4'L x 4'W x 5'H coop will hold 12-16 hens....what do you think?

[ilief]

My local craiglist has a number of ads for ready made chicken coops or tractors.
Most of them way over estimate how many hens there coops will house.

When one ad claimed that his 4x4 coop could house 12 chickens, I thought it was a typo and he/she meant to say 1-2 chickens.
But then the same person posted another ad claiming it housed 12-16 hens. (BTW, a good portion of that space is taken up by 4 nests)

It makes me crazy, the primary people who would be buying those coops would be novice backyard chicken farmers. And here this guy is telling newbies to stuff 12-16 birds in less space then if they were in battery cages.

What would you do? Just ignore those ads?

 

[nurse_turtle]

"This ad has been flagged for removal."

 

[ilief]

Yeah, I flagged it and emailed the coop builder.

 

[teach1rusl]

Yeah...that stuff ticks me off too, as you said, because it really misleads people who really don't know about keeping chickens. I'm sure commercial poultry houses don't even give 12 sq. inches of space per bird, so maybe that's how/why some of these people advertise those numbers???? I'm glad the ad was pulled, and I hope that person keeps your suggestion in mind if/when they relist.

 

[savingpurple]

Mine inside is 4 x 8 and I started with 7. That was too small. Come winter here....wouldn't do it. I am now down to 5 in the coop now, but one HAS to rejoin soon, so 6 in my space is max I would be comfortable with. I am a newbie too

 

[Patricia Jane]

I think the same way as everyone else. We have people on craigslist here that seem to make them for a living and claim they can hold 12-14. I wouldn't put more than 6 in it. I have responded to a couple letting them know and never heard back and noticed they are still claiming that. Good idea to "flag for removal". If someone is just starting out one can only hope they do research like they should before starting any venture.