Two Coops in a Run

[TexasWineGuy]

BN,

I think they will organically choose one of the coops to actually roost in. The other, unchosen, coop can be used for food and water. It's a win win.

Personally, I'd attach both coops and see what happens.

TWG

 

[BonNuit]

Agree that ventilation is not enough. You need at least 3 sided ventilation on the coop.

You can certainly use both coops attached to the run, but I'm betting they will choose a coop to actually roost in at night, all together. The other one, if not chosen, use for food and water! Win-win.

TWG

Yeah, I don't see them separating themselves -- I see them all still going into the one coop --

I think I may have figured out how to actually connect these stupid things together -- and I may just do it as a project this month -- make the small coop like a foyer to the larger one. I still think they will all crowd themselves on the two perches in the larger coop like they do now though, because chickens are silly like that.

 

[mowin]

Can you post a pic of the mods you did for ventilation?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

oh no. You're in my climate.

First your chickens will probably pick one coop, especially cause you have a rooster. They will all wanna sleep with the roo and he may even harass them if they don't sleep with him. Just my experience.

Second unless you have a roof on your run you will have days that not a single chicken will leave the coop. You can house maybe 6 chickens in the big coop. Not because of ventilation but because chickens need room to live. If a chicken can't leave its coop, it needs room to flap its wings, stretch its legs, get away from the chicken it doesn't like, etc. 4sqft isn't a lot to do that in and that's what most people consider acceptable. Your "big" coop would be good enough to provide that for maybe 6 birds, but would be better for four. You cannot keep 8+ chickens like that and expect them to be healthy or happy. It's not so bad now while the days are long and the weather mild, but once the lake effect hits they will rip each others feathers out and peck combs til they bleed or bully one another out into the snow.

And yes, your husband is wrong about the lots of birds makes for warmer chickens. Good ventilation , solid winter bedding management, and proper stocking to space ratios makes for warm chickens.

Good news is if you need to rehome the birds the local Craigslist community is active and will frequently snatch them up if you price competitively.

 

[Spikeandbean]

This might be a totally unhelpful suggestion, but is there an efficient way to connect the two coops? Can you cut through some walls and make them more like one big coop, where no one would feel like the odd one(s) out? Or are the coops too different in structure/layout?

 

[bigz1983]

I think us chicken people need to band together and form some type of group to stop the manufacturers of these small urban coops from lying about about the max capacity.
That's false advertisement and something needs to be done.
Also us chicken people need to band together and make another group to stop the hatcheries from labeling their hybrid Easter eggers as True Amerucanas that ticks me off too.
How about "Chicken owners against false advertisement?"

 

[ChickenCanoe]

For everyone posting about the ventilation -- yes, as they were, there was not enough ventilation. I did respond to the first post about that concern, but responses are easily missed.
...
My question is whether chickens that are used to being together, who coop together willingly and happily will even USE two separate coops -- or if I am wasting my time even trying to do that? I completely get that the coop I have is too small, I am simply trying to see if using the two is a viable remedy for the time being.

Yeah, I don't see them separating themselves -- I see them all still going into the one coop --...

I sometimes have as many as 7 separate coops. While they tend to stick with their flock, from time to time they will find that they like another group better and migrate to other buildings.
I once had a hen that would fly into another run and go into that building to lay eggs. She had never been in that building so how did she even know there was a nest in there. She also got attacked by the birds in that flock when they saw her in there - so why would she do that?
One never can predict chicken behavior, it is always one surprise after another.

 

[aart]

That's false advertisement and something needs to be done.

False advertising, like fake news, will never go away....some will always believe it.

 

[BonNuit]

oh no. You're in my climate.

First your chickens will probably pick one coop, especially cause you have a rooster. They will all wanna sleep with the roo and he may even harass them if they don't sleep with him. Just my experience.

Second unless you have a roof on your run you will have days that not a single chicken will leave the coop. You can house maybe 6 chickens in the big coop. Not because of ventilation but because chickens need room to live. If a chicken can't leave its coop, it needs room to flap its wings, stretch its legs, get away from the chicken it doesn't like, etc. 4sqft isn't a lot to do that in and that's what most people consider acceptable. Your "big" coop would be good enough to provide that for maybe 6 birds, but would be better for four. You cannot keep 8+ chickens like that and expect them to be healthy or happy. It's not so bad now while the days are long and the weather mild, but once the lake effect hits they will rip each others feathers out and peck combs til they bleed or bully one another out into the snow.

And yes, your husband is wrong about the lots of birds makes for warmer chickens. Good ventilation , solid winter bedding management, and proper stocking to space ratios makes for warm chickens.

Good news is if you need to rehome the birds the local Craigslist community is active and will frequently snatch them up if you price competitively.

The good news is that half the run is covered -- and I am actually out of the lake effect snow area. I am near Youngstown -- so I do not get nearly the amount of snow that you get up north. I work at Case Western, so I know the difference.

Looks like I will have to find a way to get a bigger coop -- even though it will likely cause divorce papers. LOL.

 

[BonNuit]

This might be a totally unhelpful suggestion, but is there an efficient way to connect the two coops? Can you cut through some walls and make them more like one big coop, where no one would feel like the odd one(s) out? Or are the coops too different in structure/layout?

Not unhelpful -- I've been pondering that since it appears they are lost causes anyhow. I've been considering making the smaller coop a sort of "foyer" to the larger one -- if that makes sense? Truly though, it is likely a lost cause. It just sucks because I really don't have the expendable income right now after having already spent $700 bucks on coops -- in the middle of a pandemic --- while our income is severely affected. But such is life.