Starter coop

[Aunt Angus]

I only suggest it because this can be made to work for a flock of maybe 3-4 birds, but I agree it's not ideal for the money and time invested.

Also a securely fenced run would need to be added ideally for this to work - a tractor could possibly work however they'd need sufficient "outside time" in it (basically, all day) to compensate for lack of space otherwise.

I was trying to respond to the OP. I sat there for a minute while typing it out thinking, "I hope Rosemary doesn't think I'm questioning her because she's got a great solution." And that's exactly what happened.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

Most prefabs are undersized, ill-ventilated, and poorly-built. You can almost certainly do better for your birds by building something yourself.

Where are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

Rules of Thumb

• If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.
• If it's measured in inches instead of feet it's too small.
• If your walk-in closet is larger than the coop-run combo you're thinking of buying think carefully about whether you have an utterly awesome closet or are looking at a seriously undersized chicken coop.
• If a man of average height can't lie down in the run and stretch out comfortably it's too small.
• If it has more nestboxes than the number of chickens it can legitimately hold the designer knew nothing about chickens' actual needs and it probably has other design flaws too.

Here's some basic information about chickens' space needs,

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

6 hens

• 24 square feet in the coop. 4'x6' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber. If you can't walk into it, put the access door in the middle of the long side to make sure you can reach all areas of the coop because a stubborn chicken WILL press itself into/lay an egg in the back corner where you can't reach.
• 6 feet of roost
• 60 square feet in the run. 6'x10' or 8'x8'.
• 6 square feet of ventilation.
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

And my article on coop ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/repecka-illustrates-coop-ventilation.77659/

Please don't be intimidated. We're not trying to overwhelm you or anything, just to help you avoid a potentially costly mistake that would reduce your joy in your chickens.

A chicken coop can be a very simple structure. Look at my brooder here -- which can serve as a perfectly-viable coop for up to 8 adults, though it would have been better made as a walk-in with a slanted roof. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-to-outdoor-brooder-conversion.76634/

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Hi there! Others have given you your answer but I just wanted to share my experience. I began keeping chickens last March. I started with a prefab coop like the one you shared the link to. I started with 2 chickens and they were okay in there (although now that I've learned so much about chickens, I know they really weren't). I got 2 more and they were VERY cramped, even though the coop said it holds 3-5.

Now that I know better, I can see all the issues. The chickens all wanted to sleep in the nesting boxes. They HATED the roosts. I know now that those "roosts" are way too low. I did at one point prop them up on some bricks and one or two would use them, but it was not stable and they would sometimes knock it over and in the morning I would realize they had to sleep on the floor. The ventilation also consisted of two holes in the back. That's not nearly enough, honestly not even for one chicken (see @3KillerBs post above). The wood is also VERY cheap, and even splintered as we put it together and moved it. It is thin and drafts come through. If I would have had my hens in this coop for the winter, I would have had to reinforce it with some tarps or something. I still have the coop in place right now and I can tell the places where it is in contact with the ground are beginning to rot.

Basically, I really wish I listened to people on BYC about the prefab coops not being worth it. I just was so excited about getting my chickens and I thought I could upgrade later if I needed to. But looking back, I could have just used the money I spent on the dinky, low-quality, overpriced prefab, and put it toward buying or making something better. You said you plan to eventually have 6 chickens. This coop will not (humanely) hold 6 chickens, so I think you're better off putting this money toward something that is big enough and will last. Even a basic frame with plywood walls and proper holes for ventilation is MUCH higher quality than what they make these prefabs from, and will be much more functional. And like @3KillerBs said, I hope we aren't coming off as intimidating or rude. It's just that many of us have made the prefab coop mistake before and really want to steer people away from it.

Good luck and enjoy your chickens!

 

[Percheron chick]

Welcome to BYC.

Most prefabs are undersized, ill-ventilated, and poorly-built. You can almost certainly do better for your birds by building something yourself.

Where are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

Rules of Thumb

• If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.
• If it's measured in inches instead of feet it's too small.
• If your walk-in closet is larger than the coop-run combo you're thinking of buying think carefully about whether you have an utterly awesome closet or are looking at a seriously undersized chicken coop.
• If a man of average height can't lie down in the run and stretch out comfortably it's too small.
• If it has more nestboxes than the number of chickens it can legitimately hold the designer knew nothing about chickens' actual needs and it probably has other design flaws too.

This should be required reading to sign up for BYC.

 

[3KillerBs]

This should be required reading to sign up for BYC.

*blush*

 

[Cat Ballou]

https://www.mypetchicken.com/products/the-clubhouse-chicken-coop-w-run

We have a busy spring of projects, what are your thoughts of this and getting for our 3 (incoming!) chicks? We will also be building a tractor so they will have time to be outside of this structure. Our flock will eventually be about 6, but won't add any more until next year and we would be building their "real" coop in the meantime (with a much bigger run).
Thoughts?

In case no one has pointed this out: That run - like all the other cheaper prefabs - in only big enough for one chicken unless you have bantams. Chickens need 8 square feet of run space & 4 square feet of coop space. That run is less than 13 square feet, so it is only enough for 1 chicken.

 

[Silexian]

In buying a coop like you are looking at. Instead of being a time and money saver. You are more than likely going to double your work. Plus add to the already substantial cost of that coop. To make it secure and useable. For you and your chickens. With the same tools that it will take to modify that coop. You can build one that fully meets all your needs. While usually saving a good part of your budget.

 

[springvalley123]

And it was MUCH less expensive than the welded wire dog kennel I bought for the chickens.

Ditto about the concept of using a dog kennel. I've tried variations of 6 ft tall by 10x10 dog kennel, including putting up boards to keep the tarp overhead from sagging. It's no fun being up on a ladder getting snow or bailing water off the roof. And the kits that you can buy for a roof "frame" don't prevent water from accumulating on the roof either because there's not enough pitch/slope. The cost of a run and cover doesn't count the hardware cloth 4 ft all the way around to prevent predators reaching in. And an anti dig apron on the ground around it, would be required for any enclosure.

SO, I'm going back to my walk in poultry run just because I have it. BTW, that's a 6.5 tall, 10x13 ft. I spent a few hundred on the run, total almost $900 to buy the hardware cloth, replacement tarp, and sun shade cloth and anti dig apron.

--**IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER AGAIN I'd get a HOOP COOP and build it at least 12x8. You can possibly look into getting help to get the cattle panels onto your property and t-posts put in, whichever variation you go with.

**EDITED TO ADD***

Climate matters! I get about 13 inches of rain a year, possibly less, and anywhere from zero to 14 inches of snow a year. Temperatures 25-70 in winter, 60-105 summer.

 

[Percheron chick]

Chicks do not need a coop to go outside. When mine graduate from the brooder, they go out into a 6' tall (young pullets are very good flyers) enclosure that have dog houses and crates for them to sleep in. Chicks sleep on the ground in piles until they are closer to 16 weeks. Low practice roosts should be available but they won't use them to sleep. Don't need nesting boxes until they are 5+ months old.
4 10x6 chain link panels will run you $200-400 on CL. Throw a tarp over the top for some shade, pick up a free crate or dog house and you're in business. You've not wasted $400 on a coop that is only adequate for 8 weeks. You can use the panels for the run when you do build your coop. Panels make it easy to expand the run as you come across more for cheap.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Ditto about the concept of using a dog kennel. I've tried variations of 6 ft tall by 10x10 dog kennel, including putting up boards to keep the tarp overhead from sagging. It's no fun being up on a ladder getting snow or bailing water off the roof. And the kits that you can buy for a roof "frame" don't prevent water from accumulating on the roof either because there's not enough pitch/slope. The cost of a run and cover doesn't count the hardware cloth 4 ft all the way around to prevent predators reaching in. And an anti dig apron on the ground around it, would be required for any enclosure.

SO, I'm going back to my walk in poultry run just because I have it. BTW, that's a 6.5 tall, 10x13 ft. I spent a few hundred on the run, total almost $900 to buy the hardware cloth, replacement tarp, and sun shade cloth and anti dig apron.

--**IF I HAD IT TO DO OVER AGAIN I'd get a HOOP COOP and build it at least 12x8. You can possibly look into getting help to get the cattle panels onto your property and t-posts put in, whichever variation you go with.

**EDITED TO ADD***

Climate matters! I get about 13 inches of rain a year, possibly less, and anywhere from zero to 14 inches of snow a year. Temperatures 25-70 in winter, 60-105 summer.

SAME.