please Critique My Chicken Pen!! suggestions?? Pros? Cons?

[Harestad Farm]

Hey Group! here is some pics of my Chicken pen (a.k.a. Salmonella Resort) .... feel free to critique as we are new and learning... They spend majority of their time in this 30X20 fully fenced(top and sides) pen. at night they retreat to the run and sleep in the roosts. I tried to get them to sleep in the coop itself but now its dark when I go to work and dark when I return, so feeling they are safe and happy ive let them be. on weekends we put the dogs in the front and let the chickens rule the back

.. we live just south of seattle so we have struggled this fall/winter with rain and mud and puddles ,hence the natural cedar chips out in the pen area (which I know is controversial) but we had to do something becuase living, eating and drinking out of a mud pit is far from healthy for them. I currently have 5 hens and 2 Cockerels (though one cockerel is isolated and will be put down on tues, if he makes it as he is very ill and paralyzed, believed to have Maresks) ... that is Ziggy one of my huskies who loves watching the chickens..lol

 

[Welshies]

Wow! Beautiful. However they should be going in the coop at night, before you lose them to a predator. How big is your coop? Does it have roosts? Nest boxes?
Even if that extra cockerel does live, he'll need to be culled or sold, as you can only have 1 rooster per 5-8 hens.

 

[lissalischicks]

one of the concerns i have when I see chain link fences is that I have heard predators sticking their arms in and grabbing and killing chickens.

 

[Welshies]

one of the concerns i have when I see chain link fences is that I have heard predators sticking their arms in and grabbing and killing chickens.

This only happens with Coons. Raccoons.

 

[AlleysChicks]

Nice large area to roam. I’ve always used straw or shavings but like the wood chip idea since my runs flood so often. Their coop looks a bit small for 6-7 birds. Is there anyway you could board up the fenced in part of the coop to give them more shelter?

I have a coop of birds that have slept in the run on roosts since they were 8 weeks. (They were hatched in April) Won’t sleep in the coop no matter what I do. They are staying in the coop during the day right now but come bedtime they are back on the roost outside.

 

[Harestad Farm]

Nice large area to roam. I’ve always used straw or shavings but like the wood chip idea since my runs flood so often. Their coop looks a bit small for 6-7 birds. Is there anyway you could board up the fenced in part of the coop to give them more shelter?

I have a coop of birds that have slept in the run on roosts since they were 8 weeks. (They were hatched in April) Won’t sleep in the coop no matter what I do. They are staying in the coop during the day right now but come bedtime they are back on the roost outside.

the coop was made by the "Original Chicken Man" a local builder... states the coop is fit for 3-8... yes there are nest boxes

 

[rosemarythyme]

Pretty nice run setup. I'd personally add a hardware cloth apron about 2' out, and up 2' on the sides as well, to deter everything from rats to raccoons from getting in or ripping out a chicken. The backside with the wooden fence might be a little tricky, so maybe just do hardware cloth to the ground on the side for that area, since I assume your neighbors are on the other side of the fence.

The coop does look to be small for the number of birds, plus lacking in light/ventilation which is why they're not wanting to use it. You could fix it up to be more appealing to them, by using the entire structure and not just the smallest enclosed portion, though as its fully enclosed inside the run predators are a little less of a concern.

 

[Harestad Farm]

Pretty nice run setup. I'd personally add a hardware cloth apron about 2' out, and up 2' on the sides as well, to deter everything from rats to raccoons from getting in or ripping out a chicken. The backside with the wooden fence might be a little tricky, so maybe just do hardware cloth to the ground on the side for that area, since I assume your neighbors are on the other side of the fence.

The coop does look to be small for the number of birds, plus lacking in light/ventilation which is why they're not wanting to use it. You could fix it up to be more appealing to them, by using the entire structure and not just the smallest enclosed portion, though as its fully enclosed inside the run predators are a little less of a concern.

te other side of the fence is a wet land area and actually i have another 2' of property on the other side of the fence. how should I vent the coop. there is a light in there

 

[Welshies]

te other side of the fence is a wet land area and actually i have another 2' of property on the other side of the fence. how should I vent the coop. there is a light in there

Birds need 4 square feet of coop space per bird. Lots of ventilation.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Can you post photos of inside of coop or tell us what's on the side nearest the fence? Because from the photos above I see: nest box wall with no vents, long side wall with no vents, and then the ramp/entrance. If that's the only natural light and air intake for the coop, it's simply too dark for them to want to stuff into there at dusk, plus 6-7 chickens breathing in that space at night is going to cause a lot of moisture build up.

I'm also guessing that that's not 24 sq ft of enclosed coop space with 6 feet of roost (assuming 6 chickens since you said 1 roo will be dinner). If the chickens feel crowded they won't want to stay in there either, just too much jostling.