To anyone thinking of getting one of those cute little coops….

[alinas2010]

A lady on Facebook market place had a very small one I’d say big enough for two chickens. The lady had ten poor chickens stuffed in there it breaks my heart that so many people don’t know

That is so sad. I hate hearing things like that. It makes me want to rescue them all

 

[sybonbon]

If they work for your flock, and they’re happy, healthy that’s what matters. We only have 4 standard chickens and it was so tight for them that only 2 would roost inside and the other 2 would roost outside. The roosting partners changed, too, so I don’t think it was a pecking order thing. I would sometimes see 3 roosting together, but they bickered when they did.

The run area I have to disagree with you on. I cringed seeing all 4 of ours in there. I could never leave them in there for any extended amount of time. If they can free range all day and you have a super mild climate year round, then, yes, the run would work.

You have 4. I have 3 BCM. The other coop 3 are CCLB. They hang out on the perch I provided or scratch or bath in the large section in the back. There's plenty of room for their food which hangs under the ramp.They also come out at least once a day. They are very happy. Maybe they make them in a smaller size now. Here are some photos of my coop raised off of the ground by 2 ft. The 2 large BCM and BA have lots of room to move around. All 3 hang on the perch. The other coop holds 2 CCL and Chocolate Bantam which is larger than them. They also sleep on the bar together inside and out. Altering the coop made a big difference and also makes it large enough I can get in it to clean. This may not be for everyone but it works for me and my ladies.

 

[alinas2010]

You have 4. I have 3 BCM. The other coop 3 are CCLB. They hang out on the perch I provided or scratch or bath in the large section in the back. There's plenty of room for their food which hangs under the ramp.They also come out at least once a day. They are very happy. Maybe they make them in a smaller size now.

Like i said if they’re happy and healthy, that is all that matters. I’m glad you have found a way to make it work for them. It’s got a sturdy roof and good fencing for the run, I will give it that.

But even being built sturdy, my flock would’ve probably died in this coop this winter. It does not work for a large portion of the climates in the US without heavy modification. The coop has little to no ventilation, quite a bit of draft coming in from below and not a lot of predator protection without modifying it. It would never work full time for anyone where I am.

I also wanted to add that although we don’t agree on these coops, I can see how much thought you’ve put into making them work for your flock. Chicken keeping is so different for everyone.

 

[sybonbon]

Like i said if they’re happy and healthy, that is all that matters. I’m glad you have found a way to make it work for them. It’s got a sturdy roof and good fencing for the run, I will give it that.

But even being built sturdy, my flock would’ve probably died in this coop this winter. It does not work for a large portion of the climates in the US without heavy modification. The coop has little to no ventilation, quite a bit of draft coming in from below and not a lot of predator protection without modifying it. It would never work full time for anyone where I a

Like i said if they’re happy and healthy, that is all that matters. I’m glad you have found a way to make it work for them. It’s got a sturdy roof and good fencing for the run, I will give it that.

But even being built sturdy, my flock would’ve probably died in this coop this winter. It does not work for a large portion of the climates in the US without heavy modification. The coop has little to no ventilation, quite a bit of draft coming in from below and not a lot of predator protection without modifying it. It would never work full time for anyone where I am.

I'm sorry it did not work for you. I hope you can find something else that will work better.

 

[alinas2010]

Like i said if they’re happy and healthy, that is all that matters. I’m glad you have found a way to make it work for them. It’s got a sturdy roof and good fencing for the run, I will give it that.

But even being built sturdy, my flock would’ve probably died in this coop this winter. It does not work for a large portion of the climates in the US without heavy modification. The coop has little to no ventilation, quite a bit of draft coming in from below and not a lot of predator protection without modifying it. It would never work full time for anyone where I a
I'm sorry it did not work for you. I hope you can find something else that will work better.

Thank you, I appreciate that. We converted a shed into a coop for them, I’m very thankful we went this direction, because they have a lot more room for winter….and chicken math

 

[3KillerBs]

May I add my Rules of Thumb?

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.

 

[picklestheduck]

May I add my Rules of Thumb?

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.

Those are great ways to look at it! I bought two of the prefab mini coops used off Facebook market place for dirt cheap, and I only plan to use them for either a broody hen and chicks, or for one of my hens who gets picked on to recover in. We made a TON of changes first lol

 

[SituationalLefty]

Ironically for those of you who don't see ads, the header ad I see for this post is an ad for Nestera coops featuring a tee-tiny coop.

The companies that sell these dollhouse coops are to blame for marketing them shamelessly. My Pet Chicken, for example, sells a 4 square foot coop (minus two nesting boxes) and claims it will house 4 hens. Of course there are no pictures of chickens actually IN the coop. We are newbies and bought one. My only consolation is that it might work as an isolation coop. My husband thinks it's adorable, so I guess that's one benefit . He wants to put it in the far backyard as a lawn ornament.

 

[3KillerBs]

The companies that sell these dollhouse coops are to blame for marketing them shamelessly. My Pet Chicken, for example, sells a 4 square foot coop (minus two nesting boxes) and claims it will house 4 hens. Of course there are no pictures of chickens actually IN the coop. We are newbies and bought one. My only consolation is that it might work as an isolation coop. My husband thinks it's adorable, so I guess that's one benefit . He wants to put it in the far backyard as a kind of lawn ornament.

I forget which coop it was, but a while back one of our members caught on to the fact that the company had actually used toy chickens in the photos.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

They’re good coops for brooding chicks or keeping very small bantams. They’re light enough that they can be moved like a chicken tractor.