How many chickens in my run?

123RedBeard said:

Correct.

Unless ... Sometimes ... Maybe ... IF ... They are the smallest of bantams, AND the water, food and nesting boxes are NOT in this space ... AND they have a run of at least 20 square feet per chicken, AND you get up EVERY MORNING at the crack of dawn, rain, shine or WORSE and let them out of their tiny coop, EVEN ON YOUR DAY OFF, and if you go on vacation ... AND even if your looking at a predator in your back yard ... Even then ... You may still have grumpy chickens that pick on each other, sometimes to their death!

Four feet is considered a MINIMUM (I prefer 5-6) for a medium sized chicken, but if they are in their for long periods of time they can get nasty mean with each other, AND stop laying eggs too!

Also just so you know "Chicken/hen wire mesh", is only designed to keep chickens in ... Not predators OUT!

Too many times we see people come here AFTER they have their tiny coop, and too many chickens, asking why they have problems ... It is good that you are asking in advance!

Here is a good explaination of needed space ... https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

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