Is 10 sq ft / chicken really necessary for the run?

[AZ Heat]

I've been reading up on the suggested space per chicken in coop and run, and was wondering if 10 sq feet is really necessary per chicken in the run? I know quite a few people in city limits who use much less space (which doesn't necessarily make it right either). They don't free range either, yet the chickens seem to be happy and healthy.

So my question is whether the 10 sq ft rule is a bare minimum or just the most desirable. And what would you consider the bare minimum?

 

[patandchickens]

Well heck, you don't NEED a run at all, you can keep chickens alive and, if you're lucky, noncannibalistic in much less space and none of it outdoors.

It is hard to assess "happy" without things to compare it to, though.

(I can tell you that my chickens behave VERY differently at 15 sq ft per chicken indoors, plus run, than at 4-6 sq ft per chicken indoors plus run; and even with 15 sq ft per chicken indoors, they behave VERY differently when the run is available than when I've had to shut it for weeks or months for construction etc. If you saw them in the smaller space you'd think 'oh, they're fine' but then when you see them in the BIGGER space you realize just how much finER they can be...)

Two other things to bear in mind: many people do have problems (like, cannibalism) in small spaces -- the less space chickens have, the greater the likelihood of that arising -- and you are just not seeing them because those people either got out of chickens in disgust, or enlarged their quarters. And secondly, once a cannibalism/picking problem starts, you cannot always stop it just by enlarging the coop/run -- sometimes the habit is unbreakable and the only solution is a lot of chicken soup and starting over with new hens.

I guess my take on it is: you can try it if you really want and know the risks. Possibly you might get away with it. However your chickens would really be happiER (and your sanitation chores will be easier!!) if you give them as much space as you possibly can. There is nothing magic about any particular number, and honestly I think the 4sqft-10sqft numbers usually tossed around on BYC are pretty SMALL for chicken happiness.

So, personal decision.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[AZ Heat]

Thanks. I'm just trying to figure out how to maximize my flock here in the city, where I have a limited amount of land to work with.

 

[ducks4you]

Usually patandchickens covers EVERY point, but here's another:
disease. Closer quarters stress animals' immunity. AND...with NAIS ever-looming, you DON'T want your county government coming in and destroying you whole flock.

 

[patandchickens]

Sure, most everybody has a finite amount of space available. Me too. I just have fewer chickens than I would if they were more crowded. (which fortunately makes less work and lower feed bills too <g>)

A person just needs to decide *what* they're trying to maximize. Raw number of chickens; or eggs per day; chicken happiness; ease of maintenance (including smell/fly considerations, which are worse with more crowding), etc. Everybody's going to have their own idea of the optimal compromise among those factors, but I think it really is worth considering ALL the factors, not just raw # chickens.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[davidr]

I have questioned the 4/10 rule of thumb also.

I would agree bigger is better.

I like that my girls have room to move around.

I have never seen a 4 chicken tractor that would come close to the 4/10 rot (16sq/ft coop with a 40 sq/ft run) But, I would like to see one.

David

 

[Anny]

Yes 10 square feet is a must in my opinion.

Think about it... You COULD live a healthy life with out ever leaving your room, but you are MUCH happier when you can go out of your room and have more space right?

I think 10 square feet is a MIN. and anything more is so much better.

2 feet by 5 feet...that's 10 square feet. That's not a lot of space when you think about it.

Plus the bigger the space they have to walk around, the more area they have to poop on, the less dense and concentrated all the poop is in one spot and the less smelly your coop will be, and the less cleaning you will have to do.

 

[vermontgal]

First I built a chicken tractor 4x6 with a second floor, for 4 hens. That is 24 sq ft, 6 per bird. This was not big enough. They overwintered in a stationery coop. This spring, I built a 8x8 chicken tractor (run only). This was easy to do using inexpensive 8' spruce strapping. They still go into the stationery coop to sleep. One chicken died (heart attack?) so now I have 3 hens in 64 ft. I hope to add 2 more in a year or two. I feel that 4 hens is the ideal number for my size of coop & run, but I will want to add 2 chickens at a time due to pecking order issues.

 

[NellaBean]

I have my (young) chickens in less than the recommended space while I am working on getting a new run built. They seem to do "fine" in a smaller run, but are still growing (just hit 4 months) so I don't think they need the full space just yet.

HOWEVER, I did let them out the other day and they did seem a lot "happier" in a bigger space. Once I have the bigger run built, they will have a bit over 20 sq ft per chicken of run space, plus some free time in the yard here and there, so that should be fine.

I have 9 chickens currently in a 8x8 run. However, this is attached to an 8x8 coop. So I have more than the recommended indoor with less than the recommended outdoor. I also have a ladder to play/roost on and a full length 8 foot (4 foot high) roost in their outdoor pen, a bunch of roost space inside the coop, along with a table and shelf (and now nesting box unit) to add extra "ground space" inside the coop.

While they are doing "okay" in the small run while I am working on the bigger run area....it has made it absolutely impossible to add even a single chicken to their group. There is just no room to "get away" from the more aggressive chickens. This same group can free range together fine.....the new girl just stays out of their way and has room to run away if they get too bad....but in the coop there is nowhere to go.

So keep in mind that you will REALLY struggle with any introductions should you get new birds or have to isolate any temporarily and reintroduce. I had planned on having their bigger run built over a month ago but got really sick and had some bad weather. One of these days.......in the mean time, they are doing "okay" in the smaller run but I definitely need to get the new one built within the next month or so.

 

[dianneS]

I don't have that much space in my run, but then again I do allow my chickens to free-range during the day. I must say that they do seem happier with more space. They live just fine in my small coop, but then I'd have to clean it more often! I know its hard to assess a chickens "happiness", but I can tell that mine are happier with more room to roam.