adding 8 chickens to my coop

[aart]

Oh my gosh... You're 100% right. Now i feel like a smuck. I apologize for disagreing with anyone.

Well, you copped to it, so you're forgiven ;-)

 

[HighStreetCoop]

Oh my gosh... You're 100% right. Now i feel like a smuck. I apologize for disagreing with anyone.

No worries. I *still* think it looks like you might be fine for 17 birds. The run is 12' x 32', and the coop appears to be roughly 1/4 of that, so you probably have 72-96 sq feet in the coop, which would give you more than 4 sq feet per bird. Easy enough for you to do the final math and figure out what's reasonable for you and the birds.

 

[bobbi-j]

What are the dimensions of the coop itself? Personally, I have never used the "x number of feet per bird" rule myself. I watch my chickens. If they're too crowded, you'll most likely see behavioral problems such as feather pickimg or even cannibalism. You'll probably be fine over the summer, but think about them being in there all winter. Now imagine yourself and 1 other person spending the winter locked in your bathroom... There might be enough square feet per person, but what's your frame of mind going to be by spring?