Converting existing structure into a coop

[JeffroBurnes]

Hey friends. First time chicken owner here, and I'm wondering about any ideas or changes I can make to my coop plan.

There's an existing structure that came with the house my family bought, and up to now I've been using it as a compost corner for my lawn shavings and garden.

I just want to know if my idea is overall feasible. Am I missing something? Is there anything you would add, change or remove?

For reference I currently have 10 chicks that are about 2 weeks old. I may be getting more in the future which is why I'm planning on making 6 total nest boxes.

The structure:

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And my planned blueprint:

Thanks in advance!

 

[DobieLover]

That would make a good brooder for the chicks if you replaced the chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth, put a pitched roof on it and some solid walls to block drafts. It is nowhere near large enough for chickens.

The general guidelines for chicken housing is 3.5-4 sq ft, 1 linear ft of roost space and as close as possible to 1 sq ft of permanently open ventilation as you can manage per bird in the coop. You would also want to have some place they can take shelter during inclement weather. Preferably a large run with a pitched solid roof. That enclosure should offer another 12-15 sq ft of space per bird and you need to have things in the space to engage the birds.

You also only need 1 nest box per 4-5 hens and the nest boxes all need to be lower than the roosts or the birds will sleep/poop in the nest boxes overnight and you'll have to clean them each morning.

 

[JeffroBurnes]

Thanks. I guess it's not very obvious I plan on removing a large chunk of the existing wire and installing solid wood walls all around the raised area. The planned area will be roughly 27 sqft total, 17" off the ground with 24" head space (if this was still a decent idea). I was going to have 5 windows that were 1' in length each but I think i could manage to either double the length or put in 3 further windows and make them 1'2" or so. I can also change the height of the nest boxes variably and as you stated maybe just have 3 boxes total.

I don't think I'll be needing an outdoor brooder since I'm only planning on getting new chickens every 2-3 years specifically for egg laying, but if it's still looking dicy for adult hens I'll just scrap this idea entirely and convert it into a run and build a coop next door.

 

[DobieLover]

I'll just scrap this idea entirely and convert it into a run and build a coop next door.

Its way, WAY too small for a run. You can maybe use it for a small portion of a run but chickens need SPACE.

 

[JeffroBurnes]

Its way, WAY too small for a run. You can maybe use it for a small portion of a run but chickens need SPACE.

Thank you. I planned on having them roam my yard / garden when I'm home (roughly 7 hours of the day), but I didn't think about the space required when I won't be around to keep an eye on them.

Thank you both.
Edit to add: I will probably expand this to be a 20'x3' run then, it's currently 9' long. Should it be longer? Wider? I could push it to 5' wide but then it's pretty much right next to the raised beds I already have.

 

[aart]

Save that "structure" for composting and build a real coop and run.