5X6 coop, how many?

[elmo]

Three or four hens would be perfectly comfortable in a coop of that size, and I think you would find your job as chicken keeper at that stocking density quite comfortable, too.

I personally never want to get so many chickens that taking care of them becomes an unpleasant obligaton. If daily chores exceed 15-20 minutes, that's too much for me.

 

[chickerdoodle]

Quote:
That is how I feel as well. My girls are for enjoyment, stress relief (they are great at that!) and eggs are a pleasant bonus.

Too many to clean after would take a lot of joy out of it and then you may resent them or perhaps not do as good a job of caring for them. If they are just for eggs and/or you have lots of time then you can try using only 2 sq. feet per hen indoors--but I would not if they cannot get outdoors as problems will arise quickly. Remember too that some birds get testy if crowded too much and start picking others or themselves and they will sometimes even peck another bird to death.

So if they have access to outdoors and lots of room to roam and scratch around then 3-4 sq. feet per hen and if not then give them much more space. Whatever you do I wish you plenty of joy and lots of eggs!

 

[claytonhain]

we have a 5x7 coop, and we are looking to fit 12-15 birds in the coop. Also, in the winter they like to huddle together which create less space.

hoop that helped!

 

[dovecanyon]

Many will disagree with me, but I think you could easily fit 10-12 hens in a 5x6 coop. I don't think they need more than 3 sq ft per bird, even if you have cold winters. My girls go outside in winter, except when it is pouring hard rain or in a blizzard. 2 1/2 to 3 feet per bird is plenty as long as you have good space for them to be outdoors.

 

[claytonhain]

12-15 chickens

 

[Kansaseq]

I would do no more than 7. Why risk crowding them and stressing them out? Sure, you could fit more in there, but it wouldn't be in their best interest.

 

[Bullitt]

I "can" sleep in a closet. Is it comfortable and healthy? No.

The rule of thumb is 4 square feet of coop space and 10 square feet of run space per chicken. Crowding the chickens can lead to problems.

I think it is good to try to have happy and healthy chickens.

 

[Daisy8s]

The first question is how much time will the chickens be inside the coop. Would they be confined for a weekend while you were gone, or for several days in bad weather?

The second question is what kind of bedding and coop maintenance method will you be using? If you're a scoop-the-poop every day kind of person then the coop can handle more birds. If you want to use deep litter method which depends on not being over saturated then 5-6 sq ft per bird will be necessary.

The third question is how much real space will the birds have, given the placement of your nesting boxes, waterer and feeder? Be sure to subtract if these items will take up floor space.

If you answered the questions in a way that would lead to less birds start with 4 because you know there'll be some other breed you just have to have and then you have room to end up with 6. If you answered the questions in a way that would lead to more birds start with 5 and exhibit maximum self-control so you only end up with 7.

Really, less birds with more space is just more pleasant. Otherwise you'll be one of those people posting, "help, my birds are picking at each other, what should I do?"