Adequate Coop Size

[cluckingheck]

5 sqft 28-29

oooooh, i love chicken math. if i ever want more, i still have the old coop available. there’s nothing wrong with it, the location was just farther from the house than i liked. more chances of predators to come around down there

 

[CluckerFamily]

If you add on a run, you can have a roof on it. I used the same metal roof panel on my coop and run. I used hardware cloth for the sides and an apron. That way they flock could be in the run in bad weather of if there is a predator.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd say that's big enough for 20 even with occasional days being locked in, whether due to weather or predators. However if you find that you're needing to lock them up for more than a day here and there, you really could stand to have a predator proof run as well, or crowding may become an issue.

 

[21hens-incharge]

the longest they’ve ever had to in the coop without being let out has been 2 days so far. i don’t like keeping them shut in, but i don’t like them being able to do whatever ( and whatever get them ) when I’m not there. but, yeah, i want to avoid them being cramped because i know they’ll start getting antsy after awhile. i haven’t worked in the specifics of the boxes & feeders yet, but i did think about it some. im not good at pre-planning, im better at putting something in and going from there.

We get hawks hanging around for weeks and weeks on end. We had a fox the other morning at a little after 8am. I definitely like having a secure run for mine to use. If I didn't I surely would have a lot fewer birds.

For 20 birds 6 nest boxes will allow for some flock growth while still having plenty of available nests.

For 20 birds a 200 square foot run is enough space. More birds would need more run space of course.