Size Chicken Coop for four Chickens

[kacklinkelly]

Myriam, cannot tell from your photos but am curious to know if the top of the run
is covered? I can see the tree is in the run area and it looks great. My only
concern would be predator access from overhead. Just a thought.
Although I have the same concern when I let ours free range in the back yard.
We have owls and hawks that I keep an eye out for and a big broom in my
hand. (like that's going to do something

) Just hoping I make a good
scare crow! Enjoy your new adventure.

 

[blondiebee181]

I think your coop itself is a fine size for 4. Mine isn't much bigger than that and I have 5....tonight I went out to check on them too and couldn't find my 2 ducks....they had gone into the coop with the chickens!! Sillies.....anyway, the thing that worries me a bit is the run....do you free-range your birds at all? Or are they locked in the run all day? If they are in there all day, I might be a bit concerned it's a little small for long term confinement, but if they are allowed to free-range in the yard for a good part of the day it's probably fine.My chainlink dog run is 10'X20' and with ducks I have 7 total...chickens are fun!!!

 

[Myriam]

yes the top is covered with a net. It's hard to see but if something would get on it, it'd be at least trapped until we'd release it haha.. No worries about hawks really since the tree is protecting the run.

blondiebee181 they are confined to the cages area for most of the time. We do let them out now and then if we're around. This is only our 4th day with them and even when both gates are open they come out, walk around a bit and go back in very quickly. We can't really let them walk around without having to worry for the chickens to take apart our veggie/ spice/ fruit garden ..

 

[Cknldy]

Not to be a pessimist but here's what I ran into since beginning my chicken journey in April: Your run is gonna need bedding, etc. The soil you see now will get scratched/tamped down and the rain will make it a muddy mess. Sprinkle small gravel/ sand mix on it for drainage and your chickens with eat some for grit too. I live in the mtns so racoons would climb right down that tree as easily as opening a door- lost a free range roo grabbed right off the tree he was roosting in. My set-up: nagged hubby into building run. Actually the chicks nagged him with their peeping by 6 wks old asking for more space! We (peeps and I) got a 10'×4' run. A month later I built a 2'×4' nest box/ roost and attached to prevailing wind side. 2 nest boxes 1'each horizontal stacked with 3' roost beside them. Sawdust is in box under roost and it works like cat litter. Wait til chicks are old enough not to eat sawdust though. Mine dust in it after I scoop in morning. Standard rhode island reds, 3 hens and a roo share this space. 40 sq ft outside but they would love to free range for awhile. What's your plan for poop in uncovered run? Just wondering cuz I use deep litter in covered runs. Also have 2 black giant hens in 25 sq ft run with same nest/roost set above floor.

 

[Cknldy]

Sorry- not horizontal stacked- vertical. One is above the other. Chickens use roost to go into top box. Problem with that is my roo has recently decided to try claiming top box resulting in hens throwing a fuss and pushing him out!

 

[Cknldy]

1st is b.g. setup. It works great for spring, summer and fall. Then snow came- used scrap to cover entire side pic was taken from and used old fashioned mud method to seal cracks for roost/boxes. Theirs has 2 nest boxes separated by board between. B.g's are heavy birds so while this works for now they will have trouble going up later. Will build different set up for them when better weather comes and use current one for flighty bantams. 2nd is r.i.r. roost/nest box. Roost on left, boxes on right. One of my girls resting in front of roost box.

 

[Cknldy]

sorry- using mobile site so couldn't really distinguish smaller images in pics. All 3 girls showcasing their space and at the time of b.g. pic I had my rir roo in with them. He was only in there temporarily as I was giving my rir girls a break Also the ramp wasn't in yet. Our 1stkids snowfall hit on halloween giving a quick foot of snow so no totally complete pic yet.

 

[macgeoghagen]

My smaller flock of 4 is in a small hutch that measures 2'x4'x18", with an outdoor run that is 20x20. During 3 seasons of the year it is fine, but during the winter it becomes a muddy mess.

 

[Myriam]

Cknldy: You're not pessimistic, I asked for feedback. There's a net that covers the open run and where we live I doubt that Racoons would get in our backyard during the day. At night of course the chickens are safely locked in the coop. Yes we thought of putting Sand down for the run. I usually turn the soil for the next day, that takes care of the poop laying around. They are full size, a little short of 1 year old. Inside the nesting box we have hay where I remove the poop when I see it and under the coop floor is a sliding board that we remove and wash down when necessary. During the winter's rainy days we cover the run with a tarp and that prevents the muddy slide and as mentioned we are thinking of covering it with sand.

 

[SarahJaneB]

Hi Myriam

I wouldn't worry to much. That coop looks very nice and the size looks like the hens will be comfortable in there. I agree with cknldy, would be a good idea to put some bedding in the small run. I have a large coop for my 13 chickens and they only stay in a very small portion of it where their roosts are. Congrats on getting it all done and on the chickens! They are tons of fun