Hey! i got an idea! what if i turn my pen into a coop? i put straw down, cover the top and sides, and put in plywood for roosts? would that work?
Yes, that basic idea would probably work.
For bedding, straw can work. But so can wood chips, or sawdust, or dry leaves. Use what you can get-- a mixture of materials if often better then just one kind.
For roosts, I agree with the people who recommend 2x2 lumber (just use sandpaper to round the edges a little so they are not sharp.) Tree branches about that thickness could also work well.
For covering the top and sides of your pen: yes, cover the top. But only cover one or two of the sides (the ones where most wind comes from.) The other sides should just be hardware cloth, or wire fencing, or something of the sort (try for something that predators cannot reach through or rip apart. Chicken wire usually doesn't work well.)
For pen size: I know many people say 4 square feet per chicken in the coop and 10 square feet per chicken in the run. But if you just have one space (current pen, plus roof, plus something to block wind on a few sides), you should be fine with 10 square feet per chicken and you can ignore the "coop" part of the usual advice.
i think their run is big enough, but their coop is an absolute no.
the coop is about 1 x 4 feet. very small, but most of them sleep on the top of the coop regardless.
That will probably make a fine nestbox where they can lay their eggs. I agree with you, it is not nearly big enough to be a good coop for this many chickens.
california. northern
*edit* United states
it's fall, late fall. it's cold and wet, but it never snows. it is getting very windy, and i really should pay attention to the temperature.
Temperature: chickens do fine even when temperatures go below freezing. So if you never find ice in their water, that proves the temperature is warm enough, and you don't have to worry about it.
They do need protection from wet and wind, but a roof takes care of most of that, and covering one or two sides of their pen should take care of the rest.
then i will work on an entertainment system so they don't start plucking each other bald.
Chickens seem happiest when they spend their time scratching for things to eat, taking dust baths and naps, preening their feathers, and sitting on perches to watch what's happening.
So for entertainment, I would mostly focus on getting the wet ground sorted out (roof to keep out rain, adding bedding they can scratch through). If you add roosts for them to use at night, they can sit up there during the day as well.
More space really helps, so making their space bigger will do more good than most other kinds of "entertainment" you could provide. You could give things to go under and around and sit on top of, but I would just use whatever you already have that chickens are allowed to poop on: maybe a stump, or a chair or table that would otherwise get thrown away.
if i let them free- range, there are a lot of "sanitation issues" according to everyone i've talked to.
Is that a polite way of saying they poop everywhere, and people don't like it? Because for the chickens, it is more "sanitary" to have their droppings scattered all around the area, instead of all together in their pen.
i will lengthen their pen the best i can, with what i got.
That sounds like a good start!
rehoming is a last resort
i never expected 13 chickens
Since you didn't expect this many chickens, I suggest thinking about how many you DO want to have, and then do what it takes to get down to whatever number you think is right.
Rehoming chickens is usually cheaper than making pens bigger, and is often faster as well.
