Need advice on received enclosure

[Mindes]

In laws recently were given an enclosure with three birds. The enclosure from what I can tell from researching is not adequate enough. The in laws are older and unable to really be able to upgrade or rebuild the current enclosure so it will be up to me to do the heavy lifting on that part.

The attached pictures show what we are working with. It is a short a frame type with a small door for the chickens to get out and a larger door on the coop for egg gathering.

The nipple waterer was removed because there was no way to reach out to be able to fill it and the inside was filthy. Once there's an optimal solution to place it for easier filing and cleaning it will be returned.

I know nesting boxes and roost are needed.

It's about 4' h x 4' w x 10' (?) L. The coop part, of you could call it that, is about 2' x 2' x 2' triangle.

 

[townchicks]

That's basically a chicken tractor, designed to be a temporary shelter, moved about on pasture. I recommend, if you are able, to get something like a dog kennel, enclose that in hardware cloth for safety, with a small coop attached or inside. Speaking as an older person myself, a run that can be walked into, and a raised coop that can be reached into without a lot of bending, is so much less work, and makes chicken keeping more pleasant. Of course, even a large dog kennel is a bit small for full time confinement, IMO, but they may enjoy letting the chickens out into the yard when they are around.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Welcome to BYC!! Check out the Small Coops section for ideas and inspiration. If you have the financial and/or DIY capability, I probably wouldn't even use that. OR use it as a starting point but dramatically modify it and re-enforce it with Hardware cloth (over or instead of chicken wire,) and make it stationary or mobile but with protection from anything wanting to dig right in there as it's not at all predator proof. Would hate to see them experience a predator attack. And that's a lot of bending over, if you could raise it up higher, put a base of some sort under it, you'd double the real estate as well as making access easier. Good luck! You will indeed find this place very helpful! I started with a small old dog house and 5 birds, now I have 112sq ft. oops, it's addictive!

 

[Mindes]

Check out the Small Coops section for ideas and inspiration.

So..I looked for small coop section, even used search but couldn't find it.

 

[Windrider]

So..I looked for small coop section, even used search but couldn't find it.

You need to look under the articles rather than the forum. The brown buttons at the top of the page next to the BYC logo.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/small-coops.18/

 

[SandyRiverChick]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/ Hopefully you found it. Small, Med and Large coops. It's a lot to scroll through so there is nothing wrong with what you did, searching this forum for key words like "A frame coop" or "Tractor"

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

Your suspicions are correct, that little tractor is inadequate for long-term housing -- and is also not predator proof since it's only chicken wire.

Here is some general information for you:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

3 chickens need at least:

• 12 square feet in the coop,
• 30 square feet in the run,
• 3 linear feet of roost,
• 1 nest (or 2 to give them a choice),
• And 3 square feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, best located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

To give you an idea of what these numbers look like, here is a coop designed to exactly meet the minimums for 4 birds: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

And some other good, small coops that I like:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dallas-urban-coop-single-slope-design.72422/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coreys-coop-de-doop.55619/

If you're going to be doing the heavy chores such as cleaning, you might want to look into using Deep Bedding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

I second the idea that a coop and run that can be walked into is good for those of us who don't bend over so easily anymore.

 

[Mindes]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/ Hopefully you found it. Small, Med and Large coops. It's a lot to scroll through so there is nothing wrong with what you did, searching this forum for key words like "A frame coop" or "Tractor"

I found it almost immediately after posting.

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

Your suspicions are correct, that little tractor is inadequate for long-term housing -- and is also not predator proof since it's only chicken wire.

Here is some general information for you:

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

3 chickens need at least:

• 12 square feet in the coop,
• 30 square feet in the run,
• 3 linear feet of roost,
• 1 nest (or 2 to give them a choice),
• And 3 square feet of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, best located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

To give you an idea of what these numbers look like, here is a coop designed to exactly meet the minimums for 4 birds: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

And some other good, small coops that I like:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dallas-urban-coop-single-slope-design.72422/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coreys-coop-de-doop.55619/

If you're going to be doing the heavy chores such as cleaning, you might want to look into using Deep Bedding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

I second the idea that a coop and run that can be walked into is good for those of us who don't bend over so easily anymore.

Located in nwfl North of I-10.

Doing the heavy lifting as in redoing the setup. They will be caring for the birds, just to make it easier.

 

[3KillerBs]

Located in nwfl North of I-10.

Doing the heavy lifting as in redoing the setup. They will be caring for the birds, just to make it easier.

to a fellow resident of the Steamy Southeast from the Sandhills of North Carolina.

If you put your general location into your profile it's easier for people to give you well-targeted advice.

Here is my article on hot climate chicken keeping: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

An Open Air coop would be an excellent choice in your climate. That's a big wire box with a 3-sided shelter on the windward end -- coop and run combined in one.

Here's my article on ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

And some examples of Open Air coops:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/jens-hens-a-southern-texas-coop.75707/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/my-positive-local-action-coop.72804/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/california-living.68130/

You could also consider a hoop coop, which is easy to build and results in a walk-in structure:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-tractor.69336/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hoop-coop-brooder-with-roll-up-sides.75720/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-biddie-bordello-a-hoop-coop-run-combo.72189/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/permanent-hoop-coop-guide.47818/