Ever growing flock! 32sq. ft. too small and now 64 sq ft. seems to small! How do you keep adding for

[ChxLadyCass]

I would suggest building as large a coop as you possibly can the first time so you don't have to build again! We were originally planning on building our nice big permanent coop when we first moved into our house December 2015...THEN getting the chickens. We'd been moved in for about a week when we found we had a chicken had already taken up residence in the well house..which is really just a child's playhouse stuck over our well head. She was mid-molt (and is a very ugly molter!) and had a very bare butt when it was freezing temperatures. We did what we could for her in the little playhouse and got a make-shift 12x6 coop built as quickly as we could. That coop soon got several more (planned for) chickens added to it and our #1 chicken now named Speckles could be reminded she was a chicken, not a human. By this time she'd taken to roosting on the deck right next to the kitchen door which made for really unwelcome presents when I let the dog out in the mornings.

Needless to say, we're in process of building a 16x8 coop which is just a tad larger than we can get away with without getting a permit. (120 sq foot limit). It'll have a cinder block foundation around the perimeter with a dirt floor. While the birds are free-range right now, they like to cross the road and block the small amount of traffic we get and we recently lost two to predators so are going to build an enclosed run for them. They'll still get free range in the evenings when we can go out and do yard work while they forage. The initial attached run will be a total of 16x42 feet and will be divided into two separate planted runs. Well be adding a third run onto the back measuring 8x50 later on. This will give us 3 good sized runs to rotate up to 32 chickens (currently have 19) through. This is figuring 3 sq feet per bird in the coop and minimum 10 sq feet per bird in the run. They'll be in each run for about a week before rotating to the next one and give the run time to rest and regrow. Plantings will be protected so they can't totally decimate them!

We're fortunate to have acreage and would gladly build a coop twice the size I mentioned but we're also on a hillside and digging it all out by hand. Mainly, build it as large as you can to start because I don't think you'll ever regret it. Make sure it's well-designed too! My chickens all like to nest in ONE SPOT...on the floor behind the perches that I can barely reach over and am too tall to duck under. Perches in the next coop will be ladder style and attached via hinges so I can lift it out of the way.

I love your story! I will aim for a few sq feet bigger with this in mind. I really don't think we'll go over 20 but who knows! I like the rotating runs as well! Our chickens have turned both their runs to dust. Also love the perches on hinges! My hens do the same thing! They love to cuddle and waste great perching space! Ladder do seem be the way to go! I'm hoping in my next design I won't have to go in the coop too often. I plan on having the nest accessible from the outside and be able to clean it out with having to go all the way in. Thank you for sharing!

 

[maryleo9]

We've learned a lot of what we do and don't want in terms of our chicken space over the last year since we got our first one. Once we get the chickens set up like royalty we can move on to the goat area and get their shed rebuilt into something bigger and better (with hay storage!).

I learned about the run rotation in my research into permaculture and rotational grazing of livestock. If it works for cows, pigs and goats, it's gotta work for chickens. Ideally I'd build 5 runs so they can spend a week on each run and the runs would rest for a month between getting used again but I think it'll be better with fewer and larger runs. Plantings will be along the borders as well as along the outside of the walls so they can pick at what grows through the mesh. Dwarf fruit trees protected by mesh as well as some berry producing shrubs and greens that they like to eat. I'm hoping it works out but we'll learn as we go and adjust what doesn't work until we find something that does.

Good luck with your girls!

 

[kingchickies]

We have 19 5 week olds that are running out of room. Lol the chicken house is more done than the pic but learned alot on here and Pinterest about what we want. Building with plans for a brooder in it, and room to grow. Do yall prefer having a floor or open to ground? Thats one thing we are debating...

 

[boskelli1571]

Well here's the crazy part! We added in perches to equal 12 ft of perches plus a large ladder to the perch adding about 2 more ft of perching, plus 2 of the hens consistently cuddle on top of the water tank. So last night, here is how my 11 chickens decided to use the coop



4 feet of perch left completely untouched!! Oy! (Hard to see in photo but there is a perch along the far wall with no one on it, usually the Queen's throne) Any ideas on how to encourage them to use the space they have?

I am making plans to build a second coop on wheels! I will make it home to my newest flock members and the new chicks I will be integrating in a few months! Thank you!

Somehow I missed this pic. So the way to stop them from sitting on the plyboard is to angle it so they can't. Looks like they have lots of space to perch in. Sometimes young pullets need to be placed on the perches at night (like kids). You may have to do this several times before they get the idea... I have regular perches - made from 2x4s' and also some tree branches plus one ladder perch. Just make sure the ladder perch has sufficient room between the rungs otherwise someone gets covered in poop...

 

[ChxLadyCass]

Somehow I missed this pic. So the way to stop them from sitting on the plyboard is to angle it so they can't. Looks like they have lots of space to perch in. Sometimes young pullets need to be placed on the perches at night (like kids). You may have to do this several times before they get the idea... I have regular perches - made from 2x4s' and also some tree branches plus one ladder perch. Just make sure the ladder perch has sufficient room between the rungs otherwise someone gets covered in poop...

Awesome idea! I didn't mind when it was just two of them! It was their spot and everyone was cool with that, but when I put the plywood on it all changed! I may even take the water tank out. It's not freezing here anymore! I have arranged them some nights and enjoy it! I will start doing it again. Do hen pecks hurt? I've only had one peck at my boot but am slightly afraid of them pecking me

 

[boskelli1571]

Awesome idea! I didn't mind when it was just two of them! It was their spot and everyone was cool with that, but when I put the plywood on it all changed! I may even take the water tank out. It's not freezing here anymore! I have arranged them some nights and enjoy it! I will start doing it again. Do hen pecks hurt? I've only had one peck at my boot but am slightly afraid of them pecking me

They don't generally peck hard unless they are particularly adverse to being picked up. If you start by handling them several times a times just for a couple of minutes, they won't mind and are less likely to peck you, especially if you have treats for them.... However, if you get a broody hen - all bets are off. I had one hen that I had to wear leather gloves for when she was broody - what a b****! What breeds do you have?
Also, can you hang the waterer from the ceiling?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

My RIR can peck pretty hard. She's the only one that gets mad if I try to take eggs from under her while she's in the box laying. The others either don't care of they run away. She yells at me and pecks lol. She's also my head hen though so she's a bit more bossy and territorial.

 

[ChxLadyCass]

They don't generally peck hard unless they are particularly adverse to being picked up. If you start by handling them several times a times just for a couple of minutes, they won't mind and are less likely to peck you, especially if you have treats for them.... However, if you get a broody hen - all bets are off. I had one hen that I had to wear leather gloves for when she was broody - what a b****!  What breeds do you have?
Also, can you hang the waterer from the ceiling?

Haha yes I don't think any of them hate being picked up as much as they are scared. I have been sitting with them and feeding them treats and plan to handle them more this weekend! I have australorps (who scream when picked up), Buff Orpingtons, mixes and a rooster who I think is a New Hampshire. I always wear work gloves when I handle them or work on the pen, so I am probably just fine! That will give me more confidence though!

 

[ChxLadyCass]

My RIR can peck pretty hard. She's the only one that gets mad if I try to take eggs from under her while she's in the box laying. The others either don't care of they run away. She yells at me and pecks lol. She's also my head hen though so she's a bit more bossy and territorial.

Yeah mine just yell or run but I am a tad bit intimidated by my head hen at night! I still have grabbed her with success though! Once I move her she stops pecking everyone's head, well at least while I'm there.

 

[ChxLadyCass]

They don't generally peck hard unless they are particularly adverse to being picked up. If you start by handling them several times a times just for a couple of minutes, they won't mind and are less likely to peck you, especially if you have treats for them.... However, if you get a broody hen - all bets are off. I had one hen that I had to wear leather gloves for when she was broody - what a b****!  What breeds do you have?
Also, can you hang the waterer from the ceiling?

I can hang it from the ceiling but I wonder if one of the BOs will still try to sleep on it and poo all over the water