- May 13, 2012
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Darn Chicken Math!
Five years ago when I decided to get chickens I was warned. I was told to build my coop bigger than I thought I needed, that I WILL get more chickens! I blew it off, I was in the middle of the city for goodness sakes, we have rules here! I never thought I'd have more than my 5 girls. Our limit at the time by the way was 4 but I ordered hatchery chicks and didn't expect them to all survive- they did. The coop was built for 4, but 5 fit no problem, heck 6 could have been in there with plenty of wing room. However, when we almosr lost another one I thought how sad 1 lone hen would be in there and ordered chicks. This time we picked breeds the hatchery didn't sex so once again I ordered plenty of extras to cover for roos- they are a definite no no here and I was convinced we'd get a bunch. We have 10 little ones growing quickly in the brooder. Now, we still have a hen limit (it's up to 5!) in our laws, but my neighbors all around me are long time home owners and none of them care if we keep a few extra girls so I doubt the city will care either. So far, there are only a couple of chicks who are looking like males. So, my delima is how to turn a house for 5 hens into a house for 8-10 hens. Here's a picture of the inside of my long narrow coop:
Our first chickens were all cochins, a heavy breed who I was told needed a low roost. So, we designed and still currently use a roost that looks like stairs:
Yes, it is a tight fit for my big birds, we grew some super sized cochins! This roost is actually almost 3 ft. long We have 2, one for each end of the coop. We made them removable for easy coop cleaning.
Now for measurments:
the coop interior is 7 ft. long. It is only just shy of 3 ft. wide though . My plan is to install a more permanent roost the full 7 foot long postioned about 20 inches up and attached so that it sits about 12 in. out from the back wall of the coop. I was going to add another roost about 3 ft. long down below that one one for my big girls to use because I'm not sure they could get up to the 20" one in this tight coop.
The other breeds we will eventually house are mottled houdan, salmon faverolle, sultan and silkie. Of these the only other one that will be sorta round is the SF right? We will probably only have 1 of those because the other one is looking more and more like a rooster everyday. The bantam silkies hardly count, they can sleep in a tin can almost (kidding). Keep in mind these chickens soley use the coop for sleep and laying eggs, they are never kept in due to weather. They have covered area in the run below the coop for rainy days they always hang out in.
So here finally are my questions: (Thank you for bearing with me)
1. Should 8-10 birds (silkies included) have enough roost space with roughly 10 ft. of roost?
2. Will they be able to get to the 20" roost if it sits out 11-12 inches from the wall in a coop that is only about 32" wide inside without having stairs?
3. Should I just add a second coop inside the run area, thus giving them a second home like the rich and famous? This would also create another covered area for rainy days so there would be no crowding under the current coop.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Five years ago when I decided to get chickens I was warned. I was told to build my coop bigger than I thought I needed, that I WILL get more chickens! I blew it off, I was in the middle of the city for goodness sakes, we have rules here! I never thought I'd have more than my 5 girls. Our limit at the time by the way was 4 but I ordered hatchery chicks and didn't expect them to all survive- they did. The coop was built for 4, but 5 fit no problem, heck 6 could have been in there with plenty of wing room. However, when we almosr lost another one I thought how sad 1 lone hen would be in there and ordered chicks. This time we picked breeds the hatchery didn't sex so once again I ordered plenty of extras to cover for roos- they are a definite no no here and I was convinced we'd get a bunch. We have 10 little ones growing quickly in the brooder. Now, we still have a hen limit (it's up to 5!) in our laws, but my neighbors all around me are long time home owners and none of them care if we keep a few extra girls so I doubt the city will care either. So far, there are only a couple of chicks who are looking like males. So, my delima is how to turn a house for 5 hens into a house for 8-10 hens. Here's a picture of the inside of my long narrow coop:
Our first chickens were all cochins, a heavy breed who I was told needed a low roost. So, we designed and still currently use a roost that looks like stairs:
Yes, it is a tight fit for my big birds, we grew some super sized cochins! This roost is actually almost 3 ft. long We have 2, one for each end of the coop. We made them removable for easy coop cleaning.
Now for measurments:
the coop interior is 7 ft. long. It is only just shy of 3 ft. wide though . My plan is to install a more permanent roost the full 7 foot long postioned about 20 inches up and attached so that it sits about 12 in. out from the back wall of the coop. I was going to add another roost about 3 ft. long down below that one one for my big girls to use because I'm not sure they could get up to the 20" one in this tight coop.
The other breeds we will eventually house are mottled houdan, salmon faverolle, sultan and silkie. Of these the only other one that will be sorta round is the SF right? We will probably only have 1 of those because the other one is looking more and more like a rooster everyday. The bantam silkies hardly count, they can sleep in a tin can almost (kidding). Keep in mind these chickens soley use the coop for sleep and laying eggs, they are never kept in due to weather. They have covered area in the run below the coop for rainy days they always hang out in.
So here finally are my questions: (Thank you for bearing with me)
1. Should 8-10 birds (silkies included) have enough roost space with roughly 10 ft. of roost?
2. Will they be able to get to the 20" roost if it sits out 11-12 inches from the wall in a coop that is only about 32" wide inside without having stairs?
3. Should I just add a second coop inside the run area, thus giving them a second home like the rich and famous? This would also create another covered area for rainy days so there would be no crowding under the current coop.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
