Small coops for brooding!

[Stephanie8806]

Hey community!! I’m going to be building and installing a small coop and run as a connection/extension of our current coop setup. Our current coop is basically an 8x10 shed elevated about 2 feet off the ground, with an approximately 400 square foot run connected. It’s about covered/roofed half netted, open ground, 9ish foot high fence.

The reason we are building an additional coop is for the specific purpose of hatching eggs under hens and brooding said chicks until integration age. My goal is to move 1-2 hens in with some eggs when they go broody, and have them be able to sit on their nests and raise babies undisturbed.

My questions and reason for posting here lie around square footage. My goal would be to have this house around 12 total babies and 2 hens from hatch to up to 4-6 weeks. I’m planning to have a removable mesh or wire panel that I can insert so I can divide the coop and keep mamas from fighting, picking on each other, or on babies if I have two going at the same time. The brooding run would not be divided, but have obstacles and roosts and things. The run footprint will be around 6x8-10 and open ground. Once babies integrate, it will be closed to chickens. The ground will be raked and coop cleaned, and grass seed will be planted so that there’s basically fresh forage for the next year.

I’m thinking the coop floor will be just shy of 4x8(one sheet of plywood) and elevated. Walla will be about 2-4 feet tall with a slanted roof(so maybe 2-2.5 feet on the short side and 4 feet on the tall side) With a divider in, that leaves a 4x4 space for each hen and her 6 or less babies, as well as a feeder and water source for each. Obviously, the total 32 square feet would be plenty sufficient for just chicks if I was brooding store bought or incubated with no divider. I’m wondering if the smaller spaces are sufficient with two adults though. Goal would be to remove the divider wall and have them all share the space after maybe 2 weeks? Then unrestricted access to the run together.

Below are some screenshots from Pinterest on styles that I’m thinking of. Simple construction, but bigger than the ones pictured, obviously. The fenced run area would also be around 7-9 feet tall and roofed or netted. I will be able to walk in comfortably and clean the run or access birds. The coop would not include attached nesting boxes, I would have designated boxes I could place inside the space(s) and remove once hatching was complete. Removable 2x4 low roost bars would also be able to be set on wall mounted rests inside.

I’m sure this could double as a recovery area for a wounded chicken too, which would be a nice option.

Anyways, what do you all think? Is it enough room? I’d rather it be a bit bigger than completely necessary, but I don’t want it to be too big and expensive.

Also! If you have a coop you use for the same purpose, let me know and share! I’ve seen a lot on brooders and separated in-coop brooding area setups(please don’t share those), but nothing dedicated like this.

 

[Stephanie8806]

Also, that last blue coop makes me extremely sad. They shoved 7-8 chickens in that thing, and that’s ridiculous. I’d hope they’re only doing it for the picture, but still such an irresponsible representation of what space chickens need

 

[aart]

4x8' is plenty big for a broody or two to set an hatch,
if you're lucky enough to have 2 birds go broody at the same time.
But you'd be better off integrating the mama and chicks at about a week after hatch.

 

[Stephanie8806]

4x8' is plenty big for a broody or two to set an hatch,
if you're lucky enough to have 2 birds go broody at the same time.
But you'd be better off integrating the mama and chicks at about a week after hatch.

Thank you! Glad it will be enough space!

That’s what I’ve heard about broodies, and I’m sure each brood is different, but this last Fall both of my Cochins went broody within a few days of each other. Spring brood could of course be different, but we’ll see. I was also thinking that I’d start supervised integration into the flock in small sessions at the 1-2week mark. Then I could be there to supervise and make sure everything goes smoothly. The brooding coop run and the main run are only going to be separated by a single layer of fencing with an access door framed in, so they will get exposure to each other.

Also worth noting, I’m planning on building this coop this Fall, for next springs brood. So I can get a good feeling for their rhythm. This year I may not brood them in Spring depending on timing(I’m due to have my own baby in 2-3 weeks ), but if I do they will be partitioned in the main coop.

 

[Poppy Putentake]

Hi Stephanie,
For *one* boody hen and 6-7 store-bought chicks I have used a 5' x 5' A-Frame tractor with is a ramp between the 30" x 60 "upstairs" space (24" up) and the lower ground level. This is completly separate from the coop for the main flock of laying hens. As far as space goes, it has proven to be about right, but if I were doing it again I would make it "house shaped" with vertical walls on the lower level, or else with a plain shed roof, because the sloped sides near the ground are a bit of problem and slightly more "upstairs" space would never hurt.
Thiis is small enough to move easilly and I do so every few days to give the birds fresh, clean ground.
One year I was getting the chicks a month early and I could not get the usual hen to go broody, so I used the same enclosure with a heating pad. (See here.) and that worked too.
I have started out with the hen and chicks at ground level in a brooding box made of an ordinary carboard box, a little larger (maybe 20" x" 18") than a regular nesting box, but after a few days the hen always moved the chicks into the "upstairs" area.
You could make a somewhat larger enclosure and give each hen a separate cardboard brooding box., (Cardboard is fine as long as it is sheltered from rain.) or perhaps have a removable partition in the brooding area, which would make the enclosure versatile for other uses. (A smaller extra coop often comes in handy for sick birds and other purposes.)
I'd be glad to send you photos of my setup from past years or this coming May when I get some chicks.
Poppy