Is this a good coop design?

[OasiVerde]

I am new to chickens. This coop was already at the property.
When I google chicken coops, most of them are much more enclosed than mine. I am in Central Texas, so we don;t get real winters. But, it could get very cold and windy sometimes.
Should I build in more shelter? The wall with the roosts is facing southeast.
Eventually there will be 15 adult chickens in the coop. Do I have enough roosts?
I want to change the top row of nest boxes to a flat roof and build roosts above that.
And I want to add a brooder underneath the current roosts.
How do my plans sound?
TIA

 

[FeatherstoneFrm]

I'm in Goergia and we in the south understand that air must move. Most of the year we need lots of open spaces for good air flow. Here is a pic of my coop made from pallets. Very rudimentary with open slats for air. For the short time that we might have very cold nights, I will wrap tarps around the out side to close it up better. But that might only be for a month out of the year. Yours could easily be closed up temporarily in a similar way. It is probably best the way it is for the rest of the year.

*Before anyone comments, the walls are due for a scrubbing this weekend, they currently roost on top of the walls

 

[jthornton]

Looks well ventilated to me which is good. If the birds have to fly up to the roost you need about 15' of roost. I would make a single roost from side to side about 14" from the back wall and put a 28" wide poop board under that which can be the top of the nest box. For 15 hens you will need about a 4' wide x 14" deep x 14" tall nest box. I don't seem much room left for a brooder but it's hard to judge the scale from the photo. Do you have a photo from the front?

JT

 

[Bryant Redhawk]

I love the ventilation. Do you have hardware cloth covering the exterior? Raccoons can crawl through openings that large with ease and that would mean the end of your flock.
(ask me how I know)

 

[Miss Lydia]

Defiantly not enough roost for 15 adult chickens. Like the openness plenty of air flow. Jut make sure every opening no matter how small is covered in hard ware cloth.

 

[OasiVerde]

I'm in Goergia and we in the south understand that air must move. Most of the year we need lots of open spaces for good air flow. Here is a pic of my coop made from pallets. Very rudimentary with open slats for air. For the short time that we might have very cold nights, I will wrap tarps around the out side to close it up better. But that might only be for a month out of the year. Yours could easily be closed up temporarily in a similar way. It is probably best the way it is for the rest of the year.View attachment 1519918*Before anyone comments, the walls are due for a scrubbing this weekend, they currently roost on top of the walls

Thank you for the tip about tarp. I could attach hooks on the outside for easy placing and removing the tarp.

 

[OasiVerde]

Looks well ventilated to me which is good. If the birds have to fly up to the roost you need about 15' of roost. I would make a single roost from side to side about 14" from the back wall and put a 28" wide poop board under that which can be the top of the nest box. For 15 hens you will need about a 4' wide x 14" deep x 14" tall nest box. I don't seem much room left for a brooder but it's hard to judge the scale from the photo. Do you have a photo from the front?

JT

Thanks for your information, that is so helpful! I am not sure how I want to build the roost, maybe build a small ladder for them to reach the top. From the left wall to the nest box is about 5 feet. There is a lot of space in the front of the coop. Currently there is a small brooder which is almost falling apart. Is houses 3 chicks, probably about 5-6 weeks old. They are growing so fast that I would like to build them something much more spacious this weekend.
I have attached more pictures of the coop.

 

[OasiVerde]

I love the ventilation. Do you have hardware cloth covering the exterior? Raccoons can crawl through openings that large with ease and that would mean the end of your flock.
(ask me how I know)

Yes, there is hardware cloth all around. So far no visits from predators.
I am so sorry you had an awful experience with raccoons. That is my worst nightmare.

 

[OasiVerde]

Defiantly not enough roost for 15 adult chickens. Like the openness plenty of air flow. Jut make sure every opening no matter how small is covered in hard ware cloth.

Yes, I absolutely have to build more roost space. The chicks I got are growing so fast. And yes, there is hardware cloth all around. This weekend I will check if everything is still well attached.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Best friend we have for keeping our birds safe. Hardware cloth. Now we need pics of your chicks