Oh crap, what have I done ...

[Mamatomany123]

Well, I suppose I'll ask the most interesting question to me at least;

'Are your neighbors aware of it? How much noise is there? Have they said anything?'

If nobody notices I don't think there's anything wrong. But a rooster, I'm pretty sure people are going to notice. The vast number of city regulations that I've read on, all say no roosters so far.

But I know for a fact that my neighbor has like 11 dogs, and nobody goes after him for some reason. That's a pain too. Why is it some people get away with it and some people don't?

I'd like to know how to have more chickens and ducks in the city without having the city coming down on you for being over the limits.

It seems like now is also a good time for having too many because come this fall I guarantee you there's going to be trouble in the grocery stores. The food supply is going to be disrupted for MONTHS. China still hasn't gone back to normal yet, and they've had it like 4 and a half months now. So...if here is like over there, we could be dealing with this until fall.

So that being said, maybe you can trim your roosters, and expand your feed storage, and make it a point to donate eggs and meat to help people that are needy or older. That might also reduce tension for if you worried about if people are upset with your hobbies. (That's how beekeepers do it also. Honey = bribes.)

Having a rooster or chickens isnt illegal in all places. I can have chickens and roosters and I live in the middle of town on .25 acre. My neighbor isnt happy about it but I'm not doing anything illegal. But said neighbor isnt happy when someone just looks at her house.

 

[aart]

This original post asked about space, not warmth or weatherproofing, and the space appears adequate according to the most commonly quoted guidelines.

But space habitability can change due to weather conditions...
....and more space is always better than less, despite claims otherwise.

 

[NatJ]

But space habitability can change due to weather conditions...
....and more space is always better than less, despite claims otherwise.

Yes, more is always better.
But for the particular coop in question, with the plexiglass additions, ALL of the space will be the same amount habitable. Either it will all be fine, or none of it will be fine. Cutting down on the number of chickens will not make that same space any warmer or more weatherproof.

 

[aart]

Yes, more is always better.
But for the particular coop in question, with the plexiglass additions, ALL of the space will be the same amount habitable. Either it will all be fine, or none of it will be fine. Cutting down on the number of chickens will not make that same space any warmer or more weatherproof.

Nope, but it will make it less crowded....which is always better

 

[AppleMomma65]

Where did you order the chicks from? We wanted several breeds as well but the places I’ve seen don’t let you pick 1 of each type...

I ordered mine from Meyer Hatchery located in OH - they come this week!!! Minimum order before March 30 was 8, after March 30 it's 3. I did a LOT of research and theirs was the hatchery that had the lowest minimum (which I was originally going to stick with ... until ... I saw other fun chickens and that's where things got a little crazy.) I just checked their site and they are "out" of a lot of breeds until June. Everyone is getting ready for their chickens!

 

[AppleMomma65]

Having a rooster or chickens isnt illegal in all places. I can have chickens and roosters and I live in the middle of town on .25 acre. My neighbor isnt happy about it but I'm not doing anything illegal. But said neighbor isnt happy when someone just looks at her house.

Once all are grown and can be outside, they will reside at our place in NE WI. We have 40 acres and while they will be near the house, our neighbors are a ways down the road so shouldn't be an issue. Someone nearby does have a rooster. And I agree, if anyone fusses, I'm quite certain some free, fresh eggs and a bottle of honey (and a nice bag of apples from the orchard) may settle them down.

 

[Sasha-chickens]

Could you take pics?

 

[rosemarythyme]

It looks to me as though there are two ways to view this coop.

Some people are treating the structure as coop on top, run underneath, and saying it's only enough space for a small number of birds.

(Minor rant: why do people think it's only a coop if it has solid walls, and then demand more ventilation? Wire walls are great for ventilation! But lots of folks seem to look at the wire and call that section a "run" instead of part of the "coop.")

Well I was looking at it overall as a coop, as the floor space is just floor space - as my old coop was by same builder the "run" space (as it was labeled by manufacturer) on bottom to me was just coop space - it gave my chickens 4 sq ft per bird, ventilation, and some predator protection. Roost length to me is the limiting factor though that could be changed (I would consider removing half of the nest boxes and replace with an additional roost if needed). I don't know how the weather panels will hold up in MN's climate but they're fine in some snow.

(I will say it's a very expensive coop though, rivaling my shed build/install.)

 

[AppleMomma65]

Well I was looking at it overall as a coop, as the floor space is just floor space - as my old coop was by same builder the "run" space (as it was labeled by manufacturer) on bottom to me was just coop space - it gave my chickens 4 sq ft per bird, ventilation, and some predator protection. Roost length to me is the limiting factor though that could be changed (I would consider removing half of the nest boxes and replace with an additional roost if needed). I don't know how the weather panels will hold up in MN's climate but they're fine in some snow.

(I will say it's a very expensive coop though, rivaling my shed build/install.)

A good idea - I too have thought about taking out one (or two?) of the four nest boxes and putting in additional roosts there. Once we get it and begin to assemble may make some modifications. As for cost, yes, it's pricey. However, to me its far worth the work I'd have to do to find something for free/low $, then the nagging I'd have to do to get it here, and then the begging I have to do for help in rebuilding/fixing, etc. LOL - my husband is actually looking forward to our project where he doesn't have to haul, cut, measure, just assemble. Our project last winter spring was putting together a saw mill. 3 metal pallets of machinery, 50 boxes of nuts and bolts and a 300 page instruction manual and we got it done. This should be a cinch.

 

[rosemarythyme]

A good idea - I too have thought about taking out one (or two?) of the four nest boxes and putting in additional roosts there. Once we get it and begin to assemble may make some modifications.

my husband is actually looking forward to our project where he doesn't have to haul, cut, measure, just assemble. Our project last winter spring was putting together a saw mill. 3 metal pallets of machinery, 50 boxes of nuts and bolts and a 300 page instruction manual and we got it done. This should be a cinch.

It should be easy to do some modifications. Their instruction sheets are pretty good so you can reference them to see how stuff goes together, and then change around things as needed (often before assembly).

A SAW MILL? Hubby and I joked that we're so bad at building things that when the coop instructions claimed a "10 year old could build this!", that we were worst than the 10 year old. I no longer ask hubby to help me build anything, he makes every project that 4x as long. I'll have him do something simple like cut hardware cloth but after that I shoo him away.