Looking to Expand Amazon Coop/Advice?

[FrostRanger]

I like your style. Very cool coop and concept! Unfortunately, we get pretty low temps and heavy snowfall in the winter, so it’s gotta be able to button down and stay insulated.

Yep, makes sense, open air definitely isn't for all climates. It works for me as the heat is a far bigger worry than the cold as average summer highs are around 100 with high humidity. You'll still want plenty of ventilation in that case, but it will have to be done in a way that it isn't drafty

 

[Debbie292d]

Alright. Your input is insanely appreciated! Time to look for a 6 chicken coop plan, lol.

Six means 13 then. Chicken math, you know.

That prebuilt you should protect for in the future you might need a growout pen for little ones and then it'll come in handy!

 

[TwistedRootTree]

Six means 13 then. Chicken math, you know.

That prebuilt you should protect for in the future you might need a growout pen for little ones and then it'll come in handy!

Haha, yeah… all these “6 chicken” coop ideas are looking pretty tiny. I assumed to just get rid of it but that’s a great idea! Thanks!

 

[TwistedRootTree]

Yep, makes sense, open air definitely isn't for all climates. It works for me as the heat is a far bigger worry than the cold as average summer highs are around 100 with high humidity. You'll still want plenty of ventilation in that case, but it will have to be done in a way that it isn't drafty

Yeah. We have pretty high highs (90-95) and pretty low lows (0- -10) around here. If it weren’t for the countless chicken keepers near me, I would think it impossible to maintain a balance!

 

[FrostRanger]

It'll be a bit tricky but it's 100% doable to find a balance. Ventilation will be very important. I would suggest having extra windows covered with hardware cloth that can be opened in summer for extra ventilation and closed in winter to avoid drafts

 

[alinas2010]

My mom went and bought a small coop and run on Amazon for our 6 young chickens. I figured it would work for a bit until they were bigger, and then we can work on expanding it. There isn’t even room for food and water. I am developing a hatred for this coop and am desperate to make it work. The run is quite small too but is definitely sufficient for the time being and will be very simple to expand. It’s the hen house I’m concerned about.
The roosts are super low, but I think it could be easy to raise them. As for expanding, I feel like I could build something onto the side opposite the nesting boxes. If anyone has ideas or advice let me know!
We also got this automatic door that I feel is very low. I didn’t install it and am unsure if it can be raised at all? Again, if anyone has anything let me know! Thanks.

Welcome to BYC sorry your mom fell for the prefab coops, too. A lot of us do. They have an appealing look to them and seem like an easy solution. But they never are as good as they seem. I personally like them for grow out coops. Our girls use their old one to dash to for shelter in the yard when they see a hawk. Sometimes they’ll lay an egg in there, too, if I can’t open the gate to their big coop fast enough for them during the day. But they would’ve died had they had to live in it during our Wyoming winters.

I agree with others about trying to reconfigure a prefab coop. I so badly wanted to make ours work, too. It is difficult. I am not crafty enough to have made it work. There are a few people on here who have done it, but the coops always remain on the smaller side.

Alternatively, it can be very cheap sometimes to find a used shed or materials on sites like Craigslist and use those to make a coop of your own. Plenty of super smart people here to help guide you along the way no matter which direction you go.

 

[aart]

Unfortunately, we get pretty low temps and heavy snowfall in the winter, so it’s gotta be able to button down and stay insulated.

You need good ventilation in coop during winter too,
so 'buttoning down to stay insulated' is not a good idea.
Your run may need some serious bolstering too in order to hold up to snow loads(can't quite see it all but recognize the style).

 

[aart]

The actual door is 12 in x 23 in. The opening of the automatic door is same width and only 8in high.

Yeah, it's a bit small but they can probably get thru it OK.

 

[FrostRanger]

Oh! The runs on those are always way too small, I would 100% build a run yourself 'cause large prefab runs are insanely expensive. I'd get some fencing and some lumber and if you decide to add a cover, make absolutely sure it can handle the weight of the snow or else will let it pass through. Covered runs are nice as it will eliminate the risk of aerial attacks while they're inside and prevents agile birds from flying out. Depending on the material used it can even provide shade and protection from the rain and snow. The downside is it is a bit more expense to build a covered run and can be impractical for especially large spaces but that last point shouldn't be an issue as that's more of an issue for people with huge runs. At the cheapest you could run some netting to keep hawks out

 

[FrostRanger]

You'll want 60 square feet of run space at a minimum for 6 birds as the minimum is 10 square feet per bird but it's hard to have too much room and I would absolutely go bigger on the run as the more room you have the less likely it us you'll have behavior problems from lack of space