tight fit in coop

[hemet dennis]

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if you have more then one you will need to leave the door open and have a secure run and if you have more then is comfortable to fit in the coop some will sleep outside sometimes you will even find that one does not like to sleep inside and may sleep on the roof with your set up don't worry about 5 chickens

It's not a heat issue in your area - it's a space issue. If your pop door is left open, no big deal, assuming there's enough roost space in there. As soon as it's light they can just hop down and go outside. But to leave a pop door open assumes that your run is extremely secure, as I mentioned before: Is it built of welded wire? Does it have a roof, whether solid or welded wire? Have measures been taken to insure an animal can't dig under the run walls, such as buried wire or skirt, etc.? Because if the pop door is left open all night for the chickens to come and go, then it also allows nocturnal predators to come and go for a midnight snack, and I'm not talking about the chicken feed.

But most people who don't have secure runs, and many that do, still shut their pop doors at night, just to take every measure possible to keep their chickens safe. In a roomy coop, if the chickens have been up an hour or two before you get out there to open the pop door, it's not such a big deal, as the chickens still have space to move about. But in a coop that tiny with that many birds, you're going to have to be out there early every day to open it up for them, because there is no space to walk around in there for that number of birds. See what I'm saying...??

And yes, to be safe, your birds should sleep inside each night, and they always (other than some silkies) prefer roosts... Some folks in mild areas do build more open air type coops - where the run/housing are kind of combined (has a solid roof for weather protection, but is mostly wire all the way around). But those pen type coops are generally built VERY securely, small welded wire to prevent reach-ins, etc.

then you put a auto door with a light sensor but i would never leave one chicken locked in a coop so i could sleep in

 

[teach1rusl]

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Well I'm certainly not going to argue with this, because I feel the same way. But I know that many DON'T get up early to let their birds out. I've read posts stating that, and I've seen it down my road...used to drive by one house and see their pop doors still shut at 10 am on some days. I always felt badly for their chickens (for multiple reasons), which they don't keep anymore, thankfully.

 

[jgaepi]

So I did finally take measurements and even I was a bit surprised. 28 inches deep and 37 inches wide (this width includes a 12in wide nest box area - 2 nests). About 40in tall inside with a roost (soon to be 2 roost poles) about 6 inches up. I want to add the second roost but the only way to do that is to raise to a height of about 18 in. Hardware cloth flooring, corrugated roof.

 

[teach1rusl]

You'd do better putting both at around 16-18 inches. The 6 inch high one will not allow any walking space, and if you put one above it, you're gonna have birds pooping on birds. Nest boxes are never counted as living space, because nobody wants their chickens living in there - poopy eggs.
Have you considered selling two of your chicks when they come in...just keeping 3? What will seem roomy when they're the size of 3 or 4 week old kittens is going to be a lot different when they're the size of 7lb house cats.

 

[jgaepi]

and they will fly up to that height?

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Quote:
Yes.

With your new measurements, minus the nest box, that's just a little over 4 sq feet. With 4 birds, that just a little over 1 sq ft per bird. I guess that's okay for sleeping only, as long as you can let them out at the crack of dawn. They may get a little fussy while finding their "perfect" spot on the roost.

I know it must be confusing to get all the different perspectives. What I know for myself, is that I wish I had built larger. I have about 15 sq ft for 4 birds. It's fabulous that you have the room to build such a big run though. That will be awesome.

Another thing to think about in terms of roosts is that it's not ideal to put the roost right over the entrance to the nest box. They do a LOT of pooping at night and your girls will be tracking it in. I don't think you'll have room for a poop board under the roosts.

It is an adorable little coop.

Edited to say that I forgot about the wire floor. The idea is that the poop will fall through, but from what I've read on here, the reality is different.

 

[BlazeJester]

Yay Chicks! :

The idea is that the poop will fall through, but from what I've read on here, the reality is different.

Bahahaha yes it is!!! Big girl poops are WAY bigger than ANY holes in the wire!!! They have to walk on it to squish it to fall through. Great idea, not so great execution...​

 

[real_redhead]

Right, poop won't fall thru, my coop has wire under the roosting pole and each morning I clean it out, doesn't fall thru some dickens have big poops!

 

[jgaepi]

I will take a photo of the inside on Sat and send it out for advice on how to reposition the roosting pole. Stand by to stand by.

 

[Ole rooster]

I might be the only one but I don't see the square foot per bird matters if they don't stay inside all day. Mine go in to sleep, back in to lay and never see the inside again till time for bed. All 7, with one settin, fit on one roost pose 54 inches long. That means another roost pole in not used at all. 6:45 I open the door and they come out at their leisure. And I don't have the midget birds. The silkies and such.