Ordering small chicken coop - question on roosting area.

[kleekailove]

Hi guys! I am completely new to chicken ownership and am hoping to get my first coop next week. I have three adult Salmon Faverolle laying hens that I bought yesterday and they will have a fenced yard to run around during most of the day and will be confined to the coop in the evening. Also, I live in Asheville, NC where winter temperatures can drop into the single digits at night, but the summers are nice and moderate and the coop will be under a shaded tree. I am getting a 4'x4' chicken coop from a carpenter who sells one type of coop (which includes a run area) that I like, but I was considering asking him to make some modifications to the coop I'm going to buy. I've attached some photos below of the coop for reference.

The roosting area on the coop is basically a little loft that is only partially enclosed. I was considering asking him to extend the roosting area all the way across the top so it would have the same footprint as the run below and then include one or two more roosting poles. I thought if I did that, I might be able to put a food and water dish up there so the girls have more space to wander about in the run area. If I extended the upper area all the way across, would it also be good to extend the walls on the side of nesting area and maybe only leave the front part exposed to the elements?

Please and feedback would be most appreciated! I am pretty new all of this

 

[junebuggena]

That coop is way too small Salmon Faverolles. The ramp is a bit too narrow and a bit too steep. However, if the chicken wire (which does nothing to keep predators out) was removed and the whole frame was enclosed, it would be great. Remove the little loft area, since it won't be needed if you do enclose this thing, and put in a few 2x4s for roosts. You would also need to cut some vents in right about where that cute little chicken decal is and cover them with hardware cloth. As it is, it would only house a few bantams, not large, heavy Salmon Faverolles.

 

[Percheron chick]

4x4 footprint including the run? That's too small to be of any value. Are you only ever going to have 3 hens?

 

[kleekailove]

The run is 4'x4'. The loft/nesting area is 2'x4', but I was going to ask about extending that to also be 4'x4'.

This is them in a 4'x4' exercise pen (for size reference) that I had them in yesterday while I was at work.

 

[Percheron chick]

Don't buy it. It's waaaay too small. It's the right size for one hen and her clutch.

 

[junebuggena]

Salmon Faverolles are very large chickens, as in hens average about 8 lbs. A 4x4 footprint coop is fine as long as they have a lot of outdoor space. If you try to keep them in too small an area long term, it will cause all sorts of behavioral problems, including cannibalism.

 

[kleekailove]

Thanks for the input! They would only be in their coop at night and will have access to a spacious yard during the day. And to answer an earlier question that I missed, I will only have these three chickens, no further additions.

 

[junebuggena]

As it is, it is still too small and not safe enough even for only being in use at night. The frame size is good, but rest of it would need to be redone.