20 Chickens

[Chuckin]

This is my coop. we have 11 chickens, but want to get 9 more. we free range them during the day, and the dimensions of the coop box (the wooden part) is 6x4 feet, and the built in run attached is 6x12 feet. Could we keep 20 chickens in here?

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

2-4 sqft of coop space is recommended, so in a 24 sqft coop, that's somewhwre in the 6-12 range, but not more. At 11 birds, you are already pushing your coop to the max.

Your run is 72 sqft, and 10-15 sqft of run space is recommended per bird, so that way, you're looking at closer to 5-7 birds.

May I ask why you want to add more? Is there a magic chicken math number to 20? Do you have egg orders you cannot keep up with?

If I were you, I think it'd be better to consider rehoming 3 hens now, and maybe 3 more in the spring, if you want to add 3 new chicks next year. I might see about expanding the run and/or building a second coop, rather than try to add so many more birds into this current scenario. But of course, you are free to manage your flock however you deem fit. GL!

 

[Chuckin]

2-4 sqft of coop space is recommended, so in a 24 sqft coop, that's somewhwre in the 6-12 range, but not more. At 11 birds, you are already pushing your coop to the max.

Your run is 72 sqft, and 10-15 sqft of run space is recommended per bird, so that way, you're looking at closer to 5-7 birds.

May I ask why you want to add more? Is there a magic chicken math number to 20? Do you have egg orders you cannot keep up with?

If I were you, I think it'd be better to consider rehoming 3 hens now, and maybe 3 more in the spring, if you want to add 3 new chicks next year. I might see about expanding the run and/or building a second coop, rather than try to add so many more birds into this current scenario. But of course, you are free to manage your flock however you deem fit. GL!

i am doing a project where i raise ten more chickens, and have a friend with a smaller coop than me who has 18 chickens happily in there. since they’re free range, i was sort of including the coop and run as the same thing and that would be 96 square feet which could hold 20 birds. make sense that this might not work though.

 

[perkolator]

If they're free-ranged year-round and the coop/run is only a secure place to sleep, I could see it working out. If they're locked up in that run at any point though, such as during winter, it's going to be overcrowded and you'll likely see issues

 

[Chuckin]

If they're free-ranged year-round and the coop/run is only a secure place to sleep, I could see it working out. If they're locked up in that run at any point though, such as during winter, it's going to be overcrowded and you'll likely see issues

yup we let them out in chicken tractors during the day, at around 7am and then let them free range from around 4-7:45. then we lock them up in the coop at night and they all just roost in the wood coop at night and play in the built in run for a bit before we let them out. also, i live in the south so most winters it only around 30°F as the low

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

yup we let them out in chicken tractors during the day, at around 7am and then let them free range from around 4-7:45. then we lock them up in the coop at night and they all just roost in the wood coop at night and play in the built in run for a bit before we let them out

Yeah, 20 birds roosting and closed into a 24' coop overnight does not sound like a good idea, regardless of how much of they day they are free ranged.

 

[Chipmunk Chicks]

i am doing a project where i raise ten more chickens, and have a friend with a smaller coop than me who has 18 chickens happily in there. since they’re free range, i was sort of including the coop and run as the same thing and that would be 96 square feet which could hold 20 birds. make sense that this might not work though.

It's not always helpful to compare someone else's situation. They may may have smaller or more docile breeds, or they may simply not have had any problems YET. At the end of the day, every keeper has to work out their own risk tolerance for various behavior or health related issues and see how it works out for them.

 

[perkolator]

yup we let them out in chicken tractors during the day, at around 7am and then let them free range from around 4-7:45. then we lock them up in the coop at night and they all just roost in the wood coop at night and play in the built in run for a bit before we let them out. also, i live in the south so most winters it only around 30°F as the low

Out of curiosity, what size is the chicken tractor? (or is it multiple?)

My structure is larger, We had 20 in our permanent structure that's around 200sq/ft, which meets the 10sq/ft rule and were also free-ranging all day every day on an acre. To me it looked WAY too cramped for them when they were all inside, they were picking on one another, pulling out feathers and tearing up combs, etc. This is why I added on another 650sq/ft of run just to give them more space whenever they're not free-ranging. It definitely helped. I've tried my best to not have too many chickens now, currently we're at 15 and I think it's perfect with all that space.

What I'm getting at is though it will technically work if it's only a sleeping quarters, there are times when it just seems small and I'd have future plans to upgrade the size of coop/run, or lessen the number of birds you want to keep

 

[Chuckin]

Out of curiosity, what size is the chicken tractor? (or is it multiple?)

My structure is larger, We had 20 in our permanent structure that's around 200sq/ft, which meets the 10sq/ft rule and were also free-ranging all day every day on an acre. To me it looked WAY too cramped for them when they were all inside, they were picking on one another, pulling out feathers and tearing up combs, etc. This is why I added on another 650sq/ft of run just to give them more space whenever they're not free-ranging. It definitely helped. I've tried my best to not have too many chickens now, currently we're at 15 and I think it's perfect with all that space.

What I'm getting at is though it will technically work if it's only a sleeping quarters, there are times when it just seems small and I'd have future plans to upgrade the size of coop/run, or lessen the number of birds you want to keep

we have multiple runs that hold 4-5 chickens each.