Store bought coop needs modifications

[Shlbs13]

Hi all. I bought a coop online (first mistake). The reviews on it were excellent and I didn't have the time or the handiness to build one myself. I received the coop and put it together and noticed what I feel are a few issues.

1. For ventilation: on two sides of the coop there are 4 open slots. Total of 8. When the wind blows it'll go straight through the coop and during the winter I believe this will cause a problem. (I live in the northeast)

2. The floor of the coop appears to be a thin layer of aluminum. That's it. It's flexible and again I feel during the winter it'll be a problem due to the cold.

3. There seems to be a lot of gaps throughout the coop. I worry about predators and cold weather. I want my chickens safe and healthy.

Does anyone have and suggestions on how I can remedy these issues? I don't want to be the first time chicken owner that loses her chickens because my coop wasn't safe :/

Thanks in advance!

 

[vehve]

Post a picture of it, and I'm sure people will give you loads of improvement ideas.

 

[Shlbs13]

I was mistaken. 3 slots on each side.

Thanks!

 

[vehve]

An hardware cloth apron around the run would deter burrowing predators. The floor could be covered with eg. plywood and linoleum, upon which you put bedding. The run is on the small side, but if you let the chickens free range daily, you should be ok. Ventilation might be an issue, you might want to cut the slats a bit bigger, and with the roosts being that low, the chickens might take to sleeping in the nestboxes, although raising them would place the chickens in the air stream of the ventilation slots. How many chickens are you planning on housing in this? Looks like it could hold maybe three comfortably (unless it's a lot bigger than it seems from the images).

Someone else more familiar with your climate might want to chime in too.

 

[Shlbs13]

I have 6 chicks at the moment. This coop claimed to hold 6-8 full grown hens. We've already made plans to extend the run and I do plan on letting them free range. On days that I'm not home they will stay in the run though. I honestly thought the coop would be bigger than what it is. Maybe I could make an extension off it?

 

[vehve]

One thought would be to make the whole construction into a coop and build a larger run around it.

 

[Shlbs13]

That .....is an excellent idea

 

[jetdog]

That .....is an excellent idea

Look for a dog kennel on craigslist or similar, they are very easy to expand if needed, you can walk in with out bumping your head and easy to put a roof on, if properly predator proof it will work great, they keep dogs in and keeps
dogs out.