New House, Old Coop

[thlayli]

Heyo! Old member coming back after several years -- I had a flock of 17 when I lived in Washington after getting out of the military, but still-enlisted Husbando got orders to California and the chickens couldn't come. Now that Lady Navy no longer gets a slice of me OR my man, we've contracted on a great house on 2 acres, which just so happens to have a large coop and chunnel around a garden (did I mention this was a great place??). HOWEVER, the coop is not 100% up to snuff, even though there are chickens already in it merrily pooping out eggs every day.

Pros:
It has electricity! Which is GREAT in case I ever want to do things that require that. It currently has a low wattage lightbulb but the days are long enough that the ventilation windows (2 of them, about 2 feet long by 8 inches-ish tall. this is me eyeballing and I'm bad at measurements) provide enough light inside.
It's metal. No rot! The roof seems to be in good condition, too.
The chicken tunnel is both in very good condition and tall enough that I can actually get into it and walk around while just stooping slightly. It is also about 3.5 feet wide around a 150 foot perimeter, so plenty o' room for fluffybutt activities. (see my previous statement on my eyeballing abilities, though)

Cons:
There's a big old tree cuddling up on it and getting in the way of everything. Can't open the second ventilation window.
The access door is warped and doesn't sit in the frame correctly. There is a gap of several inches on the bottom corner where it doesn't close all the way.
The coop is lifted off the ground about a foot, but the entire space is blocked in by plywood. The plywood is rotted in several spots, which cuts down pretty severely on coop security and while it IS shady there is very little airflow.
There is a mounted feeder inside that is not closed, and in fact doesn't have a lid at all, and is crammed full of feed. I startled several mice when I went into the coop to check things out. I don't like that.
It is dirty.
There are few roosting spots for large fowl adult birds. I was surprised at the lack of roost room, because the hens look to be austrolorps and larger birds. Even the easter eggers were pretty big compared to what I'm used to/remember. There is a roost ladder but it would probably only comfortably accommodate pullets or one grown hen on each rung.

These are my proposed alterations to address the issues I see. Mostly I'm looking for suggestions on improvements and whether what I want to do is a good idea or if it can be done in a smarter way. I will post photos in the next comment so look for those to see what I mean and give you a look at what I'm working with.

Fixes:
Trim the damn tree.
New access door. The current one is a dutch style with an upper screen, which I really like. Ideally I will be replacing the current door with a similar, better door.
Remove the plywood from the base of the coop and replace it with hardware cloth. This will maintain the dusty, cool area where the hens can go to hang out while allowing airflow and increasing security. I will make a hardware cloth apron and bury the excess/cover it with either pavers or brick.
Remove the mounted wood feeder and replace it with another type. I kind of like the wall mount but it might get in the way if I install a roosting bar along that side. I don't want poop to cover the feeder or risk getting into their feed. I am considering bucket feeders with spouts the chickens can stick their heads into to access food, lifted off the floor with cinder blocks.
I will remove all current bedding and deep clean the coop and nesting boxes. Do you prefer pine shavings or straw for bedding? I have access to both, but straw is more abundant where I live. I have done no research on the pros/cons of straw bedding for birds, though, and whether it is easier to compost than wood shavings. (no cedar, I know).
I will install roosting bars 2 to 3 feet off the floor of the coop, running along the long side of the structure on both sides. What do you recommend doing for poop trays under that? A plank? Does it get in the way of cleaning the coop? Do you recommend them at all? The nesting boxes are built along one of the walls and can't be moved.

While I didn't plan on keeping the current 6 chickens and asked the sellers to take them, there isn't much I can do if they just...leave them. I mean, I could rehome them, but I'd feel bad about it. They're sweet birds and they're laying like gangbusters. I have an order of 16 (2 cocks and 14 pullets) coming from Meyer at the end of August though and I planned on brooding in the coop. (One time inside was Enough and I don't ever want to do THAT again)

I am open to modifying my order for Fewer Chickens if yall think the space is not conducive, either with or without current hens. Any and all opinions are welcome, because I want to do this so my flock is happy and healthy.

 

[thlayli]

for my photos <3

 

[mowin]

First, thank you for your service. Looks like you've got a good plan in place.

 

[Cryss]

Good bones, good plan. I prefer shavings. Straw hides mites n such and hay gets moldy. I don’t remember you mentioning coop dimensions. Basic standard is 4sqft/bird inside floor area not including nest area. Good reason to keep nests above the floor. Run area 10sqft/bird. I use a 2 foot wide poop board underneath a single height roost. (Having said that I recently added an extra roost and poop board that is slightly higher but not directly above the original.) But remember when they jump down they need horizontal space so they don’t jump crashing into an opposing wall. Video shows original. Photo shows new roost and nests.

 

[rosemarythyme]

What's the overall size of the coop? That'll tell you how many birds you can fit. 4 sq ft per bird in moderate climates is the general suggestion, but as it appears that there's no covered run space outside the chickens may not want to go out during much of winter, so 6 to 8 sq ft would be better in that scenario.

You're also going to want to add more ventilation than what's currently there (assuming your 2 vents at 2'x8" is correct, you have roughly 2 2/3 sq ft in ventilation - you want to aim for 1 sq ft per bird which would be 6 + 16 = 22 sq ft). No roof overhang to work with so probably the best bet would be awnings or top hinged windows that could be propped open/partially closed depending on weather.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome back to chickens.

Yes, trim the tree, but leave as much shade as possible so the coop doesn't turn into a rotisserie in the summer sun.

I'm concerned about the size and the ventilation.

The Usual Guideline say, 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.

So 16 birds, with just your order, would need 64 square feet in the coop -- 8x8 -- and 160 square feet in the run -- but @rosemarythyme raised the point about winter, so you might want to add "Build covered run for winter" to your plans.

And you'd need 16 square feet of ventilation but the vents you describe amount to less than 3 square feet.

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

As for the bedding, any dry organic material *can* work -- but each needs it's own form of management.

Shavings are popular because they're readily available and easy to handle. They don't pack much. But they also don't compost readily.

Straw composts better but is prone to packing, matting, and developing anaerobic pockets so it require more management in fluffing and turning.

I don't recommend hay because it's a compost green -- a nitrogen SOURCE -- where what you need is a compost brown -- a carbon source to react with the nitrogen.

Some materials such as pine straw here in the US southeast and fall leaves in areas with abundant deciduous trees are locally abundant and have their own set of pros and cons.

I *personally* like a mix of materials better than one single material.

This is my article on Deep Bedding: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[thlayli]

@Cryss @rosemarythyme @3KillerBs
Ya'll brought up good points, especially about considering how the "floorplan" of the coop was laid out.


I think the coop is a 10x8, so in theory it would be large enough to comfortably fit the number of chickens I plan to have. However, the nesting boxes take up a good chunk of floor space, and I don't know if it will be economical for me to remove them. Luckily, if it comes to needing to change my chick order, I will have plenty of time to do so -- we close on the 27th of July, and the babies won't hatch until the 22nd of August.

The ventilation issue, however, I think is the most pressing and will probably be the most labor intensive. Giving myself more credit than I am due and saying my eyeballed measurements are tinier than real life, even I can tell those 2 windows + the screen dutch door are not 16 sq/ft (let alone 22). I think what I will do is prioritize the roosting bars so I can see exactly where the animals will be sleeping, and then I can add proper ventilation from there. Maybe I can get actual windows on the cheap and use those, screened in. My dad is a roofer, so adding some gabling over any doorway or window probably won't require TOO much assistance, but I also kinda want an automatic coop door, and a little gable over that would protect it from the elements as well.

I wanted to remove the plywood siding that was put in place around the base of the raised shed, but do you think I should leave it in place for winter? That would give the chickens 80 sq/ft of protected, no snow outside area. Maybe remove it for summer, install the hardware cloth, and then reinstall it on a temporary basis for winter? I could definitely find a way to weatherproof the first 10 or 20 feet of the chunnel, too, which would give them about 160ish sq/ft of usable space, although I don't know how much they would use when the temps drop below 0. At least they would have the option lol

 

[rosemarythyme]

I wanted to remove the plywood siding that was put in place around the base of the raised shed, but do you think I should leave it in place for winter? That would give the chickens 80 sq/ft of protected, no snow outside area. Maybe remove it for summer, install the hardware cloth, and then reinstall it on a temporary basis for winter? I could definitely find a way to weatherproof the first 10 or 20 feet of the chunnel, too, which would give them about 160ish sq/ft of usable space, although I don't know how much they would use when the temps drop below 0. At least they would have the option lol

That might work for winter, as long as the area still gets some ventilation. What you typically see for winter weather proofing is either paneling or clear plastic to blunt wind/snow blowing in, with several inches left open at top, or even a whole end left open (based on your wind patterns/predominant wind direction(s)) for ventilation.

As long as you can keep the outdoor space relatively free of snow and strong winter winds, even below 0 the chickens will likely opt to go outside rather than stay in.

 

[3KillerBs]

If the nests are built as a unit you might be able to dismount them and then mount them higher up so that the space underneath is usable.

Have you run across this article yet? https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[Cryss]

Many ventilation areas are openings under the eaves. That works best as long as the roof is high enough.