Prefabricated Coops?

[rosemarythyme]

It's gonna cost ya, one or the other.
Quickest would be go buy a shed.

I was going to say the same. Other than maybe finding a well crafted coop by a local builder, a shed is the way to go if you don't want to build but want a secure building that's not tiny.

 

[123RedBeard]

Lower nest box to below the level of the roost to keep the birds from wanting to perch there (poop there) all night.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/chicken-coops.12/

Plus ... I'd maybe lift the roost a tad, and ... put the nesting boxes under there, then cover the top of nesting boxes with a piece of vinyl flooring, and make it into a "poop tray/shelf" ...

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What's the purpose of the large overhang on the back?


And ... get rid of half your birds, then ... it's not too small

 

[aart]

Plus ... I'd maybe lift the roost a tad, and ... put the nesting boxes under there, then cover the top of nesting boxes with a piece of vinyl flooring, and make it into a "poop tray/shelf"

Good Idea....and move all that to the end of coop away from the door.
Yep, fewer birds too.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

Good Idea....and move all that to the end of coop away from the door.
Yep, fewer birds too.

Plus ... I'd maybe lift the roost a tad, and ... put the nesting boxes under there, then cover the top of nesting boxes with a piece of vinyl flooring, and make it into a "poop tray/shelf" ...

---------------------------

What's the purpose of the large overhang on the back?


And ... get rid of half your birds, then ... it's not too small

My husband built it. Any input I gave made him think I was questioning his intellect and upset him, and so I kept my mouth shut. Also these were leftovers from when our house was built... so they were free! His reasoning was since I’d never built a coop before, I didn’t know what I was talking about. (He’d never built a coop either). I just told him everything I read on BYC and sent him links to “cite my source” otherwise he says I make things up. He said he didn’t have time to read the forums and so here we are.

I didn’t want chickens initially because I knew I’d be the one taking care of them. I refuse to be a bad owner and let animals suffer. I cringe thinking about how my parents treated all the animals we had when I was a child. Because of of ignorance from my mother and downright cruelty from my father.

We’ve owned these chickens over two months and I’m the only one doing the daily work. I had to beg him to feed them and give them water or even just check on them when I am gone at work all day. He doesn’t have a job and stays home and watches our 3 1/2 year-old unless he asks his mom to do it. But when I ask him to help with the chickens he says he built the coop and I need to stop treating him like he’s lazy. So I take care of them right before and right after work, and then once more after I make dinner.

Weekends they get a little more love from me, but I have a child who sticks to me like glue because I’m gone all week, catching up on what seems like 8-10 loads of laundry, cleaning out the cat litter that’s been stinking up because we own multiple cats, cleaning out the fish tank, washing endless dishes, and then making meals when his family comes over to eat. We moved to Montana to be near his family so we could start a family and have their assistance. All my friends and relatives live in California, otherwise I might enlist some of their help/insight!

Also my husband now says he wants goats and I have zero desire to raise goats. Fortunately goats are banned here otherwise we’d have them already. He thinks we can get them if the neighbors complain.

So maybe the answer is getting rid of the chickens to save my sanity. I know most people can handle my life but I feel overwhelmed.
I’m pretty sure we have a neighbor that free ranges about 20, but I haven’t introduced myself to them yet so maybe that’s the avenue I should take. Instead of trying to revamp my existing coop or spend money on another new coop.

 

[aart]

OhBoy....I feel for you.
Best of cLuck....Hang in There.

 

[The Moonshiner]

So maybe the answer is getting rid of the chickens to save my sanity.

IDK I've always found chicken watching to be relaxing and chickens in general to help with stress.
Maybe keep the chickens and get rid of the husband to save your sanity.

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

OhBoy....I feel for you.
Best of cLuck....Hang in There.

“Best of cluck”... love it.

IDK I've always found chicken watching to be relaxing and chickens in general to help with stress.
Maybe keep the chickens and get rid of the husband to save your sanity.

I honestly love spending time with the chickens. They are so funny to watch, and they all have distinct personalities and get into all kinds of weird shenanigans. I do wish I had more free time to dedicate to them and to everything else in my life that’s not work-related.

 

[Henriettamom919]

Girl, I just want to drag you to a local restaurant and buy you a drink!

If I were you I'd start doing all the laundry BUT your husband's

 

[The Moonshiner]

Girl, I just want to drag you to a local restaurant and buy you a drink!

If I were you I'd start doing all the laundry BUT your husband's

Why would he need clean clothes if he's going nowhere, huh?

 

[CityslickerHomestead]

Girl, I just want to drag you to a local restaurant and buy you a drink!

If I were you I'd start doing all the laundry BUT your husband's

I did that a couple of times but then he says he has “nothing to wear” and goes out to Costco or Target and buys new clothes.
He wasn’t like this before we moved back near his parents or had a kid, so I’m hoping the old him will come back.