What would you change/add?

[Feathered_Texans]

If this were your chicken coop, what would you change or add? I want to change it up a little but I’m not sure what. It is roughly 145 sq ft. Also, what is a good limit of chickens I could keep in here? I currently have 5 hens that I free range every day.
Thanks!

 

[ValerieJ]

Looks like a great coop for your area. I assume in Central Texas you don't get a lot of cold, windy, rainy days. What direction does the opening face? It needs to face away from the direction any wind comes from. Do you have any issues with the chickens roosting in the nesting boxes? They tend to want to roost in the highest place available, and that looks like the nesting boxes in the picture. Also, is there a roosting bar anywhere? If not, I would add one.

 

[Feathered_Texans]

Looks like a great coop for your area. I assume in Central Texas you don't get a lot of cold, windy, rainy days. What direction does the opening face? It needs to face away from the direction any wind comes from. Do you have any issues with the chickens roosting in the nesting boxes? They tend to want to roost in the highest place available, and that looks like the nesting boxes in the picture. Also, is there a roosting bar anywhere? If not, I would add one.

The coop faces south and they never seem bothered by the weather. I made a roost out of tree branches and it is in the back left corner but I didn’t get a good photo of it. The 3 bigger hens sleep there but they kicked the 2 smaller ones out and they sleep on top of the nesting boxes. I might see if I can make some higher roosts, thanks for the input!

 

[HuffleClaw]

That’s a beautiful coop

 

[Feathered_Texans]

That’s a beautiful coop

Thank you!

 

[Acre4Me]

Nice!! Fun color accents too!

I’d lower the nest boxes... just attach them to the lower board, instead of the middle board.

I’d add more roosts.

number of birds...well, you could have a lot actually. You have a climate where they aren’t going to be dealing with scary snow or really cold temps where they mill about inside. I’m in the minority, but I don’t see why you couldn’t have 30+ chickens in there. You could stagger and have 10-12 each of different years and just cycle out the 4yo ones in the fall/early winter in prep for the spring chicks. Or rely on momma hens to supply you with chicks, culling ones not desired.

good luck! You have a good base set-up!

 

[21hens-incharge]

I too would lower the nest boxes.

I agree with adding more roosts....I would also try for more level roosts.

There are ways to make freestanding roosts.....I do not have a link though.

 

[Cryss]

I love your coop. I wish I lived in a warm climate so I could use an open coop. Yours is a nice size too. By the standard of 4 sq ft per bird you have room for roughly 36 chickens maximum. A proper roost would be my serious change. The top of that nest box is going to get really messy with poop. They need about a foot of roost space per bird. Roosts should be higher than nests because they will sleep at the highest point they can reach. You don’t want them to sleep in the nests because they will poop on them all night as they sleep. Eggs will be poopy and so will your chickens. If all roosters are the same height they can’t fight over height and birds sleeping on lower roosts trend to get pooped on by the higher chickens. Roosts should be at least a foot away from walls and other roosts. I highly recommend poop boards. They are so easy to clean and they keep you from stepping in poop. Position the board about 8 inches below the roost so they don’t drag their tails in the poop below but also can’t sit underneath the roost. By making the board 2 ft wide and having the roost running down the center the bird can face either way and not poop on the floor. My chickens rarely poop on the coop floor. Most pooping is done while asleep at night so the poop board catches it. During the day they only come inside to lay an egg so they poop outdoors all day. After using a poop board in my new coop I will never go back to not having poop boards.

 

[jolenesdad]

I have all mine in converted horse stalls in TX, very similar. The only thing I’d add would be a hardware cloth upgrade over time.

As far as space, a couple of questions since I deal with the exact same setups...

do you have opinions on rehoming hens? Against it at all?

Do you raise chicks often or at all or interested in that aspect of chicken keeping?

when do you let out in the AM?

 

[Cryss]

In case my written explanation was difficult to follow here’s a picture of my coop and poop boards.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-want-to-follow.1298845/page-17#post-21797094