinion.

 

[MOChickenz]

My coop is 24 x 18. It's an old outbuilding on my property that had a concrete floor. I am rapidly filling it up.

 

[The Sheriff]

This is a joke, right?

 

[dsqard]

I think your coop is way too big for only six chickens and the only way to solve that is to either send it to me in UT or you need WAY more chickens!!

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

If you find one too big, I want it! I have a 24'X24' barn.......FULL. Theres a 16'X16" outside pen......FULL An 8'X16' outside pen......FULL. An 8'X8' outside pen.......FULL. 2, 4'X4' brooder pens......FULL. A 2'X2' brooder pen......FULL. Now I'm working on a large peacock pen attatched to the other barn, & am thinking about turning a 30' round pen into a flight pen. WHEW!

 

[koikeepr]

Quote:
Thanks for your thoughts Joe. This shed has a wood floor and the shed itself is raised up on a few cinderblocks. I will put a sheet of linoleum on this wood floor for ease of cleaning. I also plan on putting hardware cloth all around the bottom so no animals can get underneath the shed. Right now it has lattice around the bottom raised part, and that is not cutting it. I can't see any animals underneath it at the moment, but I'm sure once chickens and feed are added, that they will just come.

Yes, I will use 100% hardware cloth on the run as well. I was just planning on leaving all the leaves and such on the run floor and just keep adding leaves as it gets dirty. There's tons of leaves all over the place to keep adding. Do you think this will be possible? I prefer not to have to haul sand to this area. I also have a large mulch pile available from trees we fell yearly and grind up so that I can use for shavings inside the coop.

Here is the shed in question. You can see that the front of the shed receives sunlight light for at least 4 or 5 hours during the day. It's at the very edge of where the woods begin. You can also see the door is a typical double barn type door which is smack in the middle of the wall. I was planning on putting the roosts on the back wall and the nests on one of the side walls:

Here is a shot of the side of the shed. There is a small leak on one side of the roof. I plan on repairing that and reshingling the roof. I was perhaps going to put some kinda skylight in for more light, but I'm worried about leaks happening from that, so I'll skip it. You can see the lattice going around the entire bottom of the shed that I will replace with hardware cloth.

Here is the back part of the shed (please excuse the mess there at the moment). As you can see, it gets some dappled sun during the day. You can see all the leaves on the ground and little mounds of sweet oat and a bit of greenery I'm sure the chickens will decimate in no time.

Finally, here is a shot standing right behind the shed toward a short split rail fence that lines the property. You can again see some more dappled sunlight. Of course, during the fall/winter when the leaves drop, there will be even more sunlight there.

 

[Judy]

I'd say your issue will be ventilation. You can use a metal garbage can or two for feed storage -- verminproof and cheaper than building a separate room. A few bales of hay to block in the roosts will give them some extra warmth in the winter, though they may not need it, even in a large coop. My coop is also "too big" for the chickens -- I'm so glad it is, and they sure love it in bad weather when they want to be in for a while during the day.

Read here, before you re-roof. You may want to include some ventilation at the peak:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

 

[koikeepr]

Thank you ddawn. Yes, I've read that info on ventilation intently. Since this building is not insulated inside, I simply plan on removing a row of the siding at the top point on each of the sides and putting hardware cloth in it's place so that it will act as open ventilation. I plan on extending the roof line a bit so that it overhangs a bit more to protect this open area. I am assuming in my neck of the woods, I will rarely if ever have to close these vents.

 

[Lund121671]

never to big, we started with a 10x20 then did a 20x20 now we are building a 18x36. The 18x36 is almost done, just waiting for the tin to come. All windows are in, concrete poured, indoor pens framed in and wire put on.

 

[joebryant]

Quote:
That's a good plan for ventilation, but it seems like a lot of work. Why not just put a ridge vent of the roof line? It'd be cheaper and faster.
Since the door is facing south and you have hot summers, you might want to make the dividing wall that I mentioned out of hardware cloth too. That way you could leave doors open all summer to catch any cool breeze. Do you have another window on the opposite wall for cross ventilation? It's not the cold that kills chickens; it's the heat.
Before putting down the linoleum, I'd first put concrete stepping stones on the wooden floor to keep out rats, mice, and predators.
Leaves in the run... ? I'd still go with sand and let them go play/feed in the leaves when they're out of the run free ranging.
Sounds like you're planning to do everything in such a way that you won't have to worry about your chickens being safe. Trust me, that's worth all the extra expense you're going to just for the peace of mind. NOW, if you can ALWAYS remember to close the pop door BEFORE dark. I ain't admittin' nuttin!
BTW I really like the photos of the "future" coop.