Medium OverEZ coop. How many chickens, really?

[Great_Strides]

I bought an OverEZ medium sized chicken coop for a bargain from a closed feed store. I have 5 Pullets that I’m integrating together. I’m not naïve enough to think it can really hold 10. But, will it be big enough for 5?

 

[InterestingChickens]

Found these measurements online about this coop: 50.25″ x 52.5″ wide and 62.25″. That will accommodate for four or five max. The rule of thumb is 4 square feet in the coop and 10 square feet in the run. Of course the more space they have, the happier they will be.

 

[Alaskan]

I would suggest you connect that coop to a covered run, and put up wind blocks for winter.

True inside floor dimensions would give us a better idea of how many chickens would be happy.

But, a roofed run with good wind blocks, is almost as good as a coop. Truly. Also, with a roofed run with wind blocks, you could then stick a huge vent on the side of the coop that is now protected by the run roof. Then you have ventilation in the coop protected from rain and snow.

 

[InterestingChickens]

I hadn’t even considered that! I’ll either have to do two coops or downsize my numbers. Dang it!
I’m glad you caught that!

It would need more ventilation holes too. At least one square foot of ventilation per bird.

 

[3KillerBs]

18 SF. So, 4 chickens max?

Can you successfully have two coops attached to the same run?

This is a great article about 'How much room do chickens need?'. If you were to have multiple coops in the same area, @3KillerBs has experience in that.

I'm at work and not on my desktop so I don't have access to my photos, but before we finished Neuchickenstein I had 3 coops in one vastly-oversized run.

It would need more ventilation holes too. At least one square foot of ventilation per bird.

Yes! Those coops are better-built than a lot of prefabs, but they are notoriously short on ventilation.

1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation -- best located above the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost -- is the recommended minimum.

Climate matters -- I'm in the Steamy Southeast of the US and need as much as double that OR deep shade just to keep my coop from turning into a rotisserie.

Since you're in a cold-winter area you need to read @Alaskan's article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[Boise-girls]

We are putting the run next to the garage and doing an overhang roof over the whole run. I’m not sure we were planning to put the coop inside the run, though. We’d lose square footage of run space. So, it was going to sit just outside the run. We’ll put up wind block as well.
There’s a 4-5” overhang on the window side of the coop. I was planning to drill 3” holes all along that area and cover with hardware cloth. Would that be enough?

A 3" circle is about 7 square inches. You'd need 20 to equal one square foot. Just as a reference. (Having said that, I may be resorting to lots of circles if my handy sibling doesn't come through in time. I can handle a hole saw, but am hopeless with the other types!)

 

[Alaskan]

We consistently get negative degree weather. I’m looking into ventilation fans. Any experience with those?

No, since those require both electricity as well as regular cleaning.

Negatives as in -5F? -20F? Or -40F? (Sustained, not quick dips, and not windchill)

At all of those temps I would still recommend the run roof, half of the coop wall being wire.

At -40F I would put in warming stations.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm at work and not on my desktop so I don't have access to my photos, but before we finished Neuchickenstein I had 3 coops in one vastly-oversized run.

And I am at home now.

 

[Great_Strides]

18 SF. So, 4 chickens max?

Can you successfully have two coops attached to the same run?

 

[InterestingChickens]

18 SF. So, 4 chickens max?

Can you successfully have two coops attached to the same run?

If you had a larger run than 10 square feet per chicken, I'd say you would be fine with 5 in that coop.