Rate My Coop Setup

[Thanera]

Hi everyone, hope you all are doing well. Now that we're going into winter thought I would have you guys look at my coop and see if there's anything I could improve or suggest.
I have 7 Bantam mixes and they are all pretty small and they can fit all comfortably on one roost bar (for now at least). This is a prefab coop I purchased at Murdoch's.

I have a bluetooth thermometer/hydrometer in the coop with them so I can keep an eye on the temps and humidity easily. Here's the data from approx. the last month if anyone is interested; Temp Data

I live in Scottsbluff Nebraska and so far we have had only one very cold, cold snap, and my Roo came out of it with some frostbite on his combs and waddles. He didn't seem much bothered by it and it cleared up after a few weeks just fine. Since then I have modified the coop because I'm afraid it was high humidity in the coop on the cold nights caused the frostbite. I do go out and clean out the poop every day.

Things I've added:

• 2-3 one inch holes on both the front/back near the roof

• A curtain over the nest box area to make it a bit more secluded if anyone decides to lay

• I have opened both side vents of the coop and put a removable vent cover over it to prevent drafts but increase the ventilation, they are maybe 10inx10in openings

• I removed the roost bars the coop came with and made my own out of 1x3 boards, with the edges rounded off, and sweet PDZ on the floor. I sectioned off a few of the nesting "boxes" on the left side of the coop with cardboard and filled the space with pine shavings. I guess my thought was that it would be easier for such small chickens to heat up a bit of a smaller space? Not sure if this is doing any good.

So if anyone sees anything that I should maybe change, please let me know!
Bonus chicken pic of my best boy, so handsome and sweet.

 

[Hei 20]

Hi everyone, hope you all are doing well. Now that we're going into winter thought I would have you guys look at my coop and see if there's anything I could improve or suggest.
I have 7 Bantam mixes and they are all pretty small and they can fit all comfortably on one roost bar (for now at least). This is a prefab coop I purchased at Murdoch's.

I have a bluetooth thermometer/hydrometer in the coop with them so I can keep an eye on the temps and humidity easily. Here's the data from approx. the last month if anyone is interested; Temp Data

I live in Scottsbluff Nebraska and so far we have had only one very cold, cold snap, and my Roo came out of it with some frostbite on his combs and waddles. He didn't seem much bothered by it and it cleared up after a few weeks just fine. Since then I have modified the coop because I'm afraid it was high humidity in the coop on the cold nights caused the frostbite. I do go out and clean out the poop every day.

Things I've added:

• 2-3 one inch holes on both the front/back near the roof

View attachment 2422715

• A curtain over the nest box area to make it a bit more secluded if anyone decides to lay

View attachment 2422718

• I have opened both side vents of the coop and put a removable vent cover over it to prevent drafts but increase the ventilation, they are maybe 10inx10in openings

View attachment 2422716

• I removed the roost bars the coop came with and made my own out of 1x3 boards, with the edges rounded off, and sweet PDZ on the floor. I sectioned off a few of the nesting "boxes" on the left side of the coop with cardboard and filled the space with pine shavings. I guess my thought was that it would be easier for such small chickens to heat up a bit of a smaller space? Not sure if this is doing any good.

View attachment 2422717


So if anyone sees anything that I should maybe change, please let me know!
Bonus chicken pic of my best boy, so handsome and sweet.
View attachment 2422751

A+ I would so live there myself. LOL

 

[aart]

Now that we're going into winter thought I would have you guys look at my coop and see if there's anything I could improve or suggest.

It looks awfully small.....maybe even too small for 7 bantams.
What are the dimensions, not including nests?

He didn't seem much bothered by it and it cleared up after a few weeks just fine.

Must have been very mild, just a bit of gray?
Pics would be good.

I can keep an eye on the temps and humidity easily.

Temps and humidity should be about the same both inside and outside the coop.
If not, you need more ventilation.

Scottsbluff Nebraska

Welcome to BYC! @Thanera
Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Thanera]

It looks awfully small.....maybe even too small for 7 bantams.
What are the dimensions, not including nests?

Must have been very mild, just a bit of gray?
Pics would be good.

Temps and humidity should be about the same both inside and outside the coop.
If not, you need more ventilation.

Welcome to BYC! @Thanera
Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2422863

The measurements of the house and not the nesting boxes is 36"L x 36"W x ~40"H, This is them right now all inside


There's room to adjust the roosts and even add one vertically if needed

 

[aart]

This is them right now all inside

Cool, wanted to ask to see that.
Yep, looks good.
Are all full grown?
.

 

[Thanera]

Cool, wanted to ask to see that.
Yep, looks good.
Are all full grown?
.

The 3 biggest are, the smaller ones will get more or less the same size as the others

 

[aart]

The 3 biggest are, the smaller ones will get more or less the same size as the others

That'll fill it up.

 

[hayley3]

Hi everyone, hope you all are doing well. Now that we're going into winter thought I would have you guys look at my coop and see if there's anything I could improve or suggest.
I have 7 Bantam mixes and they are all pretty small and they can fit all comfortably on one roost bar (for now at least). This is a prefab coop I purchased at Murdoch's.

I have a bluetooth thermometer/hydrometer in the coop with them so I can keep an eye on the temps and humidity easily. Here's the data from approx. the last month if anyone is interested; Temp Data

I live in Scottsbluff Nebraska and so far we have had only one very cold, cold snap, and my Roo came out of it with some frostbite on his combs and waddles. He didn't seem much bothered by it and it cleared up after a few weeks just fine. Since then I have modified the coop because I'm afraid it was high humidity in the coop on the cold nights caused the frostbite. I do go out and clean out the poop every day.

Things I've added:

• 2-3 one inch holes on both the front/back near the roof

View attachment 2422715

• A curtain over the nest box area to make it a bit more secluded if anyone decides to lay

View attachment 2422718

• I have opened both side vents of the coop and put a removable vent cover over it to prevent drafts but increase the ventilation, they are maybe 10inx10in openings

View attachment 2422716

• I removed the roost bars the coop came with and made my own out of 1x3 boards, with the edges rounded off, and sweet PDZ on the floor. I sectioned off a few of the nesting "boxes" on the left side of the coop with cardboard and filled the space with pine shavings. I guess my thought was that it would be easier for such small chickens to heat up a bit of a smaller space? Not sure if this is doing any good.

View attachment 2422717


So if anyone sees anything that I should maybe change, please let me know!
Bonus chicken pic of my best boy, so handsome and sweet.
View attachment 2422751

Can you show us an outside pic of your whole setup?
Is there a run attached?
I have a prefab but it is not very secure because it breaks so easily.

 

[Thanera]

Can you show us an outside pic of your whole setup?
Is there a run attached?
I have a prefab but it is not very secure because it breaks so easily.

Sure! I've add all new locks and everything to the coop because the ones they came with were pretty cheap and not very secure. I also sprayed the whole thing down with a sealant for protection and hopefully to make it last longer. Please excuse the mess, the attached run is about 36"W x 142"L, We placed the coop right next to my garden and just put up a 6 ft wire fence w/ bird netting over the top. I cut a hole and added a sliding door between the existing run and this new one. So they have a whole 25x25 ft area to dig and play in for the fall/winter/ early spring. During the summer I'm going to make another run in an unused part of my yard so I can garden during the summer.

 

[hayley3]

Sure! I've add all new locks and everything to the coop because the ones they came with were pretty cheap and not very secure. I also sprayed the whole thing down with a sealant for protection and hopefully to make it last longer. Please excuse the mess, the attached run is about 36"W x 142"L, We placed the coop right next to my garden and just put up a 6 ft wire fence w/ bird netting over the top. I cut a hole and added a sliding door between the existing run and this new one. So they have a whole 25x25 ft area to dig and play in for the fall/winter/ early spring. During the summer I'm going to make another run in an unused part of my yard so I can garden during the summer. View attachment 2424279

Looks like they have plenty of room to adventure in. You will need some sort of shade in the summer.
My coop just fell apart again yesterday...and it's pouring down rain so can't fix it until it stops.

I bought this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007WKZL32/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1