We bought a house that comes with a chicken coop... Wondering what to do next?

[StephanieSD]

Hello everyone! When we bought a house and saw that it came with a chicken coop we decided to give backyard chickens a try. But we know very little about it. This is the coop and run:

The run is 106" x 106" x 80" and the coop is 53" x 37" x 31" (height not including the peak). I guess it has 3 nesting boxes? And it looks like it has 3 roosting bars inside, one low and two higher. I have to clean out and replace all the wood chips and give it a good power wash, I'm assuming, before we bring in new chickens. The roof does not come off, or at least is not coming off easily.

The previous owners said they had 8 hens in it, but we're going to start with 4 to 6. They also said they never had problems with predators, with all the reinforcements around the coop plus motion lights in the yard; neighbors said that one chicken was lost to a predator in 4 years, so that's still a pretty good average. It gets hot here (Novato, CA), but there are openings to let air in, plus it's shady underneath, and they had a pretty elaborate soaker hose system set up for the garden, so maybe that included a mister for the hens (or could include it if needed). We'd like to let hens free-range, but only for an hour or two when we're out in the yard anyway. There are a lot of hawks around here. We want to be able to give the hens kitchen scraps and eventually use the litter for compost. My husband wants productive egg-layers, I want pretty hens and multi-colored eggs. (I don't eat eggs! I like animals and like the aesthetic of a multi-colored egg basket.)

Can anyone give me any advice or encouragement, things to look out for with coop safety? Any words of wisdom are appreciated.

Thank you!

Stephanie

 

[ChickyCh00k]

I don't want to be Patty-Poop-Stain here or burst your bubble. I just want to give feedback so you can make informed decisions.

In all honesty that does not look like a great setup for happy, healthy chickens. The general rule of thumb for MINIMUM space required is 4 sq.ft per bird in the coop and 10 sq.ft per bird in the run. Your coop is about 13.5 sq.ft. I would not attempt to put more than 4 regular sized chickens in it MAX. I can't believe the previous owner stuffed 8 chickens in there (unless they had bantams, but even then...). Your run is about 77 sq.ft, so *technically OK for about 7 birds, but more space is always better (to prevent behavior problems).

Another issue is that the coop does not look well-ventilated (I can't really tell from the pictures, but it looks like a pre-fab coop and those are notorious for being horribly under ventilated). Ventilation is extremely important. And yes, if you're dead set on keeping that coop, you will want to thoroughly clean and disinfect it before adding any chickens. Personally, I would scrap that coop and get a new one, but I know that isn't always feasible.

Also, is that a concrete slab that the run is sitting on? That is not conducive to giving chickens the opportunity to scratch and do "chicken things". A thick layer of woodchips should be placed on top of that concrete.

You won't find many people here who recommend feeding kitchen scraps. Chickens require a very specific, nutrionally balanced diet for optimal health. Too many scraps can really mess with the nutrient balance and lead to health problems.

As far as the chickens themselves go: If you want chickens that lay a decent number of eggs, and you want colored eggs, you'll probably want to look at Easter Eggers, and again, I would not recommend getting any more than 4 chickens.

The last thing I'll say is chicken keeping is addictive. The setup you have will not allow for *chicken math*. If you decide you want more than 4 chickens, you will need a new setup.

I hope I didn't dissuade you! I wish I could have been more encouraging, I just want to make sure you have this information so that you can decide if/how to proceed. I LOVE my chickens so, so much and I think everyone should have some. I also think that if you are going to have them, it's best to start in a good, well-informed place in order to avoid major issues from the get-go.

Best of luck!!

 

[tlcmurphy]

I agree, that coop is only big enough for 3-4 chickens max (unless they’re bantam breeds).

 

[tlcmurphy]

I agree, that coop is only big enough for 3-4 chickens max (unless they’re bantam breeds).

BUT 3-4 is enough to get you into chickens! You can always get an additional coop and more birds later. Do it!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I agree, the set up isn't conducive to holding as many birds as you might want, but since you're getting into it for the first time it's also not a bad idea to start small and grow the flock over time. Took me 8 years to max out my flock size.

I'd recommend maybe 3 or 4 birds max, with some alterations.

Almost more than the floor space of the coop I'm concerned about heat and the relative lack of ventilation. Does the coop/run get any shade at all? In a hot climate the recommendation is 2-3 sq ft of ventilation per bird open 24/7 (for reference, the pop door is probably around 1 sq ft). Not sure how good of shape the coop is in, but I'd consider replacing most of one wall with hardware cloth, and maybe tarping over the top of the run above the coop to climate protect the ventilated wall plus add some shade, if the area doesn't already get any.