Quick Roost ?

[kasda]

I have a 28" deep by 34" wide coop. Three nesting boxes will be added to the back and not included in the coop dimensions (run is separate too). The nesting boxes and coop door are 12" high. I'm looking to have 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Cinnamon Queens, 2 Autralorps, and maybe two Silkies or Easter Eggers. I’m planning on placing a primary roost 12” off the floor, 12” away from the back wall, and 34” wide. I think I need more roost space. I was wondering if I could run a second roost the same direction as the first somehow, or make one roost a “T” shape, 34” wide and then coming off the front of the roost to add about 14.5”.

 

[Brooks_]

Welcome to BYC. Your coop is not large enough for the number of birds you plan.

General guidelines (for each standard size chicken):
3-4 square feet in the coop
10 square feet in the run
1 linear foot of roost
1 square foot of 24/7/365 ventilation
1/4-1/3 of a nest box. Minimum of two boxes.

 

[DobieLover]

I think I need more roost space.

You need more coop. What you show in the pictures would make a good brooder.
I would follow the space guidelines but would increase the run size closer to 15 sq ft per bird with as much of it under a solid roof as you can. I've used 5 nest boxes for a flock of 27 hens in the past without issue.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

I have a 28" deep by 34" wide coop.

I'm looking to have 2 Buff Orpingtons, 2 Cinnamon Queens, 2 Autralorps, and maybe two Silkies or Easter Eggers.

I'm sorry, but I hope that you haven't already bought that coop or that, if you have, you can return it for a refund.

It's barely large enough for ONE chicken -- *maybe* two of the tiniest bantams. If you physically got 8 chickens in their they'd be packed together like they were in one of the shipping crates you see on the chicken trucks going to the processing plant.

As @BrooksHatlen said, these are the Usual Guidelines for space requirements.

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

For the 8 chickens you're thinking of getting you will need:

• 32 square feet in the coop. 4'x8' is approaching the limits for a non-walk-in coop even with the access door in the middle. 6'x6' should be walk-in because even the tallest chicken-keeper won't be able to reach the far wall.
• 8 feet of roost
• 80 square feet in the run. 8'x10' is a nice looking number but, remembering the common dimensions of lumber, a roomier 8'x12' is actually easier to build. 6'x14' looks good on paper but would require a lot of weird cuts.
• 8 square feet of ventilation.
• 2-3 nest boxes.

So that you can get a good mental picture of this space, here's a photo of 3 Blue Australorp cockerels in a 4x8 space. At this age they were just slightly smaller than an adult hen of that breed.

This is the same coop set up to brood chicks:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

 

[kasda]

My location is by Sacramento, CA.



Cold’s not an issue. Heat could be though.

Coop right now is 43” (not 34) x 28”.

The run is 43” x 12’ & fully covered overhead with 1/4” hardware cloth on the sides.



I’m building the coop myself.



It sounds like I should double the coop size to get about 16 SF in coop + 3 SF in egg boxes, then keep it at 4 chickens.



Thank you all for the help. I’ve been trying to learn as I go, but am getting a bit overwhelmed.

 

[3KillerBs]

My location is by Sacramento, CA.



Cold’s not an issue. Heat could be though.

Coop right now is 43” (not 34) x 28”.

The run is 43” x 12’ & fully covered overhead with 1/4” hardware cloth on the sides.



I’m building the coop myself.



It sounds like I should double the coop size to get about 16 SF in coop + 3 SF in egg boxes, then keep it at 4 chickens.



Thank you all for the help. I’ve been trying to learn as I go, but am getting a bit overwhelmed.

Yes, it is overwhelming at first.

In a hot climate the more open the better -- allowing for appropriate shelter from storms.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/hot-climate-chicken-housing-and-care.77263/

For 4 chickens, or even 8, you only actually *need* 2 nest boxes and they don't count when you figure the square footage. That should make it easier to build.

Here are some links to small coops to help you get some ideas:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dallas-urban-coop-single-slope-design.72422/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coreys-coop-de-doop.55619/

 

[perkolator]

I'm not far away in Placer county and I could likely get away with an open-air coop in our climate, once our chickens reached a certain age they stopped sleeping inside the coop and slept on the roosts I added inside our run. I see no issue making a "T" shaped roost, you can also easily move them around later if it doesn't work out. IMO the pictured setup is too small for 8 chickens if they're confined to that space.