So angry with this coop dilemma!

[jthornton]

You should put your location in your profile. Coop answers differ from Nome to Miami!

JT

 

[aart]

Have spotted many of these 'screened yard porches' and thought they'd make great chicken coops.
Can you post pic of the thing?
Only you can decide whether to defy your mother and go ahead with the build,
but use screws on everything so you can take it all down if need be.
Does she live way from the property so you can build 'on the sly'?

2) You know how fierce your mom is, what other issues she may be dealing with in her life, and what may cause her to be saying "no". IF you think it's fair to her and IF you can deal with her potential reaction, then I'd try them out there and see what mom's reaction is when she can see (and smell) for herself what it's actually like.

Maybe her prior chicken experience and/or her daughters criticism of it?

 

[kwhites634]

Hi,
So I’m raising four chicks indoors right now to be pets/egg layers. I’m not new to chickens having raised them when I was a kid.

Ok, a little drama and back story. Originally we got the chicks with plans to keep them in this nice large screened in porch that had a smooth concrete floor, wood walls that came up high, a good roof and overall very sturdy construction. It is large obviously but it’s a structure that is abandoned in our yard and not being used whatsoever! With a few modifications (just adding secure hardware cloth to windows instead of just screening and some kind of shutters, perches and nest boxes) we’d have a luxury chicken coop for cheap!

I was so excited at this idea. When I had chickens as a kid/teen I hated how we kept them. We built them coops but they were always hard to clean, leaked and predators got in constantly. The chickens were sick many times too.

• this time around I want our chickens pampered! I want them to always feel safe and secure and have plenty of room. Not have to worry about staying dry or predators getting in and terrifying them at night.

Well now the issue is - the landlord (who is my own mother!!!) decided she doesn’t want the chickens in the enclosed screened porch on the property! Keep in mind this porch isn’t attached to the house it’s separate and out in the yard. The reasons are ridiculous.... doesn’t want them in there because they’ll be ‘messy’ and it’ll stink.

Now I’ve been doing research on better coop cleaners even incorporating orange oil for freshness and I plan to use sand on the concrete floor and CLEAN the coop DAILY and pick up after the chickens when I check on them in the morning and let them out to free range and again in the late afternoon. Besides they will be free ranging as much as possible too so they won’t be ‘stinking’ it up. I don’t want a nasty pig pen coop and I certainly don’t want my little girl around that either!

Yet - everything I’ve said is not acceptable to the landlord.

* So now, my chicks are growing and I’m lost as to where they are going to stay now that their original nice home is ‘forbidden’
I’ve been looking for coops to buy online and doing research but I keep reading bad reviews about the wood not being rain resistant and then the coops are majorly expensive and too small for even just my four hens. Some say they aren’t even predator proof!

I’m afraid of running out of time and my chicks needing to go outside. They are about 2 weeks old.

We never planned on needing to build a coop from the ground up and I feel like the cost of supplies will be outrageous.

I’m just furious that we have a perfectly good structure that’s just collecting junk and dust standing right in the backyard yet we are being forced to desperately find an alternative that we are satisfied with and won’t break the bank.

So sorry for writing this book. I’m tempted to use the screened porch anyway... what is the landlord going to do? Kick us out? My own mother? Over chickens???

My question is - are ANY of those coops you buy online worth it? For 4 hens?

I apologize again for the rant but this is ridiculous.

My 1st coop was small & made out of wood that probably wouldn't have last a year, but with a couple coats of paint it's fared rather well.

 

[alexa009]

Well are you even using the screen porch for any reason like storage etc? If not then I don't really see why you can't have it. I purchased a really nice coop online that I had to put together and it fit 4-5 chickens. I put it back up on Craigslist for $40 since I expanded my flock. I had 10 people emailing me in 1 hour. I guess it was a good coop. I can't find the listing anymore since I purchased it over a year ago.

 

[PirateGirl]

Would your mother agree to a trial basis? You use the porch for a month and see how it goes? This would buy you some time to research an alternative and/or gather materials for a coop build. Also, if she totally objects to the screen porch would she contribute to the new coop? financially and/or with labor? If you are not handy there are lots of great thread with ideas on easy construction and/or re-purposing used materials. Also you may be able to employ someone locally cheap to help with construction if you are willing to provide tools, materials, assistance, and lunch. Try not to stress, it will work out.

 

[Then I Will]

Sometimes the best chicken coop is a re-purposed building or gazebo. Just look at mine:
(I'm hoping if you show mother this it will change her mind.)
Oh, and the birds are all grown up and it still looks this good after a dusting and with a fresh layer of shavings. It never stinks and jaws drop every-time it gets a visitor.

The nesting box is about all that has been modified since these pictures were taken, since it was unfinished in these photos. And a wire drape was added above it to keep them from roosting on it. That has only been mildly successful since someone has figured out how to get up there and lay an egg on top of the nesting box.

Oh, and our run doesn't have grass anymore.

Don't be discouraged. You too, can have a State of the art coop.

Wishing you favor with the landlord.

 

[The Phantom]

With the large size of the enclosed porch I wanted to use and the cleaning routine I had planned which included using orange oil mixed with disinfectant- my mere four hens would barely smell! I planned to fix the porch up and make it look cute like a cottage all decorated. It would’ve been so nice too cause you can just walk inside through a full size door and there’s plenty of room to put a chair in there and hang with the chickens.

BTW I love that coop! Super cute!

Yeah! 4 chickens hardly smell!

 

[aart]

cleaning routine I had planned which included using orange oil mixed with disinfectant

This could be an irritant to chicken lungs...
no reason to use disinfectants or perfumy 'coverups' if you manage the bedding and manure.

 

[TwoCrows]

Love your pictures @Then I Will

For the OP @Gisselle I am going to take a stab at this from my own experiences with other stinks and smells, odors become far worse when its warm and there is not enough ventilation. It's not necessarily the type of animal you are raising, or the fact that they poop. EVERYTHING releases odors and unless you vent them off you are going to smell something. So, keep it as clean as possible, I think you just need a ton more ventilation and this should reduce smells. And remember, bedding itself can emit strong odors even when not soiled. I am the biggest clean freak on the planet. I used to use sand on my coop and run floors and wow, it constantly stank, no matter how long it had laid on the floor, even if for 2 seconds. I switched to wood mulch and now there is literally NO smell. Unless I get my face right on top of a poop, I can't even smell my birds or coop anymore. I think in your case, more CEILING venting is needed. Good luck!

 

[SW31]

Have a look at the Omlet product.
https://www.omlet.us/shop/chicken_keeping/eglu_cube/
We also bought a walk in run that you attach to the Cube. It’s very easy to clean and maintain. Not cheap but it will last for years. Ours had to cope with 100+ km wind gusts and doesn’t move. Not a typical coop but Omlets first coop design, that’s still made, is now in a museum due to its innovative design!