Please evaluate our coop situation

[John Sanders]

I have a similar coop but it's in an enclosed 10x10ft run. So they have free roam and I don't have to worry about shutting the coop door every night. I have 3 Buffs and 2 cinnamon queens-originally had 4 Buffs but one turned out to be a rooster so traded him for the 2 queens. They are also scratching all the straw out into the pan from the brooder boxes but there's not much of a lip in between so I will now fix that problem upon reading this. I also added two buckets on there sides and put them below for extra brooders with wood across the bottom to keep the straw in. They are 18 weeks this week and just switched to the layer feed-organic of course. Do they need a bigger coop? Totally bummed if so cause we've spent good money on the one we've got!

Sooner or later you will need a second, smaller coop.

 

[mamamarye]

They use commercial egg farm standards for the capacity. Needless to say, that's not the sort of conditions most people want to keep their birds in.

Put some Sweet PDZ or Stall Dry under the roost bar. It dries the poop out and doesn't get smelly right away like pine shavings/flakes. You can scoop the poop out with a kitty litter scooper.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[junebuggena]

I have a similar coop but it's in an enclosed 10x10ft run. So they have free roam and I don't have to worry about shutting the coop door every night. I have 3 Buffs and 2 cinnamon queens-originally had 4 Buffs but one turned out to be a rooster so traded him for the 2 queens. They are also scratching all the straw out into the pan from the brooder boxes but there's not much of a lip in between so I will now fix that problem upon reading this. I also added two buckets on there sides and put them below for extra brooders with wood across the bottom to keep the straw in. They are 18 weeks this week and just switched to the layer feed-organic of course. Do they need a bigger coop? Totally bummed if so cause we've spent good money on the one we've got!

Should be securely shut in their coop each night. This coop isn't very secure. There is nothing stopping predators from digging in. And it is pretty lightweight. Latches are of a sort that raccoons can easily figure out. These sort of coops are fine to use short-term as a grow-out space or for quarantine, but they aren't well suited to be a permanent home to a flock of full sized adults.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

I recommend keeping the small coop so that you can have additional capacity in case you need it for some reason. My original small coop connects to the same run that my newer, bigger coop is attached to. Some of the ladies use the smaller coop to lay eggs, and I have extra capacity if some need arises.