Is this coop too small for a droppings board?

[Sammamish-BYCs]

I am very close to moving the chicks with their coop to the backyard run we're building. Since they can't get up to the roost without the ladder board, I end up cleaning the poop off it a couple times a day to avoid the extra poop in the bedding below. The bedding has to be changed twice a week and even so, I think a couple of my chicks are sick (loose poop) so I'm medicating their water. I would like a dropping board so their bedding doesn't get spoiled so easily, but I don't know how to do it without losing access to the roost.

We lowered the roost this weekend since the chicks were starting to bump their heads on the ceiling.

We used a free cabinet to create this coop and thought it was big enough based on library books we read. It's 21"W x 3'L x 3"H. The nesting box was added on the side and is blocked off by some cardboard until they start laying. The cabinet doors will only be used for cleaning the coop. They've worked great with some hardware cloth while the birds still needed a heat lamp in the garage.

 

[teria]

It does seem kind of tight for the four birds. You need about 4 square feet per bird and you are only at 2 and a half. Perhaps it's time for a bigger coop? It's a fun temporary coop for littles, but, when they get bigger they need room to spread out a bit more, especially if you have one or two that peck at the others. Tighter coops can encourage feather picking and the less dominant birds can really suffer having no where to go to get away.

 

[ChickenMammX4]

I agree, WAY too small for 4 full grown chickens. You will have fewer problems with more space and it will be much easier to keep clean.

 

[appps]

Is this their temporary one or the one you are building? If it's your new one it looks too small for two chickens let alone 4! If it's the temporary one time to get those blighters out into their new one

 

[Sammamish-BYCs]

This is THE coop. We are moving it out to the backyard when the run is complete. The run is 7'9" X 6'6". Here's a photo. I would like to attach the coop to the outside of the run, but my husband may do what he wants and put the coop inside the run. We're waiting for the hardware cloth to be delivered from Amazon today. It will go all around this run.

 

[teria]

Again, I think the coop is way too small. Have you considered putting an addition onto the back of the existing coop to offer more space for your girls?

 

[enola]

This is THE coop. We are moving it out to the backyard when the run is complete. The run is 7'9" X 6'6". Here's a photo. I would like to attach the coop to the outside of the run, but my husband may do what he wants and put the coop inside the run. We're waiting for the hardware cloth to be delivered from Amazon today. It will go all around this run.

Is this the run your husband is going to put your coop inside of?

 

[Cheep N Peep]

Looking at this coop, I have to agree with everyone else.. It is WAY to small, especially crowded with the feeder, waterer, and ramp... It's a nice brooder, maybe, but not a very good coop. If you want to keep this one, make a 3' x2' add on for the back. If the library books said 2 square feet was enough, they were mistaken. And you are giving your girls even less space at the moment with all that stuff crowded in there. Another worry is if the cabinet is weatherproof.. it looks like rain could just drip or blow in through the ventilation and seep behind the doors in a mild rainstorm. The run is well built, but I recommend making your 'coop' either bigger or a brooder, and then building a 4'x4' coop for them.

 

[teria]

we used a children's playhouse for 6 chickens, and it worked really well. We just made the ""mistake" of adding 6 more chickens to our flock and had to expand. You can often find used playhouses fairly inexpensively. If you like the cabinet look, you could go to a used furniture store and find an old school tv armoire. they have much larger interiors because of the huge TV's they used to hold. That would give you more area, and you could do tiered roosts. Just some thoughts.

 

[Cheep N Peep]

Playhouses, dog houses, sheds, pallets, lots of kitchen cabinets... you can make a good coop out of a lot of things. If you do a search or rifle through the coop pages, you will find lots of re-purposed things turned into coops. I used a 4x4 playhouse to make a 4x7 coop.