Coop opinions

[Greaner_pastures]

Recently we have decided to take on chickens in our road to being a little more self sustainable. I was looking for any general input or advice that can be given about my
Coop. Anything you might add or change. It will be housing four hens max. I’m starting to doubt myself after basically repurposing an old Rubbermaid storage shed and wondering if I should just completely redo this over and make something taller.

 

[DobieLover]

Welcome to BYC!
If it's only housing 4 hens you don't need the top roost that is very high for them in such a small space and too close to the back wall.
My main concern is the lack of ventilation. It needs more ventilation. A lot more.
And the chicken wire over PVC is only going to contain the birds. It will stop nothing from killing them.
If you can get at least 4 square feet of permanent ventilation in the coop and use 1/2" hardware cloth to secure openings and secure the run, it would be much better. Getting a roof over the run for rain protection would be better still.
Do you own the property on the other side of the privacy fence? Is that a house or a garage I see? Having chickens that close to the property line might be a code violation. Have you checked to see if you are permitted to keep chickens where you are?

 

[aart]

Do you own the property on the other side of the privacy fence? Is that a house or a garage I see? Having chickens that close to the property line might be a code violation.

Also just having the coop that close to a fence inhibits your ability to maintain that side of the coop.

Recently we have decided to take on chickens in our road to being a little more self sustainable.

Confused a bit here....are these bird currently living in your neighborhood?

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @Greaner_pastures
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Poppy Putentake]

1. If you have roosts at different levels, they should be offset by about 16"" horizontally so the birds on the upper level won't be dirtying the ones lower down.
Is the shed 4' x 8'? An alternative way to configure the roosts would across the short dimension, then two roosts would fit easilly. That could be better for the less dominant hens if the more dominant ones try to exclude them from the coveted top roost. (But with that large door, you would need a "ladder" type of configuration.)
2. Rule of thumb is one nest box for each 3-4 hens, but with a small number you should still have at least two nests in case two hens want to lay at the same time. You don't want them "improvising" and starting to lay someplace else where you won't find the eggs.
I would also make the nesting boxes completely enclosed, except for the entrance opening, which can be fairly small. (See here.)
Also, if the two big doors overlap, you may want the nest boxes on the side with the door that opens first, as you will be checking for eggs often. You could also consider making outide acceess to the nesting boxes, although with your setup it looks like the eggs would be sacessible through the wide doors without actually entering. (The nest boxes themselves don't need to be external, you just need a little door big enough to reach in with your hand. Mine have hinges on the bottom and the latch on top.)
3. A board across the bottom of the large opening/entrance would keep bedding from spilling out.

 

[Greaner_pastures]

Welcome to BYC!
If it's only housing 4 hens you don't need the top roost that is very high for them in such a small space and too close to the back wall.
My main concern if the lack of ventilation. It needs more ventilation. A lot more.
And the chicken wire over PVC is only going to contain the birds. It will stop nothing from killing them.
If you can get at least 4 square feet of permanent ventilation in the coop and use 1/2" hardware cloth to secure openings and secure the run, it would be much better. Getting a roof over the run for rain protection would be better still.
Do you own the property on the other side of the privacy fence? Is that a house or a garage I see? Having chickens that close to the property line might be a code violation. Have you checked to see if you are permitted to keep chickens where you are?

Yea that’s a house and I’ve had a talk with my neighbor about it which he doesn’t mind. The law here requires 5 acres for birds(which I don’t have) but a few of my neighbors have all gotten them with no roos for composting or eggs. I was planning on putting a tarp over the run but wasn’t sure if I should cover it all or half of it. Maybe I should just rebuild the thing like I’m kinda thinking. I did a lot of this from repurposed stuff (obviously lol) but now I’m kinda just wanting to do better.

 

[Greaner_pastures]

Also just having the coop that close to a fence inhibits your ability to maintain that side of the coop.


Confused a bit here....are these bird currently living in your neighborhood?

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @Greaner_pastures
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 3470829

Thought I set that! Must not have hit save. East Coast CT area is location. Thanks.

 

[aart]

East Coast CT area is location.

Add CT to it........the 'east coast' is very long

 

[Greaner_pastures]

I might have found a coop from a friend not doing chickens anymore. She said it’ll fit 6 which would work perfectly for me. I’ll check back in with updates. Thank you everyone for confirming what I kinda thought would be a issue….ventilation.

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

This coop was specifically designed to meet all the suggested minimums for 4 hens: The Little, Monitor Coop

Here is my article on coop ventilation: Repecka Illustrates Coop Ventilation

And some links that might interest you:

Small Coops

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/dallas-urban-coop-single-slope-design.72422/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/yakisugi-coop.76398/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/coreys-coop-de-doop.55619/

Shed Conversions

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-mulligan.74743/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/aarts-coop-page.65912/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-scoop-on-a-rubbermaid-big-max-coop.76444/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/toy-shed-conversion.64879/

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens. This is a great place to explore and hang out.