A Simple and Effective Coop Plan for 50 standard-sized chickens

[B. Saffles Farms]

Quote:
2 sq ft per bird is enough. more sq ft per bird is a bonus. He did say theyd only be in the coop at night.

Trust me...2 sq ft per bird is not enough if they must stayed inside at all. I had one of my faverolles pecked to death and several others pecked on badly and they have a tad over 4 sq ft per bird. They get bored, antsy and start picking. I have 30 in 144 sq ft and they need it. I have lost two birds since the coop was built so there was 32 in there.

So build your coop with a minimum of 4 sq ft per bird unless you are confining them 24/7 and then give them closer to 10 sq ft per bird...if not, you will have problems. 2 sq ft that you read about it is probably for bantams..not standards.

there is my 2 cents worth...I am going back to my corner.

Maybe Im just wrong. But this site is about learning. My coop isnt enclosed, and I never shut it up where they cant get out, and it works for me. But hey thats just me.

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Of course...my perfect boy...the Suedenator never makes a mess.

Oh did I mention that I have adopted the Suedenator? No? Well I have. Thank you for taking such good care of him for me.

:

No, he just poops a couple giant softballs on the roost shelf, easily scooped up. Such a good boy, my Suede!

I'm sure he wont mind being "co-owned", Ladyhawke!

 

[FrontPorchIndiana]

Quote:
Trust me...2 sq ft per bird is not enough if they must stayed inside at all. I had one of my faverolles pecked to death and several others pecked on badly and they have a tad over 4 sq ft per bird. They get bored, antsy and start picking. I have 30 in 144 sq ft and they need it. I have lost two birds since the coop was built so there was 32 in there.

So build your coop with a minimum of 4 sq ft per bird unless you are confining them 24/7 and then give them closer to 10 sq ft per bird...if not, you will have problems. 2 sq ft that you read about it is probably for bantams..not standards.

there is my 2 cents worth...I am going back to my corner.

Maybe Im just wrong. But this site is about learning. My coop isnt enclosed, and I never shut it up where they cant get out, and it works for me. But hey thats just me.

Do you have bantams or large breeds?

 

[B. Saffles Farms]

Quote:
Maybe Im just wrong. But this site is about learning. My coop isnt enclosed, and I never shut it up where they cant get out, and it works for me. But hey thats just me.

Do you have bantams or large breeds?

Ive got both Bantams and Ive also got Rhode Island Reds.

 

[Solsken Farm]

We have a 10 x 16 coop for 48 birds, 6 of them bantams. I would NOT want it any smaller. We have it divided into 3 sections and put in as much roost space as possible. They can walk under the nests and on top as well, the way it is designed. There is a pop door for each section, and two doors. Sometimes they won't go out during this bitter cold and snow. They are all doing great. The smell is minimal. I have about 1/4 roos in there under a year old mixed in. So far so good. I am looking forward to spring when they all can get out more again, however. In the summer, spring and fall this was more than plenty of space. But winter, I feel we are maxed out.

 

[luvmygirlsinAK]

Here's my 2 cents worth:

I have a coop that is 9 x 9 on the inside (10 x 10 on the outside-we have to have lots of insulation here) we currently have 24 chickens inside this coop. It was just built at the beginning of winter. While everyone who sees our coop oohs and ahhs over it, there are things I wish we would have thought of before building it. If you don't have an area for storage in a very nearby area, you will want extra storage space in the coop, and will probably want at least a small area for storage in the coop even if you have easy access for storage outside the coop. Also, I wish we had more room for a roosting area big enough that the chickens don't need to roost on the nesting area. Cleaning out the nesting boxes every day isn't fun. Also, I turn the shavings every day. It would be nice to have a little more elbow area to do this. In retrospect, the coop is much too small, and this summer, we will build one probably twice the size, and we don't even plan to breed to sell-just enough eggs for us and enough extra to sell to help with feed costs.

People talked about the chickens getting antsy when cooped up in the coop for long periods of time and pecking at each other. At the moment, we don't even have a door to an outside run for them, since we started building so late in the year, the ground was already too frozen to do a proper run, so they have been cooped up in the coop all winter long. However, they really don't do a lot of pecking on each other. The minute I noticed that they were doing some pecking, when we added some new hens to the coop, I purchased three red flourescent lights (13 watts) and put them up along with their regular full spectrum lights in the coop. Sometimes we don't even need to use the red lights, but if we need to use them we certainly do. Just like us humans, if they get the proper nutrition, they shouldn't always be grouchy. I give them lots of organic treats, and especially sprouted grains in the winter, to make up for not being out in a run which at this time of year at _50 below zero F. they wouldn't be out in the run anyway.

The girls make lots of contented noise ( it sounds like purring, actually) and "talk" to me all the time. They seem very content, unless they have a disruption with a new hen and then they usually settle down quite quickly after a couple of days. I will particularly turn the red lights on immediately if we put a new hen in the coop. It works great.

Hope this was helpful.

 

[dennymeyrand]

I have a 10 x 16 coop with 20 birds in it. When they are stuck inside due to weather, it doesn't seem to be enough. I am planning to add 25 more layers this spring and need to rethink my housing.

 

[JackE]

Dang Denny, where did you find this fossil of a thread? How's you coop laid out? I have a 8X16' with 19 birds in it, and they have spent some time in there this winter,their choice, I open the popdoor for them everyday. And they have not had any problems. They seem to have plenty of elbow/wing room. As far as your future expansion of your flock goes, Why not just bump a wall out on your coop, and expand it as necessary.

 

[Csoldan]

A youtube I saw on building a chicken house recommended using linoleum. I think that's a great idea and will incorporate it into my new house I'm building this spring.

 

[Nkraft]

you could easily modify my design, for mine is set up to house a trailer fpr when i show my hens, and you could combine the twp seperate coops, thats just for me to keep my show hens in the same set, so i dont get any mixed breeds. This design is set up for 50+ hens at 4sqft each.