1 sq. foot per bird for chicken coop in a cold climate?

[patandchickens]

Quote:
It's ridiculous, but then most city's chicken ordinances seem to be ridiculous so I am not the least surprised.

It is slightly more than battery hens get and they have ONLY that, so in one sense it is still generous.

People who try keeping chickens in Denver with just 1 sq ft per chicken probably aren't going to be in the having-chickens biz very long anyhow.

Pat

 

[EileneBob]

I figured it was a little out of the norm - but I worry about the birds that get given up. A Farm Rescue in Salem OR now gets 2-3 birds per month only 2 years after Portland implemented their ordinance.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

I have an Eglu Go and three chickens so I guess I won't be very popular. Of course, the coop is for sleeping and the chickens have a large run and even larger yard. My chickens seems happy so far but I'll be keeping an eye on them of course.

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I don't think that's an ordinance, it's just advice. Pretty good advice, too, in my opinion.

 

[Sundari]

The proposed Denver ordinance is suggesting 1 square foot per bird for the nighttime, predator-proof structure. Since chickens don't move around at night (as everyone here knows) 1 s.f. per bird is adequate to contain them when they're sleeping. During the day, chicken owners would be required to provide at least 10 square feet of permeable space per bird. Chicken owners with a particularly small nighttime enclosure may choose to provide something addition for their chickens to have shade/shelter during the day, but it is not mandated that the daytime shelter be predator-proof.

In Denver we have very low precipitation rates, and my chickens hardly ever use their daytime shelter. In my experience, chickens' use of a daytime shelter is not related to cold weather (at least not Denver-type cold weather) -- it's related to precipitation. When it's cold during the day they're outside, when there's snow on the ground they're usually outside, but if there's snow or rain falling from the sky they stay under their daytime shelter. I have a fairly small nighttime coop (just 1 s.f. per bird), but lots of daytime roaming space, plus an addition shed for daytime shelter whenever it's needed. This is a perfectly acceptable situation for raising healthy chickens in Denver, and under the proposed ordinance a setup like mine would be allowed.

Of course, if people *choose* to build bigger nighttime structures, they're certainly able to do so.

It's worth noting that Seattle, Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York do not have any shelter space requirements in their laws that I'm aware of. We need to be careful do draw a line between what we legislate and what falls under the realm of "best practices." Over-legislating one person's idea of how a chicken setup should look takes away the ability of others to be creative and come up with lower cost solutions (for example, my small nighttime coop and larger daytime shelter).

Have you ever raised a flock of urban backyard chickens, Eileen? Did you go on the Denver coop tour last year and see all the wonderful varieties of successful setups that are possible?

 

[PaleMelanesian]

Some personal experience on this subject.

My old coop had 2 sq ft / bird in the coop and 5 sq ft each in the run. I almost lost one hen from the others all picking on her. She lived in the next box to get away from them.

The new coop is 4.5 / bird and the run is 13 / bird. They're all happy and the little one is doing fine among the same hens that nearly killed her.

 

[Sundari]

Quote:
Definitely useful feedback -- based on what you were saying, in your previous setup the chickens only had a total of 7 s.f. per bird, and they were too crowded. The Denver ordinance suggests a minimum of 11 s.f. per bird total, with the understanding that more is always better (under the licensing provision, new chicken owners would be given extensive documentation on "best practices").

Denver's law also contains provisions about animal abuse, neglect, and cruelty. Regardless of the shelter/open space size, if chickens were not being treated well then a chicken owner would face penalties.

Most Denver chicken owners I know choose to give their birds far more space than what would be mandated as the minimum under the new ordinance.

 

[GarlicEater]

Quote:
OK I can get with this. 120 sq. ft. coop/run and while I have 16 birds in there now I'm planning to sell 6 and would like to have a dozen birds, laying hens and a rooster.

I'd like to give them even more room, I believe in coops/runs that are big enough for a person to move around in comfortably to clean them etc.

 

[PaleMelanesian]

That sounds a little more reasonable. Still awfully tight, though.

I think coop space isn't as critical if it's only used at night. Roost space is important, but mine like to squeeze together. They use maybe 8 inches each. It's probably good to have extra, though - nighttime squabbles happen. I have 18 inches available of roost for each, they just don't use it.

I'm not sure you can get that kind of roost space in a coop that's 1 sq ft / bird.

 

[Sundari]

Actually, I don't have a roost in my coop. I know that it's common practice to provide that, but I give them lots of clean straw and they just nestle in.

I do understand that providing roosts for nighttime sleeping is considered a "best practice." However, my birds are extremely happy and healthy and have been for years. There's more than one way to skin a cat, and there's more than one way to raise healthy chickens.