Still feeling confused about space requirements

[Newchick?s]

If I have 10 chickens and plan to provide a 10x10 ft kennel/run for them to hang out in during the day, how large of a solid wall sleeping/nesting area do I need to provide?
I thought I needed 4sq ft per bird, so 40 sq ft of solid walled area for them. However, so many pre fab coops and diy coop plans for 10 chickens seem to have much smaller sleeping/nest areas included and I wonder if I am understanding the recommendations correctly.
If they will have the 100sq ft during the day, do I still use the 4sq ft/bird for the solid structure they will be locked up in at night? Or can I go smaller?
I am envisioning attaching the kennel to the solid structure and having a door on a timer that will keep them contained in the solid wall structure at night and open in the morning to allow them back out.
I am in MD, where we do have some cold winters and they might need to hunker down, so I am taking that into consideration too.
Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[lilmillefleur]

Prefab coops are too small for their recommended number of birds imo.
You should keep the henhouse at 40 sq. (bigger is always better though) ft because if it is cold or snowy or rainy, and your chickens do not want to go into their run, they still have a fair amount of space.

 

[jthornton]

Ditto prefab coops outright lie about capacity. If the chickens only roost inside the coop you can have a smaller coop. In my case I built a coop before I understood about stack up, ventilation and size requirements. For cold weather I recommend you read the Modern Fresh Air Poultry House book before starting construction.

If you place the feeder, waterer and nest box in the run the "coop" (roost box) can be much smaller. Just make sure you have enough roost space for all the chickens you plan on plus some extra. Here is a photo of the inside of my roosting area and I have 11' of roost for 9 RIR's. You could have less than 1' per bird if your roosts are close to the floor like mine and they only have to hop up on the roost. If they have to fly up then you need to have 1' per bird.



JT

 

[Michael Propst]

However, so many pre fab coops and diy coop plans for 10 chickens seem to have much smaller sleeping/nest areas included and I wonder if I am understanding the recommendations correctly.

It has been my experience that most of your prefab coop are rated for bantam size chickens and not a full size chicken. I agree with the others, keep it to at least 4 sq ft per bird.

 

[Newchick?s]

Ditto prefab coops outright lie about capacity. If the chickens only roost inside the coop you can have a smaller coop. In my case I built a coop before I understood about stack up, ventilation and size requirements. For cold weather I recommend you read the Modern Fresh Air Poultry House book before starting construction.

If you place the feeder, waterer and nest box in the run the "coop" (roost box) can be much smaller. Just make sure you have enough roost space for all the chickens you plan on plus some extra. Here is a photo of the inside of my roosting area and I have 11' of roost for 9 RIR's. You could have less than 1' per bird if your roosts are close to the floor like mine and they only have to hop up on the roost. If they have to fly up then you need to have 1' per bird.

View attachment 1356210 View attachment 1356215

JT

Thanks for sharing the pics and the helpful info!

 

[Newchick?s]

I appreciate the confirmation that I wasn’t crazy. I have been researching coop options online for days and things just weren’t matching up, so i was starting to doubt myself, lol!

 

[PirateGirl]

Just because you can fit that many chickens in a prefab coop doesn't mean you should. Think of it this way... you get in an elevator and notice there is a maximum capacity of 10 people. It seems roomy enough, then you stop on the next floor and a family of 5 hops on with their groceries, then you stop on the next floor and a few more people get on, not so roomy or comfortable any more. You may not have hit capacity but you may not feel like you have enough space either.

 

[Howard E]

The makers of the pre-fab coops would probably be confused too. There are standards out there for free range chickens, cage free chickens, etc. that support the square foot numbers they work from. Published by some of the humane orgs, etc. But those are for commercial layer flocks in houses hosting 1,000's of birds........not flocks of birds the size of ours.

The historic, long term, tried and tested value for enclosed housing is 4 SF per bird. For smaller birds like bantams and perhaps leghorns, 3 SF per bird. There is no scientific support for 10 SF of run per bird......that is more or less dogma.......but a good value to work with just the same.

For the hopelessly curious...........

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-math-made-easy.1149928/

 

[Newchick?s]

The makers of the pre-fab coops would probably be confused too. There are standards out there for free range chickens, cage free chickens, etc. that support the square foot numbers they work from. Published by some of the humane orgs, etc. But those are for commercial layer flocks in houses hosting 1,000's of birds........not flocks of birds the size of ours.

The historic, long term, tried and tested value for enclosed housing is 4 SF per bird. For smaller birds like bantams and perhaps leghorns, 3 SF per bird. There is no scientific support for 10 SF of run per bird......that is more or less dogma.......but a good value to work with just the same.

For the hopelessly curious...........

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/chicken-math-made-easy.1149928/

Fantastic info in that thread! Thank you for taking the time to share!

 

[uknotku]

4 square feet per bird is a good recommendation and a good rule of thumb, however, I would say it is just that. Don't kill yourself trying to get there. For example, in your situation, I wouldn't really try to get to 40 square feet. I would be happy, and the birds would be happy, with 32 square feet. I say this because it allows me to build a coop with a 4x8 floor, which is a single piece of plywood. Make having chickens fun and easy, not hard.