Size okay for 8 full-size chickens?

[6of6chicks]

I should clarify a few things that were brought up. The nest boxes are in addition to the 6ft x 4ft, so nesting space does not need to be subtracted (overall coop size is 80"x 48", subtracting the nesting box area makes for 66"x 48", so actually 5.5ft x 4ft, plus the loft). The coop itself will be 4ft tall, the loft area is above the nesting boxes and fully accessible from the access doors. I could make the loft bigger, but I worry about it cutting into roosting space, right now I have two 4ft roosts planned about 18" away from the loft and 12" apart (I'm not sure how I'm going to position them height-wise since I have 4ft to work with - the loft is ~30" above the floor). Feeders and waterers will be outside in the run for now, by winter I plan on adding a PVC feeder and waterer inside in addition to the outside feeder & waterer since they have a smaller footprint.

I think I'm confused by the "loft" section in addition to the perches. If I'm picturing this right, it's basically a shelf above the nest boxes? Is it the same height as the perches? I'm also confused about the height of the perches. You said they're 4 ft. roosts, but you also said the coop is only 4 ft. tall. That means as best your perches are 36" tall, and the shelf is 30" tall (not much difference). You're assuming they'll use it, and that's a big assumption.

I wouldn't take the "loft" space into account when determining how much space you have overall for your chickens. The thing I've learned about chickens is that if they like something, they will ALL try to cram in on the action, and if they don't like something, then everyone will ignore it. It sounds to me like the "loft" is just a flat space where they might perch and/or hang out. If that's the case then odds are they will ALL want to fly up there at the same time and then you will have fights, or they will ignore it completely because it is lower than the roosting bars.

IMO, square footage per bird means the amount of room they have to actually walk around. When mine get up in the morning they all mill around on the floor of the coop waiting for me to open the door to the run. That means I need adequate room for 6 large breed birds to mingle without getting on each other's nerves. It's never more than an hour at most, but that still ties me to having to open the run EVERY day without fail. In hindsight, I really wish I had gone with MORE than the standard 4 sq. ft. per bird. I'm just lucky they have access to the run every day (no hard winters or rain problems). Otherwise I'd have big problems in there.

Edited for typos.

 

[emorems0]

Also, maybe I'm biased by my friends' chickens, they go out in their uncovered run all winter regardless of snow... I didn't really think that the chickens would stay in the coop all day if there was snow on the ground since that's not the experience I've seen with other chickens I know in my area.

 

[emorems0]

I think I'm confused by the "loft" section in addition to the perches. If I'm picturing this right, it's basically a shelf above the nest boxes? Is it the same height as the perches? I'm also confused about the height of the perches. You said they're 4 ft. roosts, but you also said the coop is only 4 ft. tall. That means as best your perches are 36" tall, and the shelf is 30" tall (not much difference). You're assuming they'll use it, and that's a big assumption.

I wouldn't take the "loft" space into account when determining how much space you have overall for your chickens. The thing I've learned about chickens is that if they like something, they will ALL try to cram in on the action, and if they don't like something, then everyone will ignore it. It sounds to me like the "loft" is just a flat space where they might perch and/or hang out. If that's the case then odds are they will ALL want to fly up there at the same time and then you will have fights, or they will ignore it completely because it is lower than the roosting bars.

IMO, square footage per bird means the amount of room they have to actually walk around. When mine get up in the morning they all mill around on the floor of the coop waiting for me to open the door to the run. That means I need adequate room for 6 large breed birds to mingle without getting on each other's nerves. It's never more than an hour at most, but that still ties me to having to open the run EVERY day without fail. In hindsight, I really wish I had gone with MORE than the standard 4 sq. ft. per bird. I'm just lucky they have access to the run every day (no hard winters or rain problems). Otherwise I'd have big problems in there.

Edited for typos.

Sorry for the confusion, the lofts are 4ft long, I'm undecided at what height I'll put them... I figured I could move them around a bit while I figure out what the chickens like. Yes, the 'loft' is basically a wide shelf above the nesting boxes, I figured I could put the closer roost somewhere between 18" and 30" that they could use to 'step up' to the loft and then the other roost higher than the loft, so 36" or so. The idea of the loft was to give them some extra square-footage in the unused space, I hadn't really thought about them fighting over it or not using it :-/

So it's sounding more and more like we'll need to be giving away a few birds by winter Our coop budget is mega small and we don't have much time to totally re-think things since I'm also going to have a newborn in a few weeks, lol. Gotta get this coop done now with what we have!

I might be able to figure out how to put the nest boxes on the outside rather than taking up a foot of the floor space without using much more materials... that would give them an extra 4-sqft, but lose the loft.

 

[donrae]

Sorry for the confusion, the lofts are 4ft long, I'm undecided at what height I'll put them... I figured I could move them around a bit while I figure out what the chickens like. Yes, the 'loft' is basically a wide shelf above the nesting boxes, I figured I could put the closer roost somewhere between 18" and 30" that they could use to 'step up' to the loft and then the other roost higher than the loft, so 36" or so. The idea of the loft was to give them some extra square-footage in the unused space, I hadn't really thought about them fighting over it or not using it :-/

So it's sounding more and more like we'll need to be giving away a few birds Our coop budget is mega small and we don't have much time to totally re-think things since I'm also going to have a newborn in a few weeks, lol. Gotta get this coop done now with what we have!

Aawww, a baby!

 

[6of6chicks]

Congrats on the little one!

 

[emorems0]

Congrats on the little one!

thanks... yeah, my 'nesting' has been focused on chicken babies rather than the human baby and I'm quickly realizing how much I have left to do for both in the next few weeks! Eek!

 

[3riverschick]

Hi

and

Congrats on the baby! Yup, Yup, Yup! Put those nest boxes on the outside and you should be fine.
I am in Ligonier 15658. My boxes are on the outside of the coop. It's a great idea because you
don't have to open the big coop door in cold weather to gather the eggs. You are planning well as
your birds will be sequestered during the depth of winter. Are you planning on running electricity to
the coop? I have never had a stress problem with my Sussex at 4 sq. ft. per bird inside. They have
spent weeks inside during the depths of last winter thru the polar vortex weather. You don't need the
rooster for eggs. They will lay anyway. If you want a bit more space, just nix the rooster or one hen.
They sell/give away well on craigslist. I will admit I like a rooster with my flock. I think it makes a
nice community and gives leadership to the flock. I like the way the gallant rooster finds tidbits and
treats and encourages his girls to eat them. Do spend special time with your male chick.
Handling him and being gentle with him so he knows he can trust you in the flock. If you can
put a 60 watt light in the coop for winter that will help warm it a bit. I run one 24/7, tho many
don't. It does not effect their egg laying either way.
Best Success,
Karen and the Light Sussex

 

[iwiw60]

Quote: THAT was the most important thing you said in your reply....dogs. If you plan on just slapping up some fencing with plain chicken wire and bird netting over the top, you are asking for major problems down the road. See, dogs, and other predators such as raccoons, weasels, fox, etc., can all tear through chicken wire like it was butter...won't deter them at all. You really need to sit down and re-think your setup so you don't have to go through the heartache of losing your flock to scumbag predators. Use 1/2" hardware cloth on your run area, too!...anything less will be a waste of money...trust me.

I think your idea of expanding your coop size is a good one. Even culling the 2 roosters will leave you with 10 birds (if I understood you correctly) and at the present size you're planning it will not be sufficient for them...especially during the winter months. Trying not to come across as a "do it this way!" kind of person, just trying to steer you in the right direction so you don't sit there one day looking at your setup saying "I need to re-build..."

Would love to see pics as you progress...wishing you all the best.

 

[emorems0]

I DO appreciate all the help! I'm a total newbie to having chickens of my own and I am really thankful I found such a helpful group with so many more experienced chicken people.

My difficulty with the run is our property... I can't fathom how to construct a really secure run on such unlevel, sloped ground. Our whole back yard is a hill, and not an evenly sloped one, there is only one place (near the house) that is even flat enough for the coop. We'd have a great property for free-ranging, but the chickens wouldn't be safe from neighbor dogs and whatever predators are in the woods behind the house. We DO have raccoons (in fact, they've been up close and personal on our back porch already), but I figured that as long as the coop was predator proof that the chickens would be safe from those kinds of night-time predators - they will always be locked in the coop at night and let out into the run during the day. Also, several local friends have similar make-shift runs for their chickens and I was surprised that they didn't have any issues with predators after reading many stories of attacks here, but they don't... again, I figured that as long as they were in a secure coop for the night they'd be okay. I just got cheap fencing as a temporary run (either until we are relocated and have a better yard or figure out a better solution). I like having the ability to move it around a little and several of the reviews of the fence mention using it to keep dogs in or out of certain areas, there was even one who used it to fence in a section of their farm for chickens... it is cheap though and certainly not a long-term solution. I just haven't seen any examples of runs that have the uneven, sloping landscape issue that we have (and also not wanting it to be permanent since we will be relocated within the next year or so). If you could point me toward some other ideas, that would be great.

Regarding the # of chickens, as of right now, we have 9 chicks. One of those is looking like it might be a roo, but it will be hard to tell how many roos we actually have for a while yet, I think. At most, we'll have 9 chickens in there (at least until we can be sure of their genders). We planned to have 6. Our friend will gladly take any extra hens or roosters that we need to get rid of (and we definitely don't want more than one rooster, the plan was actually to keep only the hens). No way would I try to cram 10 or 12 chickens in there! I was just wondering if we could maybe squeeze in an extra 2 (for 8 total) without stressing the chickens too much.

So, you think it's better to have an extra 4sf on the floor of the coop and figure out how to build the nest boxes hanging off the side? Should I keep the loft or maybe just add more roosts in the extra space?

 

[iwiw60]

We REALLY really need to see some pics of your back yard area, the slope mentioned, yada yada yada, so we will both be on the same page when it comes to your setup. They say a picture's worth a thousand words, eh?

Post some pics .. we might see a easy solution that you just aren't seeing....talk soon!!