Coop Size Question

[Revan]

I'm currently drawing up some coop layouts and need a little help. Square footage is kinda confusing to me. Sorry, but math really just never was my strong suit. Currently, what I've drawn up is a 3 ft wide by 4 ft long walk-in coop (with a run double to triple the size). How many chickens can I fit rather comfortably in a coop that size? I currently have a mixture of bantams and standard breeds in my brooding boxes, and I plan to keep them separate for breeding purposes.

Nothing is built yet, so size can be adjusted. I have someone else building this for me, but they want approximate measurements from me.

 

[Pyxis]

You want to allow 4 square feet per chicken, so in a coop that's 3 by 4, that would fit 3 chickens. In the run, you need 10 square feet per chicken.

 

[imnukensc]

A 3' X 4' coop is 12 square feet. General guidelines are 4 square feet per standard breed chicken and 2 square feet per bantam. So for standard sized breed, you could keep 3 birds or for bantams 6. Not sure how you plan to keep them separated in a coop that small. As far as the run, the accepted guideline is 10 square feet per bird. So, for a run 3 times the size of the coop, you're back to 3 or 4 birds at the most.

 

[Revan]

Not sure how you plan to keep them separated in a coop that small.

I plan to have more than one coop.




Well, this makes me rethink things then. I'm looking more at about 10 chickens per coop so current size plan won't work then. Thank you very much for the help!

 

[EggMan1991]

Looks like the other guys explained it pretty well, but I have a couple of little things to add, from my experiences and such.

Make sure to research a little on the particular breeds you have, because some don't take confinement well and they'll need more space. Also, I've learned that it's always best to overestimate a little(granted you have the space for it. Otherwise, try to stay by the aforementioned comments).

 

[BYC910]

You also have to take into account your weather . Not knowing what part of Cal. your from . If your up north where it gets cold you might want to increase square footage per chicken . If the weather is bad some chickens won't leave the coop. If your buying materials think modular construction . A 4x8 sheet of plywood is 32 square feet. Tin at home depot comes in 2 ft. x 8 ft. lengths some have 10 ft. and 12 ft. lengths .If you use 3 ft. painted metal most companies will cut it to length .Take into account what your going to use for roofing with an overhang for water shed . Also snow load . A lot of snow takes more slop to the roof . No or little snow just enough to shed water is plenty . Spend a little time looking at coop design . It is easier to build all the space you need during construction than to enlarge a coop .

 

[Pork Pie]

Great advice in the posts above, imo. This link is interesting -
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

 

[junebuggena]

Bantams, being small, don't need as much space as standard sized birds. Bantams need about 2 sq ft of coop space per bird and about 6 to 8 sq ft of run per bird. Some breeds do just fine with the general 4 sq ft of coop and 10 sq ft of run per bird. Other breeds need more elbow room, like Barred Rocks or jumbo-sized breeds like Brahmas.

 

[Revan]

Thanks, everyone. ^_^

 

[enrgizerbunny]

If you want to skimp on coop size, your birds will be much happier with a much larger run. My coop is 36x48" and 4 ft tall for 3 birds and external nesting boxes not included in that measurement. However, my run is roughly 25x40' (~1000 sqft) for 3 birds. My birds only use the coop for sleeping and laying eggs. I have areas of shade and cover from rain with food and water in the run so that the girls can be comfortable even when it rains.

My birds are for eggs and entertainment only, I do not breed. It is my understanding that if you want to breed, build a coop as big as you can-especially for a walk-in.