How many chickens can I safely fit?

[briannamonique16]

I have a 4x6 coop with an 8x6 attached run, there is space under the coop as well so technically 12ft of run “ground space”. I have 10 6 week chickens right now, two of which are silkies (all pullets). Chicken math is real and I want 5 more but do you think that would be over crowding them? There are two 6 ft roosting bars inside the coop. They will be able to be free in the yard during the day as well but not all the time if we’re not home/supervising them.

 

[maceleneo]

I'm sorry, I would say that when your 10 chicks will be adult that setup will already be overcrowded. I wouldn't add any more!

 

[rosemarythyme]

I agree you're already over your space limit. 6 docile birds (total, not add 6 more) is the max I'd do.

 

[Brizi]

(3KillerBs has helped me a bunch, so I'm stealing their format!)

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Your coop is 6x4 (24 sq ft), which is enough for 6 chickens. Your run is 12x6 (72 sq ft), which is enough for 7 chickens. You have 12 ft of roosting space, which is enough for 12 chickens. You need to use your limiting factor to determine your maximum, which in this case is your coop. Therefore, your maximum is 6 chickens.

As the other posters said, that setup will be overcrowded with 10 chickens. It may seem okay right now, but as they grow you'll likely run into issues.

How big is your yard and where are you from? The first idea that comes to mind is that you could turn your current run into a big coop, then predator-proof part of your yard to make it a big run. If you had a 12x6 (72 sq ft) coop and the proper amount of run space, you could have up to 18 chickens!

 

[DobieLover]

You must now know that you are very overcrowded at 10 birds. If you want to keep all of them and keep them happy and healthy, you need to greatly expand your setup or rehome 4.

 

[MountainWoman73]

6 birds tops in that space. 24/4 =6.