Coop smaller than 4sq. ft per bird?

[Northwest_NC_Chicken_Man]

Is anybody's coop smaller than 4 sq. feet per bird? If so, roughly what is your sq. feet per bird & how do they act? And one more question, all wood needs to be untreated, right? Thanks for all replies and God bless you, your family, and your flock.

 

[jonbanks]

my coop is 3 sq ft per chicken. i have 8 in there. but if i dont let them out to roam and play that get ticked. they start making all kind of noise till i let them out

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Id at least go with 2 sq ft. If they are just using it for roosting and laying. But if they will have to spend much time in the coop, Id go bigger. As for the wood, treated wood is fine to use, thats what weve always used and never had a problem at all with it.

 

[Northwest_NC_Chicken_Man]

Ok, for LARGE birds (orpingtons), 2 sq feet per bird will be fine as long as they just use it for laying & for roosting? Run will be bigger. I think they say 8 sq feet per bird on the run. I should be able to do that very easy.

 

[allisojo]

I have about 2 sq. feet per chicken as well, and they're in side from dusk to dawn. Outside every day that it's not awful. The small size definitely affects their attitude, and on the few days this winter that they've been indoors, they've had a crazy look in their eyes. It seems to work well, though, because they're outside so much. Thanks.

 

[vtchickenlady]

Give them lots of toys.

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Depends on where you live. If you live in a cold area like we do, they will spend lots of time inside. I truly wish we had a larger coop, and not just for that reason! We got bit by the bug hard, and wish we had more room for more chickies. I would build a little bigger, because you more than likely will want more chickens if you are anything like the majority of us on BYC!!

Once we got into it, we also realized we really needed more chickens to sell the eggs (not hard to sell them here at $5.00 to $6.00 per dozen) to help with the cost of feeding the chickens.

Also, we chose not to use treated wood for the coop because of the chemicals used in the wood. It probably is not the best for chickens if you perhaps have to have them in a coop for long periods of time. It is your choice, but I would encourage you to study it out a little.

 

[Cetawin]

Im in the Pac NW and my coop is just slightly larger than 4 sqft per bird... When the weather was real crap and they had to stay in for a couple of days...

I lost one...she was picked on so bad, I could not save her. they need toys, something to occupy them and room to have wing spreading freedom...so to speak.

If they are going to be outside all day...you could go less than 4 sqft per bird and there should be no problems...I would never go as little as 2 for heavy breeds though...4 min on those girls. If you have a good number of them 10 -15 or more.

just my 2 cents worth.

 

[#1California Chick]

Your chicken run should be at least 10 sq ft per chicken (not 8), especially if they are "large" chickens, -- if your chickens are going to be kept in a run and not allowed to "free range".

The "basic" allowance is 4sq ft per chicken for a coop and 10 sqft for a run. If your chickens are going to be "locked up" due to weather, then you need to give them MORE space!! If you do some research on this site, you will see many posts about chicken picking, etc. caused by being locked up and boredom!!

There are BYCers who use smaller spaces, BUT their chickens are NOT confined for long periods of time (ie they get out of the coop every day and can free range every day).


Hope this helps!!

Cindy

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

If you go that small in the coop regardless of weather or your work schedule they have to be let out to the run. Something to think about. Pecking will be an issue, as well as the coop needing much more cleaning. Better to go bigger.