My chicks poop in their water and food. What to do?

[Ms Biddy]

I agree about building a walk in coop, or even multipes side by side. 22 chickens are going to make a lot of poop and those little coops take a lot more work to maintain and keep clean. There's no downside to having more space, except that you may end up with even more chickens. You seem to have ended up with more anyway!

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I agree about building a walk in coop, or even multipes side by side. 22 chickens are going to make a lot of poop and those little coops take a lot more work to maintain and keep clean. There's no downside to having more space, except that you may end up with even more chickens. You seem to have ended up with more anyway!

Chicken math will strike again

 

[rod5591]

any suggestions on blueprint and a supply list for a walk-in chickenhouse?

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I think if you search the articles on here you can find some great ones. . I'll double check with my hubby on the measurements for our dream coop we're currently building and get back with you!!!

 

[HenHouse4Life]

I will be sending you a message that you can find in your inbox in just a few minutes with detailed descriptions of our plans

 

[Ms Biddy]

Here is one of our coops with a very humble but functional design. It currently holds 16 birds but could probably hold 25 if I had more nest boxes. I don't like them to be crowded though. Any variation on this would be fairly easy and inexpensive, especially if you use any recycled materials. Depending on your climate, three walls might be enough which is another cost saver. Figure how many chickens you want and how many square feet per bird and go from there with dimensions. We also have a cattle panel hoop coop. Ours is an 8x8 that only uses 2 panels. I consider it a fair size for 8 chickens, but some say it could hold 16 as long as they free range year round. These can be built longer by adding more panels. To me, coops are like chickens. I find myself always wanting more.

 

[lissalischicks]

I definitely agree with building bigger if you can. I wish I had done some things differently but I am limited by space for size. I think everyone I have spoken to has started with.... on my next coop I am going to...... because I have tons of those. This is funny because I feel like my coop could be better but my friend came over and is drooling over mine.

 

[rosemarythyme]

but the coops are only big enough for 5 chickens eachView attachment 1346677

Without modifications, that coop doesn't even have enough space for 2 birds. The actual coop area (marked in yellow) is 35.4" x 21.8", so only slightly over 5 sq ft inside.

You can also look into sheds as an option, if that might be easier to build or buy. With 22 chickens you want a minimum of 88 sq ft, so maybe a 10x10 shed would be a good starting point? Of course if you plan on adding even more chickens in the future, make it even larger.

 

[rod5591]

Listening to the advice that my chicks were too crowded, I set up a very large 250 gallon tub as a brooder. I took the 14 chicks I had in a 50-gallon container and moved them to the 250 gallon tub. Next I moved the 8 chicks from a 30-gallon container into the 50-gallon container. So I still have two brooders, but 50 gallon is the smallest one now. Please see photos. Hopefully the chicks have enough room. Questions:

1) Could I put the 8 chicks in with the 14 chicks and have all 22 chicks living in a 250 gallon brooder?

2) The chicks are nearing 3 weeks old – when I move them outside into the 2 hen houses I built (from prefab kits), are they going to be overcrowded again? Each house is supposed to comfortably fit 5 birds—and I’ve got 22 of them!

3) How long do I have to build more coops?

 

[gator75]

You need to get to building. You'll find a design you like that fits your needs in the coop section of this site in less than a half hour. Hey, you're retired. What else ya got to do. Save the small coop you have as a brooder to separate mothers and chicks one day. Or sell it to pay for material costs.