Chicken Coops for 12 single ladies

[honeybear527]

Hi all-

I'm a new to the chicken adventure. My husband and I got our first chicks last week. We got 12 assuming not all would make it. Although it is still early, all 12 are thriving and seem to be pretty strong. We have 4 Black Giants, 4 Golden Wyandots and 4 New Hampshire's.

We were originally planning on purchasing a coop from Tractor Supply that said it could house 10-15 chickens, we knew we would expand the run beyond what the purchased coop provided. However, as I'm doing more research, and I'm starting to think the coops that say 10-15 are more realistic to have 5-7 full sized chickens. I want to make sure that they have enough room, however I don't think they need a full chicken mansion either. I've heard the 3 SQFT in the coop and the 10 SQFT run space as a rule of thumb. Is this a reasonable estimate? Also, would the 3 SQFT in the coop include the nesting boxes or should it be 3 SQFT + Nesting boxes? Also, do the Black Giants need more than the 3 SQFT rule, in general?

I'm starting to think to get the size the girls need it may be more economical to build the coop to make sure they get the space the need. I've been researching plans too but it just seems overwhelming. Any thoughts would be appreciated. I want to make sure the ladies have enough space to be healthy and happy without going overboard.

 

[nuthatched]

The 3, usually 4 ft rule doesn't apply to nest boxes. 4sq feet is about the size of a welcome mat. It only applies to the coop, a minimum of 8sq feet per bird is recommended for the run. I highly recommend you pass on a prefab, they are too small, have poor design and ventilation and aren't predator proof.
Your going to want a 8x8 coop, with 4 nest boxes, at least 14 feet of roost space and 12 square feet of above head ventilation. ;]
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.

Where are you located? That information can come in handy in several different ways, including for questions like this. Knowing your weather, winter and summer, can help with what type of coop to build, some of which could possibly save some money. It could help us suggest ways to save money on materials.

I'm starting to think to get the size the girls need it may be more economical to build the coop to make sure they get the space the need.

That's almost certainly true, even with the price of construction materials these days. One way you might save money or make construction easier might be to find an existing shed someone wants to get rid of. You'd probably need to transport it yourself and maybe even need to take it apart and rebuild it or use the materials to build something different. If you ask at construction sites they sometimes have perfectly good material they are going to throw away. They may have needed it for construction aids such as braces or to form concrete.

I've been researching plans too but it just seems overwhelming.

It can be, the problem you can have too many choices. If you look under the "Articles" tab at the top of this page and look under "coops" you can find a lot of coops, most with plans on how to build it. But all you need is a shed, they don't have to be that fancy. Y0u'd just need to add roosts, nests, a pop door, and ventilation. Depending in your climate an open air coop or hoop coop might work.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. I want to make sure the ladies have enough space to be healthy and happy without going overboard.

Without going overboard. That can be challenging sometimes. I personally believe having adequate space is important, you can follow the link in my signature to see some of my reasons. But adequate space isn't necessarily tied to just the coop. Your coop + run is your space system. If you have the climate that your chickens can be outside practically every day of the year or maybe the run is predator safe then that can reduce the pressure on the size of the coop itself. If your winters are harsh then your coop may need to be bigger. Too many "if's". This is probably not helping you feel less overwhelmed.

Chicken's actual needs are fairly limited. They need roosts, nests, a pop door, ventilation, protection from predators, and protection from weather. And room. Your breeds are large, they will need more room than hens that could lay less than 2 pounds each. They don't care if it is pretty, sometimes we do.

With 12 hens I'd want a walk-in coop. You need to be able to access every place inside for various reasons. It needs to be designed for your comfort, you'll take better care of them if it is not painful to you.

I need to pick up the grandkids form school so I'll shut it down for now. Hopefully this helped some but I'll check back later. And once again,

 

[honeybear527]

Welcome to the forum from Louisiana. Glad you joined.

Where are you located? That information can come in handy in several different ways, including for questions like this. Knowing your weather, winter and summer, can help with what type of coop to build, some of which could possibly save some money. It could help us suggest ways to save money on materials.


That's almost certainly true, even with the price of construction materials these days. One way you might save money or make construction easier might be to find an existing shed someone wants to get rid of. You'd probably need to transport it yourself and maybe even need to take it apart and rebuild it or use the materials to build something different. If you ask at construction sites they sometimes have perfectly good material they are going to throw away. They may have needed it for construction aids such as braces or to form concrete.


It can be, the problem you can have too many choices. If you look under the "Articles" tab at the top of this page and look under "coops" you can find a lot of coops, most with plans on how to build it. But all you need is a shed, they don't have to be that fancy. Y0u'd just need to add roosts, nests, a pop door, and ventilation. Depending in your climate an open air coop or hoop coop might work.


Without going overboard. That can be challenging sometimes. I personally believe having adequate space is important, you can follow the link in my signature to see some of my reasons. But adequate space isn't necessarily tied to just the coop. Your coop + run is your space system. If you have the climate that your chickens can be outside practically every day of the year or maybe the run is predator safe then that can reduce the pressure on the size of the coop itself. If your winters are harsh then your coop may need to be bigger. Too many "if's". This is probably not helping you feel less overwhelmed.

Chicken's actual needs are fairly limited. They need roosts, nests, a pop door, ventilation, protection from predators, and protection from weather. And room. Your breeds are large, they will need more room than hens that could lay less than 2 pounds each. They don't care if it is pretty, sometimes we do.

With 12 hens I'd want a walk-in coop. You need to be able to access every place inside for various reasons. It needs to be designed for your comfort, you'll take better care of them if it is not painful to you.

I need to pick up the grandkids form school so I'll shut it down for now. Hopefully this helped some but I'll check back later. And once again,

Thank you, we are in Central Ohio where it's not horrible weather but there will be a few spells a year where they probably won't want to go out. We are also rural, so have a lot of predators (coyotes, hawks, foxes, raccoons) in the area so I'm very reluctant to let them free range unless we are out there with them. Unfortunately the run will be where they will be staying the most of their days.

 

[rosemarythyme]

4 sq ft in coop, 10 in run is the usual recommended minimum on here. Note that for some flocks that is plenty good enough, but for others, it won't nearly be enough and you'll end up needing to expand or getting rid of some birds to maintain the peace.

Nest boxes are not included in usable floor space in coop. For example, my coop is built for 12 birds, it's 6x10 but with ground level internal nest boxes. So 60 sq ft (coop measurements) - 12 sq ft (for nests) = 48 (giving me 4 sq ft per hen). My run is 440 sq ft.

So go bigger if at all possible on both, since you aren't free ranging and can have inclement weather to deal with.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Nest boxes are not included in usable floor space in coop.

With my coop I feel the opposite. I have an 8' x 12' coop with four nests stacked 2x2. The lower ones are off the floor enough that when I'm integrating the weaker ones can hide under them. I consider that space under the nests to be a lot more valuable that several square feet of floor space that is wide open and provides no cover.

there will be a few spells a year where they probably won't want to go out.

The cold does not keep them in. A cold wind will, they really don't like a cold wind. I've had chickens out enjoying the weather in -4 Fahrenheit when the wind was calm. But if the wind was blowing strong enough to ruffle their feathers they were not out in it.

Also they hate change. Waking up to a white world is a big change. Chickens tend to stay in the coop for days after a snow. Eventually some should start going out in it but that is usually a few days. In your climate I'd tend to provide more room and not less. That room can be in the coop or if you can protect an area in the run from wind and snow so they have access when they are awake, that can work.

We are also rural, so have a lot of predators (coyotes, hawks, foxes, raccoons) in the area so I'm very reluctant to let them free range unless we are out there with them. Unfortunately the run will be where they will be staying the most of their days.

You can have as many predator problems in suburbia as you can rural. The worst ones for me have been dogs. But that is not what I was getting at. You can build your run many different ways. All some people have is a fence, some people have a totally enclosed run with a roof and with dig protection. Critters can climb over, jump over, or fly into an open run. Contrary to what you might hear or read, predators can hunt any time, day or night. I've seen bobcats, foxes, coyotes, raccoons, mink, and possums out hunting at high noon. I'll admit that possum surprised me, I did not expect that. Your most risky time is at night, most are less active during the day. Human activity seems to make them nervous around our coops during the day but at night they have a lot more time to do their mischief. Many of us keep them in predator resistant areas during the day but at night lock them in predator proof areas. It is not 100% effective but for many of us it works really well.

So where am I going with all this? If you consider your run predator proof you don't need to lock them in the coop section only. You can leave your pop door open all the time so they can use all of the coop and run for space when they need it. Your coop doesn't have to be as big. You still have the weather issue though.

Where you are I would not want to build an open air coop which can save some construction and maybe costs. A hoop coop might work, they are fairly easy to build once you get the techniques but I'm not sure how they would hold up to your snow load. Hopefully someone with experience with them can point you in the right direction.
If you are buying them, many building materials come in 4' or 8' dimensions for the most economical sizes, a 4x8 sheet of plywood or an 8' long 2x4. If you can use those dimensions you can often minimize cutting and waste as well as save money.

For 12 full sized hens the minimum I'd build would be a 6' x 8' and I'd want it tall enough I could easily walk in there. Why 6'? Your roof will need enough slope for rainwater to run off. If you build a single sloped roof instead of a gable roof the roofing materials will be longer than 6'. It is also good to have some overhang so you can put ventilation under the overhang and keep rain and snow out. The cut-offs you have with a 6' dimension can often be used to build nests or such.

I find the tighter I pack them the more behavioral problems I have to deal with, the harder I have to work, and the less flexibility I have to solve problems. Like Rosemary I like more room but a 6x8 is probably manageable.

You will need a foundation of some type. You do not want any untreated wood touching the ground. The simplest way I can think of to build one from scratch would be to make the front wall 8' tall and the back wall 6-1/2'. Rainwater will run off of that but snow will not slide off. Position it so the rainwater runoff flows away from the coop and run. Put a human door in an end, two roosts on the far end, and nests along a side. I personally like a dirt floor as long as it stays dry. When I built mine I added a few inches of clay dirt to build it up so water did not flow in and topped the dirt with bedding. That's why the back wall is 6-1/2', to give you room for bedding.

Good luck with it and welcome to the adventure.

 

[rosemarythyme]

With my coop I feel the opposite. I have an 8' x 12' coop with four nests stacked 2x2. The lower ones are off the floor enough that when I'm integrating the weaker ones can hide under them. I consider that space under the nests to be a lot more valuable that several square feet of floor space that is wide open and provides no cover.

I should've specified better - floor space actually eaten up by nests does not count as usable floor space. Chicks can't even fit under mine since bedding keeps getting kicked under there so the space underneath is completely unusable.