Just got a free coop (pictures) how can I make this the perfect coop?

[sheeshshe]

OK, I'll price the different types of fencing stuff out to see what makes the most sense.. I wish I could make the run a bit longer because it seems awfully small. but the way it is on the end where I could lengthen it if I wanted to, the boards are curved up so that it can be slid across the yard... so I dont see how lengthening it would matte.r does run space really matter if the birds will be outside roaming the majority of the time? its jut the winter that they wont be roaming outside and in that case they stay cooped anyways right because of all the snow?

I noticed that there is a gap where the door is, so Im going to change that hook and eye to a hinge lock thingie (whatever those are called) so that it has a tighter fit and not drafty in the winter.

I dont know much about the ventilation thing, but on one side there seems to be an awful amount of ventilation, I can't see how they'll stay warm in it! I feel like I should cover it up some.. is there a rule on how much ventilation there should be?

 

[sheeshshe]

Quote:
oh yes, this was on my list of things to do

I planned on ripping that all out.

thank you for the friendly reminder though!

 

[Judy]

Oh, you must read the ventilation page!

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

I don't recall your saying where you live. Where I live people often build 3 sided coops, one side being open to the run or hardware cloth, plus more opposite for cross-ventilation. Different story up north.

 

[Davaroo]

Its well thought out, actually. Someone knoew what they were doing.

Replace the rotten wood, get the thing dried out and renew the wire, hardware and fixtures. Slap some paint on it, fix that roof and it should do yeoman service for some time to come.

Nice snag.

 

[sheeshshe]

the wood isn;t actually rotten though.. it just looks dark because it wasn't painted at all and its just wet like... its still hard and not mushy at all in places... so thats good!!! I dont think I need to replace any!! the roof seems sturdy as well. its the door that I need to fix... I think a different closure will make it much better.

I do think I'll remove 2 of the nest boxes since it makes no sense to have them there and they are just taking up space. right???

should I change the flooring at all? or is painting it going to suffice? I think I read somewhere about using $store linoleum LOL!


Im in maine, so the winter gets in the 20;s/ occasionally the teens but mostly 20's.

off to read the ventilation page!!!

 

[sheeshshe]

OK! ventilation page read!!!

very good info. it all makes much more sense now. I think what I'll do is use those holes for those nest boxes and put hardware cloth on them and then have a wood hinge thing that I shut down for the winter and stuff but so the summer it can have more air.

any other place I should add ventilation? or should that be good?

 

[Judy]

Sounds good to me.

Some just paint the floor, some use linoleum. The linoleum does make cleaning easier, but if you use DLM and a poop board, you won't need to clean it often anyway. Up to you.

 

[sheeshshe]

ahhhh! I guess I know nothing! LOL!

DLM and a poop board?? hmm! time to look that up I guess!

um, my run... how much bigger should it be? it appears to be 6x4 or 8x4 or something... how much bigger do I need to get it?

 

[Judy]

Quote:
Sorry, my bad. DLM = deep litter method -- see FAQ page, lots of info -- basically, add new litter to the old for weeks or months before cleaning it out.

Poop board is simply a board placed under the roost to catch the night's poop, which is a lot of the daily poop. Pull it out, scrape it off, and lots of the poop is now gone. People use trays, plastic container lids, an ordinary board, a board with some vinyl on it -- whatever is around.

The minimum recommendation here is 10 sq ft per bird in the run -- and 4 for the coop.

Consider it a compliment that I was under the impression you would be familiar with the terms!

 

[sheeshshe]

awe, thank you

I've been immersed so much in the raising chicks forum and the diseases etc forum that I haven't visited the coops stuff! but now that the coop is actually here and I can see what I am dealing with its time to get this stuff down as well

OK, the deep litter method... do you think that its an ok method to do with the pine shavings? or is this a better one to do with the wood pellets?

the poop board... I suppose I could figure out a way to do that. I makes a lot of logical sense to do it. I dont think i'd be scraping poop in the dead of winter each day, BUT that I can do in the summer spring and fall!

cool. well now I'll have to figure out how I plan on making space for that.


math wise though, if the run is 4x6, thats only what? 24 square feet right? so I have enough room for 2 1/2 chickens? thats not enough! can you tell on there where I have space to add on to the run? and if so which is the best way of adding on to it? I thought perhaps an L shaped run.. whatcha think?