worried coop/pen arent big enough

[arnr1530]

okay so im still new to the chicken world and i am a little nervous i just built a chicken coop for my 6 chicksn and the coop is plenty big it was built for 8 chickens but im nervous that maybe my pen isnt big enough and im starting to feel like an awful oerson for such reason i have a pic im gonna post below of the pen n coop below ..... i have tow more chickens coming and i want to make sure i am not shorting them i plan on in a couple of months possibly making the pen expanded just currently going through a yard reconstruction and figuring out the best place for them thats even

......... i can not free range them because of the evil dog that lives next door and the family of hawks i have living in my woods so if anyone can well help me feel a little better about this that would be great thank you so so much !!!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I honestly think they'll go stir crazy in there unless they're Cornish Cross which only sit by the feeder and eat all day.

 

[arnr1530]

Ok .... Thank you they are still pretty young and I am gonna make an extension from the front door for them I thought that would be ok but maybe in should rethink it :-/

 

[CedarAcres]

It does look a bit small. What are the dimensions? I would say your best bet would be expanding the run. Most people do 3-4sq ft inside the coop per chicken, assuming they have access to a run (and I do 10sq ft per chicken in the run). Your best bet would be expanding the run for now. Maybe it just looks smaller in the photo, but do you have room for two nest boxes in there & roosts? If you're planning on 8 chickens, inside it should be 32sq ft. And I'd definitely add a bigger run, for 8 chickens I'd do 80sq ft for the run. Hope that helps

 

[conny63malies]

Just get a 10x10x6 dog kennel and put it around the coop. You can also get a cover for it. THis way you keep the neighbors dog and the hawks out.

 

[arnr1530]

Yes yes e coop is a lot a lot bigger then the pic it actually has roosting posts and a big bottom I'd say the coop itself open area is as big as an extra large dog kennel bottom plus it has a nesting box attached to the back with 3 nesting boxes? I thout that it was plenty big?!
Conny63malies- my husband said to do the same thing get the dog kennel out the coop insi and gt one of those tarps to go on top ...... I was gonna do it in about another month when the yard is done is that to long or will they be ok for now I do let them out and walk around with me when I'm out there and I have a outdoor baby gate yard thing coming this wkend that I was gonna let them wonder around in. .?

 

[CedarAcres]

That's a good idea about the dog kennel.. I'd check craigslist! We just gave ours away on there for free, so maybe you'll get lucky and find a deal!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They'll have a lot more room if you put the chain link dog run NEXT to your present pen. You can buy the parts to add a door to the chain link run so you have a chicken door and a man door. That's what I did for my first pen.

 

[arnr1530]

thank you all so much ....... i will get on it hopefully sooner then later i just want my yard back to normal lol thanks again