need enclosure inside coop/run??

[Davaroo]

Quote:
In that case Id suggest you enclose as least some part of it, where the roosts and nests will be. Can you open up into the shed itself?

 

[BroomFarm]

You're up north of Lake Oroville...I used to fish tournaments there when I lived in the Bay Area.

That is a very secure-looking run with lots of fun stuff for the chickens to play on, but if you want them to be happy and healthy during the winter, some kind of coop would be essential. You have two good options:

The easiest thing would be to convert all, or part, of the shed into a coop. Most chicken coops are just sheds with a few modifications to meet their needs. (You don't really need all that stuff in the shed, do you?!) You would install a pop door with a ramp to get in at the bottom, relocate your nest boxes inside and then add 12-15" of roost (2X4 with the long side up) per bird. If you look at some of the coops in these pages, you'll find lots of great designs that use only a small amount of space.

The other option would be to build a rather large "cabinet" that attaches to the wall where your nest boxes are currently located. I would suggest something along the lines of 4'x8', although that wouldn't be as large as most recommend, if you have to confine your birds for any length of time. I know you usually don't get many heavy snows in that area, but if they had to be cooped up for 2 straight days, the standard rule of 4sf per bird would mean any more than 8-10 birds would be cramped. This could lead to feather plucking or intense squabbling in the flock.

In either case, make the use of a "poop board" part of the plan. This can be a simple piece of plywood with cheap vinyl flooring on it, placed directly under their roost to catch the majority of their droppings. Something 2 foot square works well. You take it out every day or two, washing the droppings into your compost heap. When you have a fair number of birds in a smaller space, this can go a long way toward keeping their roost area clean(er).

Also, you might consider pulling up maybe half of the tile-work in their run, to give them more areas to scratch and dig. This will get them all the grit they need to process the food they eat, plus make them a bit happier. I've heard of a few folks buying a dozen small plant containers, growing grass in them, and rotating 3 or 4 containers at a time, in the run, because chickens love to eat grass.

Those are just a few thoughts I had, but as you continue to read on BYC, you'll learn all you need to know about having healthy, happy, productive chickens!

Below is our homepage with the coop we made. You could do something similar along the wall where the nest boxes are, but you wouldn't need the roof to slope so much.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=30118

 

[elmo]

Many people believe that a conventional, closed coop is not the healthiest option for keeping chickens. See, for example:

http://www.nortoncreekpress.com/fresh-air-poultry-houses2.html

 

[DawnSuiter]

I think you DO have a "coop" and it's fantastic as it is. In fact I have several just like it!

My young chickens ALWAYS pile up at the door at night, and a few weeks later they are perching. The instinct will hit them soon enough.

If it were me, I would just invest in some nice thick plastic to wrap it with in the winter months. That's all. I think it's GREAT like it is, open, fresh air (I'm a big fan of that) and covered from rain.. PERFECT!

 

[Violet22]

That's not a fox peeking in checking out your chickens in the first pic is it?

I have always had a run with just a doghouse in it for my chickens. I did use wood for a wall behind it and on the side where the wind blows in to get it a bit more protection. We do get below freezing here, but it usually warms up in the daytime, and no snow.
The chickens lived happily their whole lives in it, and now my duckies are living in it.