Opinions on this coop

[acissej]

I posted a pic of this the other day to ask about predator proofing, but now I have a question about size. We ordered this one and they're building it for us now.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/for/1772727450.html

The one we got is the Craftsman 36. We have 4 Buff Orpingtons and 2 Light Brahmas. I ordered it with two of the run attachments and the droppings tray.

Is that going to be enough space? The guy making it said it should be fine because since the coop has roosts up above the floor it's kind of "2 stories" so it's fine for that many hens.

I'm not sure how often if ever we'll be able to let the chickens outside since we are unfenced out here and have predators and neighbor dogs nearby.

 

[drunkdog]

I wouldnt want to kill anyones sale especially a local but it seems pricey unless you either dont have carpentry skills or have friends with skills then it is one of the nicer ones I see on the seattle cl lately and im always lookin so as to know the local market prices...

 

[acissej]

I've been looking and looking for a long time. We are not handy at all and I don't really have friends who are either, so we're stuck buying one. I wanted something that looks nice too. It really doesn't seem that pricey compared to other ones custom built I've found.

 

[patandchickens]

It says it's 3x4' -- with two storeys, that is 24 sq ft; with two 4x6 runs (although they will make it rather hard to effectively access the coop itself!) would bring your total square footage up to 60 sq ft.

Putting 6 chickens in there would give them 10 sq ft per chicken, total -- not overly expansive, but enough people do it without too much problem that I think your odds of avoiding cannibalism (the most basic requirement) are reasonable.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[BlueLagoonRabbitry]

If you do get it, just to save a little bit of cash you could buy three dropping trays for 45 instead of the 200

 

[teach1rusl]

Just keep a close eye on your birds for bullying/picking issues as your birds get bigger, especially during periods of foul weather. That space sounds really tight to me, especially since they will most likely all want to be in the upper level at night time and in times of bad weather...6 big breed chickens crammed in a 3 x 4 space. Your breeds are fairly mild, so that may help...and any time you can let them range a bit in your yard for some stretching, your birds would most appreciate it.

Most folks who sell these the premade coops will tell you that they will hold far more birds than the coop actually will (at least comfortably), it's part of their sales pitch...and they will hold the amount they proclaim if you're basing it on commercial poultry house standards, but that's part of what most backyard chickeners are trying to get away from.

 

[acissej]

*sigh* I had them upgrade my order to the next size up. My husband might kill me. My coop will therefore be 4x4 with one covered 4x6 run and another uncovered 4x6 run. I'm much happier with that arrangement for my 6 big hens.

 

[gryeyes]

I'd like to be someone who says you made a good decision (especially since you upgraded). The coop looks very well made, good use of space, and the attached runs make it nice for chickens to go outside while you build a much bigger enclosure around it someday. (It's what *I* did with my expensive eBay coop kit.)

The construction on yours is MUCH better than many I see on CL, too. (Luckily, I've found a good coop builder who makes other CL coop offerings look really ratty and/or stupid.)

I'll think you'll do fine, for now. And "now" could be a year or two, if you're slow to catch the chicken math bug.

 

[hallerlake]

I'm a newbie, so all I can say is that is a good looking coop. That's important to me living in the city. I've been checking Craig's list in the Seattle area, and the price seems quite reasonable.

 

[enggass]

It says these are made from Cedar. I thought Cedar was bad...