2 Roosters, 5 hens, 7 pullets

[jpalmatier83]

Yes, 14 birds with floor dimension of 8ft by 8 ft inside coop.

Yeah, so, 8x8 is 64 sq ft. Divided by 14 birds would be 4.57 sq ft per bird. That’s tight for prolonged indoor stretches.

 

[Mrs. K]

In the mid-west, we have a very dry climate, which is really a different cold. We frequently get down to -25 degrees and once I had birds come through 3 days of -35. But I have good ventilation, and my coop is dry.

The real problem is the nights - my adult birds are roosted up around 4:30 pm or even before if it is cloudy, and they are not coming off until 7:15. That is a long time to be inside a too small coop.

General rule of thumb - 4 square feet per bird in the coop, 10 sq feet outside the coop. So you are meeting the guide for the coop, but the run needs considerable more space. And I do agree with one of the posters - out in the yard is great, but it need to be everyday.

When you confine birds- you can get very ugly behaviors. Too many roosters, can get very ugly behaviors. They all still have some growing to do, and what seems like enough room now, is not going to be enough room in the dead of winter with full size birds.

If you can add onto the run, it will really help. As AArt says, an ability to put of clear side walls and a roof, can just make it easier on all in winter storms. I have smaller shelters in my very large run which my chickens use all winter long. I could show pictures if you want.

I know you want your birds to live forever, but good husbandry always solves for peace in the flock. No sense keeping miserable birds, just so one can stay alive.

Mrs K

 

[rosemarythyme]

I’m in Massachusetts, and the coldest it ever got last winter was -5, which is rare. Usually temps are between 20-30f, but do regularly go down into the teens. Anything below 10 is a rarer occasion, happens a handful of times a winter. But most days will be between 20-30f

That isn't anywhere cold enough to need to confine birds, unless you have very delicate breeds like Seramas. Normal healthy chickens can easily tolerate down to around -10F with some windbreaks.

Just wondering why you can't expand the run? Or simply free range if the cost of run expansion is prohibitive.

 

[aart]

Yeah, so, 8x8 is 64 sq ft. Divided by 14 birds would be 4.57 sq ft per bird. That’s tight for prolonged indoor stretches.

Yes.....Especially with 2 males.

I’m in Massachusetts,

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[3SiameseCats]

Yeah, so, 8x8 is 64 sq ft. Divided by 14 birds would be 4.57 sq ft per bird. That’s tight for prolonged indoor stretches.

I could see about making the secure run more warm for winter. That makes the dimensions 11x8. ~6.29sf/bird, which is an improvement but not ideal. Thoughts?

 

[3SiameseCats]

Yes.....Especially with 2 males.


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View attachment 3557329

Added that last night I believe, thanks though!

 

[3SiameseCats]

That isn't anywhere cold enough to need to confine birds, unless you have very delicate breeds like Seramas. Normal healthy chickens can easily tolerate down to around -10F with some windbreaks.

Just wondering why you can't expand the run? Or simply free range if the cost of run expansion is prohibitive.

oh ok, that’s great to know!

I would love to do free range, but we live in an area with tons of wildlife and many predators, and no dog. Run might be able to be expanded, it just would be a pain to do.

Attached photos are of the yard and coop

 

[3SiameseCats]

In the mid-west, we have a very dry climate, which is really a different cold. We frequently get down to -25 degrees and once I had birds come through 3 days of -35. But I have good ventilation, and my coop is dry.

The real problem is the nights - my adult birds are roosted up around 4:30 pm or even before if it is cloudy, and they are not coming off until 7:15. That is a long time to be inside a too small coop.

General rule of thumb - 4 square feet per bird in the coop, 10 sq feet outside the coop. So you are meeting the guide for the coop, but the run needs considerable more space. And I do agree with one of the posters - out in the yard is great, but it need to be everyday.

When you confine birds- you can get very ugly behaviors. Too many roosters, can get very ugly behaviors. They all still have some growing to do, and what seems like enough room now, is not going to be enough room in the dead of winter with full size birds.

If you can add onto the run, it will really help. As AArt says, an ability to put of clear side walls and a roof, can just make it easier on all in winter storms. I have smaller shelters in my very large run which my chickens use all winter long. I could show pictures if you want.

I know you want your birds to live forever, but good husbandry always solves for peace in the flock. No sense keeping miserable birds, just so one can stay alive.

Mrs K

I might be able to add onto it. The reply I did just before this one’s has photos of the yard and coop. The only issue is where to put more run. And cost of framing and plywood.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I could see about making the secure run more warm for winter. That makes the dimensions 11x8. ~6.29sf/bird, which is an improvement but not ideal. Thoughts?

If you're trying to combine indoor and outdoor space then you should be using a minimum calculation of 14 sq ft per bird. For some flocks minimums may not be enough to ward off trouble.

With your winter temps there's no reason to confine normal healthy chickens indoors. You may not even need to climate proof the run that much unless you get hit with a lot of winds/storms - mainly you'd want to provide enough coverage to wind break (depending on prevailing directions of wind) and to maybe minimize snow out if possible, as many chickens do not like snow.

I would love to do free range, but we live in an area with tons of wildlife and many predators, and no dog. Run might be able to be expanded, it just would be a pain to do.

Attached photos are of the yard and coop

The photos are very helpful, thanks!

Your run looks very expandable - you could bump it out the front or on one side. If cost is prohibitive, maybe look into "hoop coops" which use cattle panels to form arched sections and are one of the easier and more economical ways to make a coop or run.

 

[3SiameseCats]

If you're trying to combine indoor and outdoor space then you should be using a minimum calculation of 14 sq ft per bird. For some flocks minimums may not be enough to ward off trouble.

With your winter temps there's no reason to confine normal healthy chickens indoors. You may not even need to climate proof the run that much unless you get hit with a lot of winds/storms - mainly you'd want to provide enough coverage to wind break (depending on prevailing directions of wind) and to maybe minimize snow out if possible, as many chickens do not like snow.

The photos are very helpful, thanks!

Your run looks very expandable - you could bump it out the front or on one side. If cost is prohibitive, maybe look into "hoop coops" which use cattle panels to form arched sections and are one of the easier and more economical ways to make a coop or run.

Yeah I could see bumping it out a few feet on the left side. Although if I don’t need to worry about confining them in winter I shouldn’t need to add anything on, at least before next summer, giving me time to save up some money for pt wood. We already got plenty of extra hardware cloth. 4 feet out on the left equals 80 total square feet of run, would that be good? Hardware cloth is 4ft wide.

I’ll look into that, although I like keeping stuff uniform. Although it’s a chicken coop, you can’t expect fancy.