My chicken coop is smaller than I expected :(

[Nicgirl208]

Hello chicken parents!
I am a new chicken mom. I found my chicken coop online a couple of weeks ago. The online post said it was a 6ftx5ft chicken coop, not including the nesting boxes. Well, my husband and I brought it home, placed it and measured it because we are building a chicken run off of it. Turns out my chicken coop is only 4 ft wide and 5.5 ft long. It shouldn't be a big deal, except that I already have 10 pullets! They're only about 6 weeks old, however, now I'm thinking I may have to rehome a few??
I'm wondering if it'll be okay as long as I make sure I have enough roosting space for each bird? I currently have two roosting bars that are 5.5 ft long. What do ya'll think? I don't want a cramped and uncomfortable situation for my chickens.
Oh, also we live in the northwest so winters are long. Our chicken run is going to be 160 sqft and they will get to free range in our large back yard as well.
I added picture of my coop for reference. I appreciate any advice!

 

[DobieLover]

The upper roost is too high and way too close to the wall. The roost should be at least one foot away from the wall and each other.

I would take down the top roost and cut it to fit in the general location noted by the red line. If you just screw it into the sides of the two vertical supports over and supported by the long roost, it will give the birds about 9.5 feet. They will use the cross over section. And if you ever need to, you can just remove the two screws to get the short roost out of the way.

 

[aart]

Oh, also we live in the northwest so winters are long. Our chicken run is going to be 160 sqft and they will get to free range in our large back yard as well.

How's the ventilation....are the soffits open for air flow?
Will your run have a solid roof?

Oh, and..... Welcome to BYC! @Nicgirl208
Here's how to add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Nicgirl208]

Thank you for your advice Yes, the run is definitely going to be covered.
And I do plan on adding a poop shelf under the roosting bars. I believe I might have 2 cockerels already, and I cannot have a rooster where I live sadly. So that'll help my situation with space. Also, I have two silkies, no idea if they're pullets or cockerels. So my plan is to add more ventilation, fix the roosting bars, add shelves beneath the roosting bars, and see how all that plays out.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Okay, thank you. Ugh, I'm starting to regret this coop purchase! I should've had the hubby build from scratch

It's not a horrible coop.
It just needs some tweaking. Expanding it would be the biggest challenge. Ventilation is an easy thing to fix in that tall of a coop.

Your chicks are still young. They may get along ok in it. Each bird is an individual and personalities change when they start laying. It's hard to guess how that will play out long term.

Even if you decide to build an entirely new bigger coop or to convert a shed into a coop the green coop has its uses.

What I am saying is there are options and it's not a bad first coop.

 

[Nicgirl208]

The upper roost is too high and way too close to the wall. The roost should be at least one foot away from the wall and each other.

I would take down the top roost and cut it to fit in the general location noted by the red line. If you just screw it into the sides of the two vertical supports over and supported by the long roost, it will give the birds about 9.5 feet. They will use the cross over section. And if you ever need to, you can just remove the two screws to get the short roost out of the way.

View attachment 3795692

Thank you, I really appreciate your input because I was actually thinking the same thing about that upper roost bar. My hubby is helping me replace the roost bars today, so I will definitely move the second one.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Even with the original measurements, it would’ve been a bit tight. General consensus is 4 sq ft per bird inside the coop and 10 sq ft per bird outside so you’re good on run space but yeah, I would definitely build that addition or rehome some.

 

[aart]

On the roost bars my ladies all cluster together and there is a lot of empty roost bar space.

Yes you are correct, it is floor space. Roost space I think is 1 sq ft or maybe it was linear foot of space per bird but mine always huddled together too. Although in summer they do tend to spread out more, at least mine did.

Yes, linear for roost space.
But keep in mind that they need room for wing spread to fly up.

 

[ChasingChooks]

If they have plenty of room to run around in, they should be okay. If you see signs of aggression due to cramped spaces, then you'll want to think about rehoming.

Enjoy your chicken adventure!

 

[FunClucks]

Sounds like you have space for 5 chickens in your coop. But you do have over 10 ft of roost bars, and enough run space for 10 chickens. Do you plan to put feed and water inside the coop? Do you plan to keep the coop open to the run permanently, and predator protect and winterize the run? I'd say you could probably fit 6 in the coop if you really wanted to, but winter-time aggression is no joke. Just see if you have a few you like less than the others - maybe one turns out to be a roo, or a couple are really mean. Or you wait until they lay eggs and see how well they do at that, and sell a few then. I keep mine in a covered run year-round (no coop -I'm in the south, also many predators so no free range time). We get anywhere from three days to three weeks of snow, and about 3 months of winter weather. I've found that unless they have at least 15 sq ft of space per chicken, we have pecking and bullying issues. More space is always better.

In your case, do what you think is best, but if I were you, I would try and rehome at least a few. Enjoy your sweet new chicks!!! And that sucks that they told you one thing and it turned out to be smaller. That's not cool!