Please Criticize My Coop In Progress

[Geckolady]

It looks like you've got a good base to work with.



5x6 = 30 square feet. 30/4 = 7.5 so the coop is probably OK for 8 (though the guidelines are generally considered minimums).

The run, however, is WAY TOO SMALL -- only 40 square feet so only half the recommended 10 square feet per adult, standard-sized hen. I get away with having my coop a little crowded because I have a vastly-oversized run.

The run is also not predator-proof. Raccoons can reach through and grab chickens to pull them through the wire bit by bit. Rats and weasels can go right through. So you'll need to wrap at least the bottom portion in hardware cloth.

For 8 chickens you will need at least 8 feet of roosting space. Corner roosts appeal to human ideas of space saving, but they aren't very useful for chickens, who don't scrunch into corners very well. @21hens-incharge has given you good advice on that.

I'm concerned about the ventilation. I see the vent strip you mentioned, but your profile says you're in Arizona. I can tell you that I have 16 square feet of permanent, roof-level, ventilation in my Outdoor Brooder plus 10 feet of supplemental ventilation and I still had to put a shade pavilion over it to keep the temperature under 100F on a 93F day.

View attachment 2802507

I'd suggest replacing the entire door with an outward opening screen door that you've covered in hardware cloth (I often see old screen doors at the Habitat ReStore). You may still need to open more vent area. Ideally, the temperature and humidity inside is the same as it is outside.

This is how I did the doors on my new coop:
View attachment 2802508

If it were mine, I'd use heavy-duty fence staples to attach the run to the coop -- making sure to place them into solid structure. Alternately, that metal strapping with the multiple holes, attached with screws and washers so that they can't be ripped loose.



That's a great way to test the seal.

We ended up converting to front drop-down nest openings to completely eliminate leakage.

The door that I currently have is a screen security door. I replaced the solid door with it for more ventilation, but you're right, life would be easier with an opening for them at the bottom.

I'm in the high desert of Arizona, so it doesn't get as hot as the Phoenix area, but does get quite warm (over 100 degrees) in the summer. I had to move the smaller coop under a peach tree for shade this summer, and will probably have to rig up something similar to what you have that is able to stand high winds.

I really wish the coop were larger, but there is room on that concrete slab for a second, larger coop (the slab is 28 feet x 18 feet), and someone suggested adding another coop on it, and having a large run including both coops. That is the overall plan. Right now I'm scrambling for something usable because chicken math happens.

 

[3KillerBs]

I really wish the coop were larger, but there is room on that concrete slab for a second, larger coop (the slab is 28 feet x 18 feet), and someone suggested adding another coop on it, and having a large run including both coops. That is the overall plan. Right now I'm scrambling for something usable because chicken math happens.

The coop part *ought* to be OK -- though a bit tight. It's the run that is going to be the issue since it's only half the size it needs to be.

 

[klunderwood]

You have received a lot of good ideas already. I came here to say thank you for teaching troubled youth. I raised a couple of them myself and needed all the help I could get! You will find chickens much easier to handle, even the ones who decide to be brats. Best of luck and welcome to the club!

 

[Geckolady]

You have received a lot of good ideas already. I came here to say thank you for teaching troubled youth. I raised a couple of them myself and needed all the help I could get! You will find chickens much easier to handle, even the ones who decide to be brats. Best of luck and welcome to the club!

LOL, thanks. I only did that for about 3 years. That was not an easy job.

 

[Katanahamon]

LOL, thanks. I only did that for about 3 years. That was not an easy job.

I’m in salt lake..heat was so bad (107) I got a portable Honeywell swamp cooler and put it inside, but they have some that Mount outside, if your inside temps are too high..

 

[Geckolady]

JACKPOT!!!!!

I just got back from a yard sale. The seller is cutting back on chickens. I came home with three ten foot panels and a six foot panel with a gate. So the run won't be prefectly square, the chickens won't complain. I also got a few hundred feet of sturdy wire and a nice quarantine cage. He saw the coop that's pictured here and says he has 4 panels exactly like mine, and can bring them here on Wednesday. Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket.

 

[TxMesteth]

To keep snakes, rats, opossums, raccoons, weasels, dogs, cats, foxes, bobcats, mountain lions, hawks, and owls, which multiple of these animals exist over every part of the US, you have to have either 1/2” X 1/2”, or 1/4” X 1/4” hardware cloth lining the entire coop and run including the roof, inside of the coop walls, or outside of the coop walls. You must also have 2 ft of no climb horse fencing or barb wire buried in ground around the entire enclosure. This is the only way to have a predator proof place. I learned the hard way to begin with. If you use any wire bigger than this then snakes and rats can enter, and opossums and raccoons will reach through and either yank birds through even when you think the bird couldn’t possibly fit, or they will reach in and grab them and chew whatever part of them they can get to the wire leaving parts they can’t get through for you to find later. Unfortunately some of them may still be alive missing body parts. Never use chicken wire! I have had this happen. Just a tarp over the top of anything will get chewed through or torn even by hawks and owls. It’s a lot of work, time, and money, but eventually you will loose birds or entire flock if this isn’t done. I use a staple gun to attach my hardware cloth to my coops, and I have wood at every section where a new piece of hardware cloth meets another section. Would be a lot of work to wire together the hardware cloth otherwise. You wouldn’t have to put in ground fencing around the coop part if there is concrete under it at least. It is also very important to have a sandbox or old tire filled with sand and perches or wood stumps or something for them to climb on in the run too. They need sand to clean with and prevent mites. They need lots of roosting places so submissive birds don’t get picked on to death. But you also need plenty of space for them on the ground so don’t over crowd the coop with too much in too small a space. This is why chickens always have at least 10 square feet of space per bird in the coop, and at least 20 square feet outdoor run area. So many people keep them in smaller areas, then complain when their birds get sick, or peck each other till they are sick or dead. Birds can be extremely cruel at times. I have had many different breeds and it will eventually happen.

 

[RubelliteRose]

I had a thought on your door. If you can somehow switch the hinges to have it open out, it would be easier to open and give you so much more space in the coop. You could then attach the run to the side of the coop and cut a pop door in the wall for the chickens. Part of your run would be on concrete, but with your extra panels could you extend it onto the dirt too?

 

[Geckolady]

I had a thought on your door. If you can somehow switch the hinges to have it open out, it would be easier to open and give you so much more space in the coop. You could then attach the run to the side of the coop and cut a pop door in the wall for the chickens. Part of your run would be on concrete, but with your extra panels could you extend it onto the dirt too?

I'm thinking of a few ways to expand it--or else leave it as is, and add these panels to the other coop. Not sure yet.

 

[Geckolady]

OK, after looking at them, I have a plan. The coop in the pictures will house 4 Dorkings and I will use the panels that I got this morning to expand the Leghorn coop. Plenty of room for everybody, and much less work for me.