Need advice adding onto coop. FYI, make it bigger than you think you need. . .

[emilyenorris]

It is true. You can never build your coop big enough.

With the help of my family, I built my coop 3 summers ago. At the time, I had 12 chickens. I have attached a picture of the coop. It has an inclosed area 2 feet off the ground that is 3ft wide by 6 feet deep. I have 1x4 roosts the entire length at 1 ft and 2 ft off the ground inside it. The nesting boxes are attached on the side and do not take up space inside the enclosed area.

The run (including the area below the inclosed area) is 6ftx11ft. I have a dog house on the ground because my silkie hen will not roost with the other chickens.

My question is, what do you think is the best way to add space onto the existing run? How much more space do I need for a total of 25 chickens? I have 8 new chicks that are about a month old and will be getting the others at the end of May. They free range during the day and only going the run to eat and sleep (unless the weather is really bad).

I was thinking about making another inclosed area just the same as the one that I have, but put it at the opposite end of the coop. Any other ideas? What would you do? Thank you for the help.

 

[3KillerBs]

Hello, welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you located? Climate matters, especially when considering the size and design of a chicken coop.

According to the usual guidelines, for each adult, standard-sized chicken you need:

4 square feet in the coop,
10 square feet in the run,
1 linear foot of roost,
~1/4 of a nest box,
and 1 square foot of ventilation -- ideally located above the chickens' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

So for 25 chickens you need:

100 square feet in the coop -- 10x10, but 8x12 would be very close and better suit the dimensions that lumber comes in with less waste.

250 square feet in the run -- 10x25, 12x20, or 16x16 as the most convenient dimensions.

25 feet of roost (with the Silkies getting theirs at ground level),

and 6-8 nest boxes.

My first thought for adapting what you have is that you might remove the interior wall and floor from the enclosed area, remove the wall from both the enclosed area and run towards the yard, build a mirror-image of what you've got with the new roof higher to create a clerestory in order to provide good ventilation, then side it as necessary to use that entire thing as a coop then add a new run.

 

[Percheron chick]

I don't know how you made that setup work. That's only 1 1/2 sq ft per bird. How can they get up on roosts when they only have 3' to work with?
Me? I would sell it and start over. It's attractive and looks well built. You should be able to get $800+ for it. For 25 chickens, you need a walk-in coop that's a minimum 8x8. You'll never be able to expand the current coop and make it functional.

 

[IT Farmer]

Use 3KillerBs space requirements as a good guideline of how much space each chicken needs. Also, keep in mind that this is the minimum space requirements per bird. I say build it as large as you can. As Percheron chick stated, you could look into selling your current coop/run and put that money towards building materials for a new one or possibly taking it apart and reusing the material for your new build. Fewer, healthier, happier birds are more enjoyable to raise vs having a bunch crammed into small spaces which just promotes disease, stress, etc.