How Much Room Do Chickens Need?

Great article for this novice! I worry too much about “space”!
I thought I’d mention this because it’s made my life so much easier. I have gravel under the roost bars and then I cut some fiberglass screen (window screen material) and cover the gravel with the screen. Gravel is changed out periodically. Cleaning out the poop is now just a matter of picking up the four corners of the screen and shaking out the poop in the woods. I have several sheets of screen and just rotate them as needed. The others, I let sit in the woods and they are cleaned off by rain for another day. The chickens have never been interested in the screen material and their coop doesn’t smell! I suppose I should mention that I only have 6 birds and I’m not sure how practical this idea may be for a larger coop.

Very good article. Easy to read, understand and true. We have about 3 sq ft per bird, a little more, but we let them out every morning to free range with only 3-6 days a year when they are confined to coop & run due to temps below 10. The flock gets along well. Thank you.

Great article. It covers all the aspects of size requirements and flock management. Offers points many beginners might not think of, such as, getting up to open the door at first light, (unless one uses an auto door), every day without fail.

This is a great explanation. I especially liked "if you have 2 with 4 square feet apiece, they take up 2 square feet & have 8 square feet to explore" and higher iterations. Bookmarking!

Great job. SUPER helpful article. Thank you for taking the time to write this.

I love this article. I have 15 ISA browns and 2 turkeys. Originally they had a 12x12 coop and a 16'X32' run...my husband and I did not think that they were happy enough so we fenced in another 5600 square feet for them in a wooded area. I think they dance and sing now!

Great article detailing all the different factors that go into space requirements.

Wish I had had some of this advise when I started with chickens. We are permitted for 10 chickens and they have their choice of 2 coops and an enclosure of 130 square feet. I think that gives them lots of room to explore and or run if need be.

As others have noted, the article covers all the important points you need, especially if you're just starting out. But I have to disagree with the rules of thumb for space requirements.

I began keeping a small backyard flock 6 years ago. I have 4 chickens. I built a coop and run based on those rules. I have a 4x4 coop and a 4x10 run attached to it (14 ft if you count the space under the coop). Pretty quick I realized that was going to be cramped when they grew.

While I think the coop size is fine (they tend to huddle together even in the summer months), the run would be looked too confining. Maybe they could survive there, but their quality of life would be diminished.

I ended up closing off a 15x20 foot area around the coop and run and gave them that area to move around in. Eventually *they* decided even that was not enough and one of the smaller hens began flying over the fence into the backyard.

While I could have clipped her wings or raise the fence height, I decided to let the girls free range throughout the backyard. I think they're much happier for it.

Obviously not everyone can do that, but I think the "rules" should be updated to allow for more space per bird. While that might result in fewer people owning backyard chickens I think it's ultimately better for the health and welfare of the chickens.

We wouldn't keep a dog confined in such comparatively close quarters, and we shouldn't keep our girls cramped in these small spaces either. It may be a controversial opinion, and maybe I've gone all soft since getting chickens, but living with these beautiful animals day-to-day has given me a much greater appreciation for their intellect and well being.

Well written article! The inclusion of the many factors that contribute to the health of our chickens reveals the tradeoffs that must be made in a given situation. We live in a suburban environment, and have built a run and a coop, but recognized early on that they are more content (and quiet!) when free ranging during the day in our fenced backyard. We do have predators around (fox, opossum, stray dogs), but that has never been an issue with us as we have "patrol" dogs for pets that keep the chickens safe and us notified if there is a situation that needs attention. The article has confirmed our decisions that were made by observation - thanks for writing it!

Eggcellent article! Very informative! You’ve given me affirmation on the size of my run. I started out free ranging my flock but lost every one of them to predators so now my new flock has a fully enclosed chicken run that is 2 part. The original run is 512 sq ft and the Extention is 191 sq ft. I currently have 18 hens so I know I have plenty of space for them but I like the Extention so that if I do have conflicts, I can separate without compromising space. We have 3 coops that we purchased from tractor supply but we also have plenty of roosting throughout the run. My plan is to build a single large walk-in coop that can house them all if they choose to use it. I have a couple that prefer to sleep outside in the rafters of the chicken run.

Thank you for writing this. Very helpful.

Very straight to the point and well explained!

Clear and excellent explanation of chicken-raising ideas and coop and run details that are flexible.

This is a good explanation of the finer points of space per chicken. Mentions several facts often overlooked when deciding available space for your chickens.

Thank you

Excellent article!

I am SO glad I found this forum. Everything is so useful that I have read. Helping us newbies keep it real is the most valuable thing here I believe.

As much as I would like a buncha breeds; nope, not gonna. Think I will stick with one M A Y B E two (people keep recommending Leghorns. Then I found out about brown ones, yeah baby). I had firstly decided upon Rainbow breed.

Thanks for this useful information. Gonna add it to my list of reference material.

Excellent info!

Very helpful. Especially saying that breeds, individuals and flock dynamics do make a difference. Mentioning future plans, like adding chicks (quarantine or natural breeding) too. You might even want 2 setups for that.
On a forum in the Netherlands they advice slightly different rules of thumb.

• If you have little space, its best to have only one friendly breed.
• First 2 chickens need a minimum of 7m2 run space. The third another 2m2 more. The fourth, fifth etc. 1m2 more.
• For happy chicken and a low maintenance run you double the minimum run space.
• Bantams need half the space.