Your opinions on my coop please!

[Nadilli]

Photo dump!
Also installed solar lights, low light at night and goes to high light with movement. Only the chickens sleep in the coop at night. The ducks either sleep under the chair or under the coop.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I did some calculations... the coop is 3’ by 6’ approximately. So let’s say it’s a 3’ by 3’ coop. I’m not sure... is there any possible way to add an extension to the coop itself? I’m not good with changing things up...

 

[Ducklingguy]

I think it looks nice.

We’re building one soon! Hopefully go get the stuff from Lowe’s this weekend. I am building mine on the side of the barn.
For the ducks, we’re also going to install a small pool into the ground.

On the other hand, we’re waiting on a chicken coop to come in we ordered about a week ago.

Fortunately, a guy up the road sells hay for $5 a bail (sp?). Everything should be underway okay!

Going to make these feathered friends as comfy as possible.

Best of luck to you!
Ducklingguy

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Awesome! Generally, I probably would have built a coop my self, but if that wasn’t an option, this *should* work. You will want, for 4 chickens, 16’ in the coop (total) so you would want a 4’ by 4’ coop, or something similar. and 40’ in the run. (Total) (it could be something like a 4’ by 10’ run) those are minimum requirements. More space is usually better, and chicken math is real.

I’m not sure about parrot toys... chickens will easily dirty them up, and, chickens are chickens, not parrots. re’s some ideas of what I did to accessorize my coop and run. Only problem with a few of these ideas is that I have a 750 sq’ run and a 8’ by 6’ coop... much bigger than your area (I also have 13 chickens)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-clutter-and-coop-‘extras’.76527/

Of course, parrot toys would work ok, I’m just not sure if they would be great for the chickens. Some other ideas are hanging bunches of lettuce for them to jump and peck at when they are older.

You will also probably want to add a lot more ventilation, open 24/7/ year round. Recommended is 1 sq food per bird in the coop.

Also, I’m not sure where the roosts are located. Are they on the bottoms, or near the roof? If possible, make the roosts as close to the ceiling as possible.

Do you have the dimensions of the coop (house) and the dimensions of just the run? That would be helpful for me.

I don’t know a ton about pre fabs, but modifications are usually required.

You may also want to upgrade the locks, as you probably don’t want raccoons to be able to get in. Here’s an article on predator proofing a coop.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/top-10-ways-to-protect-your-chickens-from-predators.76540/

This is a lot of information, but I hope it helps!

Not sure why, but the first link doesn’t seem to work... let me see if it works now. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-clutter-and-coop-‘extras’.76527/

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Not sure why, but the first link doesn’t seem to work... let me see if it works now. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-clutter-and-coop-‘extras’.76527/

Huh. It still doesn’t work.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Worked for me on copy/paste? https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/run-clutter-and-coop-‘extras’.76527/

That’s so weird! No matter how many times I try it won’t work... even on other threads.

 

[Nadilli]

Stick with sand, dirt, wood ash, etc. Chickens don't bathe in water, and can drown in deeper containers such as drinking troughs and buckets.

Thank you, I have a bucket that I will fill with sand for them. Would children's play sand work?

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Almost done painting the coop! Just some clean up around the edges, maybe a 2nd coat on the end nesting box.
Paint is white farm and implement alkyd enamel, high gloss, 2 to 3 coats on roof shingles, one coat at the moment on the sides.
Chickens will not be able to reach the paint.
So, the sketch may be possible, should know in a few days, everyone has to agree lol.
Here are pictures of the coop! The triangle pieces near the peek will have a large hole cut and hardware cloth, as will the strip under the “awning” and above the coop door, picture included.

View attachment 2768630View attachment 2768632View attachment 2768636

When I had my prefab I put a super thick coat of polyurethane on the shingles and I'm glad I did. Those little roofs get all kinds of caddywompus
Looking good

 

[Nadilli]

Ok, I forgot to do some updates as I did them! Photo dump!!
Added a small ventilation fan and dug down, added extra chicken wire to the ground, pavers around, chicken wire around the back side and gaps, and added a different feeder, and also a shallow pond for ducks(temporary until I build thier own run).
I’ll take some more pictures tomorrow and post them. Compost tower has been torn apart and dirt used to plant nontoxic flowers around the outside back of the run.

 

[Nadilli]

Hi everyone! Update time!
I have ducks now, so the setup is going to get an upgrade!
I am going to lift the prebuilt coop 2 feet with concrete bricks mortared together, and that bottom part turned into a duck area.
I am going to get a pen kit from Amazon, that is 9.5 x 18.5 x 6.5 tall, and I will concrete some posts in and attach the run to it. This is going to go over the coop, going up against the concrete slab to create a L shaped run. This adds 175 sq feet, creating a total of 245 sq feet!!! This gives each bird 27 sq feet, at my current bird stock, nearly triple the recommendation per bird (10 ft).
I will be also adding a small ingrown pool for the ducks, with some pavers around it to create a small patio area inside the run. The inside L of the run will be turned into a small picnic area for myself, and will be covered with shade cloth along with most of the run.
I am hoping to have this completed within a month. Wish me luck!

*ps, I quoted creating a smaller extension run by building it myself and it was over $100 more for a smaller run, not counting a door! Here’s the link if anyone wants to explore the option Link here on Amazon