Should I or should i not?

[Tanichca]

Well my coop is getting way to small for the birds i have (and i have a whole bunch of eggs in the bator, so the flock will be getting even bigger soon enough) and so i have read alot about people fixing up old playhouses into chicken coops. Here is one on craigslist: http://tucson.craigslist.org/bab/2076814375.html
My present coop will fit about 5 birds. how much will this one fit if i connected it to the main coop/run? Is it a good price? My mom agrees that i need more coop space, and my Dad is kinda sorta agreeing with her.

 

[annie3001]

Hello.
I looked at the coop you wanted. kinda pricey for "nothing".
I would look around.
If you were to buy this, I would think only 3 hens would fit comfortably in there.
Are you handy at building a coop? Or maybe someone could help you.

good luck.

 

[chicks4kids]

What is your original coop made out of? Wood? Plastic?

I always like adding on to my existing coop. I started with a small coop and kept adding on or building smaller coops until I finally just converted one of our sheds into a coop. Adding on to an existing coop is nice and it's much easier to find other peoples scraps and reuse them for your purpose. Sometimes you could complete this task with just a drill and some screws

 

[Judy]

Save your $75 and cobble something together or find a closeout shed at Home Depot. I agree that that playhouse will only hold a few. You don't want the issues that feeling overcrowded will start.

You didn't give a lot of info, like size of run or present coop, number of chickens/eggs, free range, etc. Tell us more if you need help in an overall plan.

Good luck.

 

[chillmiller]

id try to find and old shed or better yet.... build a chicken tent XD

 

[thebirdguy]

I agree that this playhouse would only give you room for 2 or 3 more birds... by my math, "a whole bunch" is more than 2 or 3.. LOL I would recommend overbuilding whenever possible. That way you have some room to grow rather than always playing catch up.. besides it works better with chicken math...

Also the size of the run or if free range has a lot to do with coop size needs.. as ddawn said, share a few more details about your birds and set up and we can give you more specific suggestions.

Good luck!

 

[Tanichca]

Ok my present coop is wood. My birds cannot freee-range because we lve in a high hawk, high coyote area in the middle of the desert. So y'all say to build my own big coop? I dont have a lot of space (i suppose i could move some birds into a large empty sheep pen, at least until we get a sheep next fall) Would that work? the dimensions of the pen are 10Wx10Lx5H....

 

[Judy]

Quote:
You could probably get away with 6 or 8 large fowl in there if you could cover part of the top and the three sides under the top, so they could get out of the wind/rain/cold. That would give them shelter but of course wouldn't stop a hawk or coyote.

 

[Tanichca]

a bit more: the coop will be in a large enclosed back yard, with thick walls and a big dog (who never chases the chickens) to keep predators away. i could cover the top with a tarp or something.

 

[chillmiller]

i shal say this again .... CHICKEN TENT