Advice Please....Decided Against the Omlet and Want to Build a Coop for 50 Chickens

[TammyRoesch]

Hi! I am cancelling my order for two OMLET's and have decided to build a COOP for 50 chickens instead. My reason for having chickens is to collect alot of manure for my garden. I'm a vegan and don't eat eggs or chickens . So, I'm trying to decide what would be a good Coop plan and would like some help to decide . They will be FREE RANGE chickens, kept safely (I hope) in the large fenced in area for them, and the Coop will of course be in that area as well. So, what do you all think. I want an EASY TO CLEAN coop...

 

[DobieLover]

I want an EASY TO CLEAN coop...

Then it should be a walk-in style coop.
How large is the fenced in area that will be their pen? If they are going to be penned, they are not free range no matter how large the pen. And unless the area is at least an acre, 50 chickens are going to strip it to a barren waste land.

You should get a large shed and convert that into a coop and install poop boards. That way you only have to scoop the boards each morning and the clean the bedding off the floor every other month or so.

You will need a huge amount of ventilation for that many birds to remain healthy.

 

[TammyRoesch]

Then it should be a walk-in style coop.
How large is the fenced in area that will be their pen? If they are going to be penned, they are not free range no matter how large the pen. And unless the area is at least an acre, 50 chickens are going to strip it to a barren waste land.

You should get a large shed and convert that into a coop and install poop boards. That way you only have to scoop the boards each morning and the clean the bedding off the floor every other month or so.

You will need a huge amount of ventilation for that many birds to remain healthy.

About 10,000 square feet of fenced in area -

 

[3KillerBs]

The Usual Guidelines
For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

These guidelines break down for very large flocks in very large coops, but,

50 birds would, theoretically, need:

• 200 square feet in the coop -- 10x20, 12x16, 8x25
• 500 square feet in the run -- 20 x 25
• 50 linear feet of roost
• ~13 nest boxes
• and 50 square feet of ventilation

Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

At these numbers you should consider a small barn, a horse run-in shed, etc.

 

[3KillerBs]

P.S. If you will be selling the eggs you'll need to look into the legalities of your area and make your setup easy to comply with them -- maybe adding electric so that you can keep an egg refrigerator right next to the door, etc.

 

[DobieLover]

About 10,000 square feet of fenced in area -

50 chickens will strip it bare. Be prepared for that. It will not have nice green grass around the gardens any longer. Or nice neat mulch. They will scratch it up and dig dust baths in it.
If the fence is lower than 4', lighter bodied birds will fly over it and get into the garden and you really don't want that!

 

[TammyRoesch]

Maybe I don't need that many? I want enough to give me plenty of manure for that size of my garden.

 

[TammyRoesch]

50 chickens will strip it bare. Be prepared for that. It will not have nice green grass around the gardens any longer. Or nice neat mulch. They will scratch it up and dig dust baths in it.
If the fence is lower than 4', lighter bodied birds will fly over it and get into the garden and you really don't want that!

So, I have two gardens that size...and my plan is to rotate the birds, every other year, between the two gardens. That way they can spread their own manure . I'm fine with them eating up everything in the garden at the end of the season. The wood chips are like 6" thick....throughout the garden...you think they will still turn it into dust beds?
How many chickens do you think I would need for that size of garden?

 

[TammyRoesch]

The Usual Guidelines
For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

These guidelines break down for very large flocks in very large coops, but,

50 birds would, theoretically, need:

• 200 square feet in the coop -- 10x20, 12x16, 8x25
• 500 square feet in the run -- 20 x 25
• 50 linear feet of roost
• ~13 nest boxes
• and 50 square feet of ventilation

Where, in general, are you? Climate matters, especially when it comes to housing.

At these numbers you should consider a small barn, a horse run-in shed, etc.

We live in Northeast Ohio, up on Lake Erie....

 

[mowin]

The cost of the coop, chickens, fencing, and feed to keep chickens just for fertilizer is IMO is a waste of money. Buy some cow manure from a local source every spring.