Can I use 2 coops

[llaaadyel]

I am adding some hens and will have a total of 15. Can I add another coop or do I have to have one coop for all 15 chickens.

Thanks
llaady

 

[Desert Rooster]

you could have 15 chickens in one coop, just make sure there is atleast 4' of space per bird, and that you have enough roosting space for them

 

[teach1rusl]

Many people have multiple coops. I'd just put the new girls in the "new" coop. You may have to shut them inside the coop for a few days so that they know that THIS is their coop...

 

[llaaadyel]

Quote:
Since I already have 1 coop I was hoping to save a bit of money by just buying/building another coop. The really big coops are way beyond my building ability and my DH is all thumbs and they are very expensive.

llaady

 

[noodleroo]

I have a little coop made from a playhouse I bought for $20.00 on Craigslist. We coverd the windows with hardware cloth and put a 2x6 in for the roost. We found out that 8 full grown chickens will fit in it, but I only planned on 5 in there. When you get another coop, you'll find that they'll decide what coop they want to be in.

 

[teach1rusl]

My first coop was for my original girls. I built another (smaller) coop for my new chickens... Some folks jokingly say they have "Chicken Towns" when they end up with 2, 3, 4, and even more different coops...lol.

 

[gryeyes]

I am one of those with a Chicken Compound: multiple coops. And even though each group uses the latest coop for its grow-out period, and a while afterwards, the flock members do decide which coops they want to use as their roosting places once the latest batch o' youngsters are let loose to range with everybody else. . I don't worry that they make those decisions, I figure it's they're way of dealing with pecking order issues. Pecking order is fluid and dynamic, shifting as the flock grows and individual chickens mature.

 

[okieinalaska]

Those with multiple coops, do they share a run together? And then decide which coop to go in on their own?

Thank you,
Amy in Alaska

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
I have separate runs, but I do some freeranging as well. I think many who have multiple coops either freerange or have separate runs, but I'm sure some share a run.

 

[jaj121159]

I plan to add two or three coops in the same building this spring then convert a shed to a coop. Total coops expected by end of summer at least four. Summer of 2012 we are planning to have at least six total coops. This doesn't include the pens in the old hog barn (mostly used for brooding) and several broiler tractors.