I am going to have 6 hens in a backyard coop. The coop will be inside an enclosed run that is 10'x12' for a total of 120 square feet enclosed, and it will be covered as well.
The coop itself will be 4x4 and 2.5-3' tall (it will slope from 3' to 2.5') so it will have 16 sq feet of floor space.
I am elevating the nest boxes 15" so they will not take up floor space in the coop. I will also have 2 roost branches approx 4' long each, also 15" off the floor.
Does this sound large enough? If necessary I still have time to put the nest boxes outside the coop, since we haven't finished that wall yet. But I would really like it inside the coop so it doesn't LOOK like a chicken coop. (We are still trying to get the law changed)
The hens I am picking up on Wednesday are:
2 Ameracaunas
2 New Hampshire reds
1 Buff Orpington
1 Hubbard Golden Comet
Do these generally get along well? I needed cold and heat tolerant, docile, and preferred some foraging, with a decent egg output but not a commercial output.
Thanks for your help!
The coop itself will be 4x4 and 2.5-3' tall (it will slope from 3' to 2.5') so it will have 16 sq feet of floor space.
I am elevating the nest boxes 15" so they will not take up floor space in the coop. I will also have 2 roost branches approx 4' long each, also 15" off the floor.
Does this sound large enough? If necessary I still have time to put the nest boxes outside the coop, since we haven't finished that wall yet. But I would really like it inside the coop so it doesn't LOOK like a chicken coop. (We are still trying to get the law changed)
The hens I am picking up on Wednesday are:
2 Ameracaunas
2 New Hampshire reds
1 Buff Orpington
1 Hubbard Golden Comet
Do these generally get along well? I needed cold and heat tolerant, docile, and preferred some foraging, with a decent egg output but not a commercial output.
Thanks for your help!