Looking to Expand Amazon Coop/Advice?

[TwistedRootTree]

My mom went and bought a small coop and run on Amazon for our 6 young chickens. I figured it would work for a bit until they were bigger, and then we can work on expanding it. There isn’t even room for food and water. I am developing a hatred for this coop and am desperate to make it work. The run is quite small too but is definitely sufficient for the time being and will be very simple to expand. It’s the hen house I’m concerned about.
The roosts are super low, but I think it could be easy to raise them. As for expanding, I feel like I could build something onto the side opposite the nesting boxes. If anyone has ideas or advice let me know!
We also got this automatic door that I feel is very low. I didn’t install it and am unsure if it can be raised at all? Again, if anyone has anything let me know! Thanks.

 

[FrostRanger]

That indeed looks quite tiny. Looks big enough for maybe 2 birds at the most. You certainly could remove a side and expand from there. However, it might be less hassle to start from scratch. In general it's going to be cheaper and better to build a coop yourself as most prefab coops are tiny and cost too much for what they are. If you go to the coop and run section of the forums, you can get some ideas from what everyone else has done. Remember you'll want at least 4 square feet of coop space per bird, preferably more 'cause chicken math is real. For 6 birds though, you'll want at least 24 square feet of floor space not counting room for nest boxes and stuff
Edit: 24 not 36, I can't math lol

 

[TwistedRootTree]

That indeed looks quite tiny. Looks big enough for maybe 2 birds at the most. You certainly could remove a side and expand from there. However, it might be less hassle to start from scratch. In general it's going to be cheaper and better to build a coop yourself as most prefab coops are tiny and cost too much for what they are. If you go to the coop and run section of the forums, you can get some ideas from what everyone else has done. Remember you'll want at least 4 square feet of coop space per bird, preferably more 'cause chicken math is real. For 6 birds though, you'll want at least 36 square feet of floor space not counting room for nest boxes and stuff

Gotcha. Yeah. A small, crappy prebuilt was definitely not my first choice. I was enthusiastic about building our own coop but my mom and stepdad felt that buying one was much easier. Alas, they decided on buying one much to my dismay. I don’t know if I can build one from scratch in the near future, but there will certainly be a sizeable upgrade.

 

[pennyJo1960]

You can buy a 8 x 10 and use it.

 

[aart]

We also got this automatic door that I feel is very low. I didn’t install it and am unsure if it can be raised at all?

How tall and wide is the opening?

I figured it would work for a bit until they were bigger, and then we can work on expanding it.

I would start building an adequate coop rather than trying to expand a prefab.
Since you mention the parents.....are you a minor or an adult capable of calling the shots and paying the bills?

Can you post pics of the whole thing, from a few angles?

Also...Welcome to BYC! @TwistedRootTree
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[FrostRanger]

Provided you don't get subarctic temps in winter, an open air coop would be fairly cheap to build. I didn't build the building itself as it was an old coop gifted to me by a relative but it has a fairly simple design. It's still a WIP but gets the point across
(My birds have a much larger attached run, they're in there 'cause I put a bunch of grass clippings in their coop and they adore grass)

 

[TwistedRootTree]

How tall and wide is the opening?


I would start building an adequate coop rather than trying to expand a prefab.
Since you mention the parents.....are you a minor or an adult capable of calling the shots and paying the bills?

Can you post pics of the whole thing, from a few angles?

Also...Welcome to BYC! @TwistedRootTree
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3878988

How tall and wide is the opening?


I would start building an adequate coop rather than trying to expand a prefab.
Since you mention the parents.....are you a minor or an adult capable of calling the shots and paying the bills?

Can you post pics of the whole thing, from a few angles?

Also...Welcome to BYC! @TwistedRootTree
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3878988

The actual door is 12 in x 23 in. The opening of the automatic door is same width and only 8in high. And yes, I’m a minor. But my mom is very eager to provide them enough space and good living conditions, so although she doesn’t fully understand how much space they need, she is open to changing what we have. She would definitely rather build onto what we have, but if starting anew is a much better route then I’m sure we can make it work. Forgot to mention that the coop is on wheels, but that is not necessary.

 

[TwistedRootTree]

Provided you don't get subarctic temps in winter, an open air coop would be fairly cheap to build. I didn't build the building itself as it was an old coop gifted to me by a relative but it has a fairly simple design. It's still a WIP but gets the point across
(My birds have a much larger attached run, they're in there 'cause I put a bunch of grass clippings in their coop and they adore grass)
View attachment 3879001View attachment 3879002View attachment 3879003

I like your style. Very cool coop and concept! Unfortunately, we get pretty low temps and heavy snowfall in the winter, so it’s gotta be able to button down and stay insulated.

 

[FrostRanger]

I can tell you from experience that trying to expand a prefab is NOT the easier route. I had made the mistake of buying a prefab and had to make a temp expansion 'cause at that point I knew that my relatives would be bringing the coop but it wouldn't be for a bit and Meyer was going to be sold out for a bit of the breeds I wanted if I didn't buy them when I did. So I had to jerryrig something. It wasn't pretty and if I had to do it again I'd do it differently but did the job until they were able to bring the coop they had for me

 

[TwistedRootTree]

I can tell you from experience that trying to expand a prefab is NOT the easier route. I had made the mistake of buying a prefab and had to make a temp expansion 'cause at that point I knew that my relatives would be bringing the coop but it wouldn't be for a bit and Meyer was going to be sold out for a bit of the breeds I wanted if I didn't buy them when I did. So I had to jerryrig something. It wasn't pretty and if I had to do it again I'd do it differently but did the job until they were able to bring the coop they had for me

Alright. Your input is insanely appreciated! Time to look for a 6 chicken coop plan, lol.