how much space per chicken

Analogy that compares a simple minded and filthy farm animal to a human makes no sense what so ever.

I'm really sure my grandfather never gave a thought about how many square feet of anything he had for his chickens living on his dairy. I'm sure he used whatever space he had and the chickens did just fine.

Sometimes people over-think things trying to fix something that doesn't need fixed. A common trait of the progressive liberal mind.

LaPineEggs said:

Analogy that compares a simple minded and filthy farm animal to a human makes no sense what so ever.

I'm really sure my grandfather never gave a thought about how many square feet of anything he had for his chickens living on his dairy. I'm sure he used whatever space he had and the chickens did just fine.

Sometimes people over-think things trying to fix something that doesn't need fixed. A common trait of the progressive liberal mind.

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I'm not going to claim animals are geniuses, but filthy? Maybe they wouldn't be filthy if they had enough space?

Horses, goats, pigs and chickens....none of them are filthy. Many animals spend much of the day keeping themselves clean/groomed. A clean animal is more resistant to parasites.

I have a 16m2 roofed run. Not sure what that works out in ft I'm terrible with maths. I also have a hen house that stands high enough of the ground so birds don't lose any ground space. I'd most defiatly be letting the girls out during the day for a few hours as we are pretty predtor safe here. I'd just like to know honestly how many would be happy. Not just ok but generally comfortable and happy. I'm gonna be buying some soon and want the best for the flock. I'd love to get 6. My hen house has 6 nesting boxes. My friends a carpenter so has built it with extra room etc. Would love a reply for this. Many thanks guys

LukePalmer said:

I have a 16m2 roofed run. Not sure what that works out in ft I'm terrible with maths. I also have a hen house that stands high enough of the ground so birds don't lose any ground space. I'd most defiatly be letting the girls out during the day for a few hours as we are pretty predtor safe here. I'd just like to know honestly how many would be happy. Not just ok but generally comfortable and happy. I'm gonna be buying some soon and want the best for the flock. I'd love to get 6. My hen house has 6 nesting boxes. My friends a carpenter so has built it with extra room etc. Would love a reply for this. Many thanks guys

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You don't have to be good at math, Google knows everything!
16m2 = ? sq ft
172.223


The general rule for birds that do spend time in the coop is 4 sq ft (.37 m2) minimum and 10 sq ft (.93 m2) for the run. You don't say how big the coop is but the run is well more than the minimum for 6 large fowl. They will take more than the minimum if they can get it My 16 birds complain when they are "trapped" in an area that is 10X the minimum run space. Why? Because they get to be outside that space when we are home and they have their favorite resting and foraging spots.

As for nest boxes, 3 will easily suffice for 6 birds and you will likely find that they would rather be in a nest that another girl has laid in than have one with their name on it for exclusive use. That said, they individually will most likely have a favorite nest and get bent out of shape when they are ready to lay if "their" nest is occupied by another girl.

Hi. Only have a small garden so only have 30 sqr ft of run space available for chickens. Can I put in it 2 faverolles and a silkie. They will be able to free range sometimes but will stay in run most of the time is this OK?

Should be fine. The general rule for minimum run space is 10 sq ft/bird and you are right at that.