25 chickens, how much space?

[AmeraucanaHank]

hi,
I had all my chickens in an old barn and now I want to move them to a much nicer home, but wondering about how much space they need in their coop, they will have an acre to forage and stuff but they will stay in the coop if the weather is terrible, snow, ice,ect.
Thanks!

 

[mowin]

Rule of thumb is 4sqft per bird of floor space. More is better during those streaks of very cold weather when they just won't go outside.

 

[Dragonwolfmastr]

4 square feet per bird is good and 2 square feet for bantams. If they have consistent time to free range, you need slightly less space in the coop.

 

[saysfaa]

If they are to stay in their coop when it is snowy, icy, ect in a climate that gets as much winter as KS, then the coop is essentially both the coop and the run on a regular basis through the winter. They need ten to fourteen as a minimum.

Four square feet per hen is usually enough for the coop most of the time - only if they can spend most of the time on at least most days in a run (or free ranging).

Think of it in terms of how the chickens will use the space. A basketball is one cubit foot - not much bigger than many chickens are. Granted chickens are squishier - some will be happy to squish together at least sometimes. But they also need space to walk around, scratch the ground, stretch, get out of reach of each other, get out of sight of each other,

 

[Percheron chick]

I had 20 chickens and 8 guineas in a 10x12 stall in a similar environment and they did just fine. What's the problem with the existing structure? Usually cheaper and easier to upgrade it.

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

What's the problem with the existing structure?

It's really dirty and I can't clean it very good.

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

It also has dirt floor also not easy to clean.

 

[Iluveggers]

See if you can get a 10x12 shed (or larger) which will give you minimum space for 30 chickens. If you think you’ll add more, 12x12 would fit 36. Sometimes Lowes has the display sheds on clearance, or you might get lucky & find someone on craigslist getting rid of one. If you add poop boards under the roost bars, it would be super easy to clean and the only mods needed would be ventilation, nest boxes and roost bar!

 

[AmeraucanaHank]

See if you can get a 10x12 shed (or larger) which will give you minimum space for 30 chickens. If you think you’ll add more, 12x12 would fit 36. Sometimes Lowes has the display sheds on clearance, or you might get lucky & find someone on craigslist getting rid of one. If you add poop boards under the roost bars, it would be super easy to clean and the only mods needed would be ventilation, nest boxes and roost bar!

I already have a coop in mind, I will try to get measurements tomorrow.

 

[mowin]

I think it would be cheaper to add a floor to the barn space.