Truth needed

[lazy gardener]

Thanks for helpful direction. Spent the weekend looking at options.
Plan 1:
We are thinking to simply remove back wall and bump it out 3 ft and expand the width to 8 feet which will make it approx 48sq ft.
We are suspecting 2 possibly 3 roosters are present.
Only one ever is seen crowing but before I open coop in morning when they hear me coming I hear a distinct second crow?
One is such a beautiful bird hard to believe it is not a roo also.
I am contemplating giving 3-4 hens to farmer neighbor which lent me a brooder.
So I should end up with 9-10 hens so figure that will be good. No roosters.



Plan 2:
The run (present coop) both sit 10 yards from barn.
In that barn the eastern wall closest to coop and run we have what was used as a shower room for horses at one time. The floor space in barn is over 3000 sq. ft.
It is a two stall horse barn that also houses our fainting goats but they are separated from this side of barn.
it would be easy enough to cut out an exterior door entrance and create a new coop.
The room measures 12 X 15 has perfect flooring for a coop and roosts and boxes would be easy to add.
Sliding barn door to the room would make for easy cleaning etc.
Husband thinks to keep everyone safe he can add a cylindrical (like a tunnel) small run to connect to present run and then new barn coop area.
The present coop would be "bonus area" if we go with plan 2

We got caught up in the cuteness of our present coop when we saw it at local Amish stand.
They told us 8-12 hens. Well, now we know. Like you have said the 4 nesting boxes perfect but 24 sq.ft. Floor space is way too small.

The funny thing is we also have a 60 X 100 ft indoor arena (former owners used for horses)
We use it to let the grandkids run around and play!

Thanks again for all "truth"

The pics show
1) how close to barn we are
2) huge arena in background (non issue, just a tease for space)
3) barn door on left shows side of barn that would be used. The coop room would be in to the left.

I think that, overall, you'll be happy with the shower room conversion. Tearing that little coop apart to make it bigger sounds like A LOT of work. And if you use some of that barn space, it will put all of your winter animal chores under one roof! I'd also try to get the run adjacent to the barn coop as well. I'm proud of you for asking for advice, and actually taking it to heart! So many folks start with cute little fluff balls, and quickly get in over their heads with more birds than their space will comfortably allow. They'll ask for advice, but not heed it. You are way ahead of the game, by having the space available to solve your problem and actually being willing to do it!! Kudos!

 

[Emma Miriam]

I completely agree with the above poster and all the other responses you've gotten! It sounds to me like you're starting the chicken addiction, and with a rooster or two to fertilize those eggs...well, you know chicken math!

The barn sounds great. One thing though: with the number of birds you have right now, 12x15 seems like almost too much space. I'd section off an area for the chickens with chicken wire, maybe half that space. Then the rest could be storage or maybe separate areas for brooders, integration cages, etc.

Sounds like a great plan! And yes, you'll LOVE having that extra coop. e

 

[aart]

I completely agree with the above poster and all the other responses you've gotten! It sounds to me like you're starting the chicken addiction, and with a rooster or two to fertilize those eggs...well, you know chicken math!

The barn sounds great. One thing though: with the number of birds you have right now, 12x15 seems like almost too much space. I'd section off an area for the chickens with chicken wire, maybe half that space. Then the rest could be storage or maybe separate areas for brooders, integration cages, etc.

Sounds like a great plan! And yes, you'll LOVE having that extra coop.

You can never have too much space... ....doesn't matter how many birds.

 

[duluthralphie]

You can never have too much space... ....doesn't matter how many birds.

You beat me too it!

 

[Emma Miriam]

OK, good point. On second thought, the chickens will enjoy having the extra space. Plus, that leaves lots of room to grow should chicken math set in! I would still recommend having a corner for storage though...it would be so nice to have supplies and feed right in the coop! Ah, wishful thinking...

Thanks you two for catching that.

 

[duluthralphie]

I Would like to just have the feed and supplies in the same building like her barn, let alone in the same coop. I run back and forth getting what I need all the time.

 

[Wol1]

We had a similar space in our barn and converted it to a coop. We cut a chicken size door in the wall for them. Their run is right outside the barn. We started out with about the same 12x15' for 9 birds, then the neighbor gave us 4 more. We added 12 more the next year and developed an adjacent space of about the same size. We added 6 this year and there's still plenty of room for rainy and subzero days. We have three roosts and 9 nest boxes, two waterers and two feeders indoors and three waterers outdoors when it's warm enough that they will go out. There is a "people door" from the coop to the inside of the barn. The feed is in metal trash cans right outside the door. We keep our supply of water (we don't have the well near the barn operable yet so we use jugs filled at the other well) and cleaning supplies there.

We built ours with framed plywood walls 4 feet high (except the north side exterior on the expanded part... that is full plywood with insulation), and we have it framed up to about 8 feet high. We used a double layer of 1/4 hardware cloth on the remaining walls and top. We use pieces of rubber roofing we found at Habitat for Humanity Restore to cover most of the top in the winter (leaving gaps for evaporation) and have pieces we hang down the sides in the winter to keep it warm. On warm days we can pull them open to let air go through, and in the spring and fall, we can gradually add them as needed. The floor of the barn was already 8 inches of crushed rock over a layer of large flat rocks. My husband built a 2x4 raised floor which we covered with two criss-crossing layers of chicken wire and another large piece of rubber roofing, folding it up the sides about a foot to make cleaning easier. We glued the seams together, although they have started coming apart, allowing the "chicken dust" to accumulate. The large cleanouts are easy, as we can roll a cart up to the chicken door on the outside because it's about a foot up in the air on that side, and push the bedding out into it. The floor is slightly sloped, and the edge of the coop floor and the bottom of the barn wall has a gap, so when we wash it, we can just push the water out the gap. We close the gap with strips of wood in the winter to cut down on drafts.

So far, this has served us very well. We haven't had a successful night time predator attack yet. We keep the dog in the barn, which helps (she has a straw bale dog house We built this after I spent several months (salivating, waiting for our first spring chickens) reading this forum to see what worked for people.

We got two roosters the second year. (2 out of 6 ameracauna "pullets" from Rural King.... our neighbors just got 6 of some kind and 5 were roosters from the same Rural King. Sexed at the same hatchery I picked mine up from years 1 and 2 with 100% accuracy....think a few straight runs left and a new box of pullets? hey! lets put the few in with the pullets..............) Anyway, my husband couldn't stomach the violent rape. er. mating method and I couldn't kill them, so, our solution was to build them a separate coop in another area of the barn with a similar opening to a small run. They can't see the girls, and they are just like to guys in their bachelor pad. They are so much like George and Yortuk Festrunk, the two "wild and crazy" guys from Sat. Night Live. When a hen does get out and wander by,... "Hey, Yortuk, look! It's a beautiful girl! " Like this, by themselves, they are fun and don't seem lonely at all. I call them "Boy" and "Bad Boy". Bad Boy is the one who violently mugged (raped) the girls. Boy is a bit of a "creeper" type, watching from behind the bushes and sneaking up. No, couldn't handle it. Much happier this way.

 

[1chickendog142]

Ok Truth needed, well you asked and I'm not shy so I will give you nothing but honest answers. Even if you have roosters with your hen's it doesn't mean you will have babies. Just pick up your eggs often. Either use or sell them, you don't want to leave any to set on them and become broody. It doesn't change the taste of eggs when roosters are present. It does effect the taste and texture when you free range chickens. I sell eggs, eat my chicken eggs, and raise babies from them( by incubators and natural chickens sitting on them ).
GL

 

[MadamPoofyBrow]

I would keep your rooster for sure. I will never again have a flock without a rooster. I used to free range when i had just hens, and predators wiped them out. I free range now, with roosters, and have zero predator problems. Plus, if you spend enough time with him while he's young he shouldn't be aggressive. Roosters can be super fun to have around :-D

 

[allpeepedout]

Truth is, my hens seem to like my rooster. They compete to snuggle under him at night and seem lost when I remove him for a day or two in winter to a warmer place, to protect his comb.

Truth is, his adolescent behavior was not pretty, as the transition to becoming a gentleman can include violent assaults on sweet little pullets. Now, he checks out a freshly cleaned nest for the hens and calls them over for treats.

Truth is, when I wear different footwear or outfits to the coop, he fails to recognize me and attacks. He's not the brightest bulb in the pack, but I'm confident he would attack a predator in case of a security breech. He has done battle with a black snake.

Truth is, neighbors and I enjoy the crowing, which is not excessive.