Improving a Coop

[WolfKeeper9584]

Hello, I volunteer at a farm and take care of the chickens there. The coop is in poor shape and the run leaves a lot to be desired, but I don't think the owners are planning on expanding in the near future. The hens often get bored and end up picking on each other due to the lack of enrichment. I want to help improve the situation, so I was wondering if anybody had some tips or me!

Here is what I plan to do so far:

• Put sand in the coop - it often gets muddy and never dries
• Make more structures to sit perch on
• Add stakes hang veggies with
• Add mirrors? They need something to peck at besides each other
• Put the food and water on some sort of elevated pedestal/chain to keep out poo

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

How many birds are they housing? What square footage are they in? Is this a rescue type farm or a working farm? Are the owners/managers on board with changes?

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

How many birds are they housing? What square footage are they in? Is this a rescue type farm or a working farm? Are the owners/managers on board with changes?

x2

 

[WolfKeeper9584]

How many birds are they housing? What square footage are they in? Is this a rescue type farm or a working farm? Are the owners/managers on board with changes?

They are housing about 20-30 hens plus three roosters. They are a working farm, so they are not terribly worried about the condition of the chickens. However, they do know I love chickens and are on board with whatever I want to do for them. As for square footage, that I do not know. I would guess about 450 square feet without directly measuring the coop. Hope this helps!

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

They are housing about 20-30 hens plus three roosters. They are a working farm, so they are not terribly worried about the condition of the chickens. However, they do know I love chickens and are on board with whatever I want to do for them. As for square footage, that I do not know. I would guess about 450 square feet without directly measuring the coop. Hope this helps!

thanks! So are they paying for this?

 

[aart]

Put sand in the coop - it often gets muddy and never dries

Sand will not fix an 'always wet' situation...I'd guess there a drainage issue.

As for square footage, that I do not know. I would guess about 450 square feet without directly measuring the coop.

Real measurements and pics would help immensely.

How much chicken coop and keeping experience do you have?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

They are housing about 20-30 hens plus three roosters. They are a working farm, so they are not terribly worried about the condition of the chickens. However, they do know I love chickens and are on board with whatever I want to do for them. As for square footage, that I do not know. I would guess about 450 square feet without directly measuring the coop. Hope this helps!

The number and space is important in suggesting ideas as you have to balance things and avoid actually worsening the situation by potentially further overcrowding or cluttering things up...conversely, specific suggestions can be made to work with the space to improve the use of it, does that make sense? Is the space one big square/rectangle? Is the space just open ground or are there existing vertical space users such as roosts outside of those used at night?

 

[WolfKeeper9584]

thanks! So are they paying for this?

I will probably pay for whatever I need, but we have lots of spare wood and DIY materials.

 

[WolfKeeper9584]

Sand will not fix an 'always wet' situation...I'd guess there a drainage issue.


Real measurements and pics would help immensely.

How much chicken coop and keeping experience do you have?

I will work on getting pictures. It has been an extremely wet season, which probably is partly to blame for all the mud. I would take pictures now, but everything is currently covered in snow so you cannot see much of anything. I do own my own chickens, who have a covered run and are free-range whenever possible. They have a coop that we bought, but we have also built another coop from a dog house before.

 

[WolfKeeper9584]

The number and space is important in suggesting ideas as you have to balance things and avoid actually worsening the situation by potentially further overcrowding or cluttering things up...conversely, specific suggestions can be made to work with the space to improve the use of it, does that make sense? Is the space one big square/rectangle? Is the space just open ground or are there existing vertical space users such as roosts outside of those used at night?

I will work on getting proper measurements. The run is a large rectangle, the coop is more square shaped. The whole run is fenced in, including the "roof". It is completely open to rain as the "roof" is just wire. The coop is an old shed, so it has small windows, ventilation, and a tiled roof. The existing run has a ladder and a few sticks stuck through it for perches, although they are not very popular due to their habit of falling down. There are more ladders inside, which are used for night roosting. The majority of the chickens use the little perches on the edges of the nesting boxes for sleeping.