Too much space?

[EnnieM]

Will chickens do poorly is a coop that’s TOO big? I’m only “planning” on keeping 10-15 chickens.. however, chicken math. There will be 2 brooder pens as well (stage 1 and stage 2). We were thinking of making it atleast 12’ wide x 8’ long.

 

[azygous]

Will you also have an attached run so they can get sun during the day? If so, how large do you expect it to be? Coop space is recommended to be 4 square feet per chicken, and run space ten square feet per chicken.

Neither coop nor run can be too large. However, chickens crave cover in order to feel safe while resting. Many people neglect to take this under consideration when building a run. A covered run is convenient for you so you don't need to shovel snow out of it, but the roof also makes chickens feel more comfortable because they don't need to be constantly watching the sky for hawks.

 

[EnnieM]

Will you also have an attached run so they can get sun during the day? If so, how large do you expect it to be? Coop space is recommended to be 4 square feet per chicken, and run space ten square feet per chicken.

Will you also have an attached run so they can get sun during the day? If so, how large do you expect it to be? Coop space is recommended to be 4 square feet per chicken, and run space ten square feet per chicken.

Neither coop nor run can be too large. However, chickens crave cover in order to feel safe while resting. Many people neglect to take this under consideration when building a run. A covered run is convenient for you so you don't need to shovel snow out of it, but the roof also makes chickens feel more comfortable because they don't need to be constantly watching the sky for hawks.

Neither coop nor run can be too large. However, chickens crave cover in order to feel safe while resting. Many people neglect to take this under consideration when building a run. A covered run is convenient for you so you don't need to shovel snow out of it, but the roof also makes chickens feel more comfortable because they don't need to be constantly watching the sky for hawks.

There will be an attached run, yes. We plan on making it 200 sq feet to start, and adding on as need be. Only plan on making it 3 ft tall, with half of it covered. If we do a coop larger than we originally need, could we add a wall (that we can easily remove later) down the middle) to do brooder boxes/roosting bars on one side, with a notch cut out for access to food, water, and running space on the other? Kind of sounds like a stupid idea, but I don’t want to end up with not enough room later.

 

[azygous]

I can't quite visualize your coop plan, but it should be fine.

Let me caution you against the three foot tall run, though. You will be sorry. When I built my first coop, it was to house two chickens, and it was sixteen square feet. I was given some heavy steel hog panels, four feet tall, and I fashioned a serviceable run out of them. I covered the run with more hog panels and place roofing over them made from fiberglass panels. It was fine for a year, but I seemed to age a lot during that time, and each day, my back was more sore from bending over than the previous day. It was absolute torture.

My advice is to build the run for you to be comfortable in. The chickens won't have sore backs from bending over. You just might.

 

[rosemarythyme]

In a cold climate a bigger coop gives you more leeway in the winter, as chickens may not want to come out in the snow. So no a 12x8 isn't too big at all.

For the run , I completely agree that you should reconsider the 3' tall run. For the sake of cleaning, maintenance, or simply having to go in and grab a chicken, make it tall enough to walk in without having to bend or stoop.

 

[Fluffyflufffluff]

Will chickens do poorly is a coop that’s TOO big? I’m only “planning” on keeping 10-15 chickens.. however, chicken math. There will be 2 brooder pens as well (stage 1 and stage 2). We were thinking of making it atleast 12’ wide x 8’ long.

I don't see anything wrong about having a big coop, It will be taken care of one of these days.

 

[kiwi-chick]

big coops are awesome for the chickens they like having space to get away from each other on occasion...

 

[BDutch]

More space is never a problem. But its make a difference how the space looks like and gives shelter.

A covered run is convenient for you so you don't need to shovel snow out of it, but the roof also makes chickens feel more comfortable because they don't need to be constantly watching the sky for hawks

I have a run covered with prey bird netting. The chickens feel at ease in there and don’t show this behaviour at all. They find shelter against rain under a bench, in the run and have some bushes in the run for shadow and more shelter. Snow is rarely a problem here.

 

[EnnieM]

In a cold climate a bigger coop gives you more leeway in the winter, as chickens may not want to come out in the snow. So no a 12x8 isn't too big at all.

For the run , I completely agree that you should reconsider the 3' tall run. For the sake of cleaning, maintenance, or simply having to go in and grab a chicken, make it tall enough to walk in without having to bend or stoop.

Thanks! Yeah, the cold was partially my reasoning for it being bigger. Winter 2018, we had NEGATIVE 50F temps! Doesn’t happen often, but our winters are pretty cold.