520 sq ft...

[BrianT]

of available play and scratch space. This includes the run and the area of yard they have. Coop is 4x4x8. They seem to get along well here. Will 2 more hens cause a problem with this setup? I can place additional sleeping quarters in the play area. Thanks.

 

[SpringChickens]

Sounds like you'll be fine - how many hens do you currently have?

 

[BrianT]

Quote:
7 and a bantam rooster that may be leaving due to his getting aggro with one of my daughters.

 

[SpringChickens]

Yeah, you should be fine. My only concern is your coop size, but being in Florida, you probably don't have to lock them up very often?

It sounds like you have 32 sq feet of coop space - if you end up with 9 chickens total, that's a little less than 4 square feet each (which you want at least 4 square feet each if possible), but you have so much run space that you'll be fine if they're out all the time.

 

[sharol]

I'm thinking 16 sq. ft. Is the floor area 4x4 or 4x8? I read the op to mean it was 8' tall. No?

Quote:

 

[BrianT]

Quote:

4 ft tall and 4' deep and 8 ft long. The funniest thing is there is plenty of roosting space but they all try to cram on to the same roost.

 

[elmo]

Space wise, you should be fine. But anytime you change the flock dynamics by adding chickens, there will be pecking order issues to work out. It's recommended to quarantine the new birds for a couple weeks to a month in a separate area just to make sure they're not harboring some disease to bring into your existing flock. Then if you can let the new chickens and the existing flock see each other, but not get at each other (side by side pens, pen within a pen, etc.) for a while so they can get acquainted. The final step involves full integration with careful observation to make sure the conflict isn't getting bloody. Enough space (with enough places for any bulied chicken to get away to hide) really helps.