Am I really breaking the 4 sq ft per chicken rule?

[Celticdragonfly]

Every time I hear discussions of space per chicken it makes me think of the stanza from Rudyard Kipling's poem "Natural Theology"

I run eight hundred hens to the acre
They die by dozens mysteriously….
I am more than doubtful concerning my Maker.
Why has the Lord afflicted me?

An excellent poem, I recommend it.
https://www.bartleby.com/364/181.html

 

[Ted Brown]

Useful thread for sure.

 

[Hokum Coco]

I really breaking the 4 sq ft per chicken rule

I kept as high as 24+- hens in this 4x8 coop (3 levels inside) with little access to outside during Canadian winter with no problem. The 4 foot rule as stated is a guide line and every flock is different.

 

[cmom]

My birds have plenty of roost space but they seem to crowd together and there is always some empty space on the roosts.

 

[paneubert]

My birds have plenty of roost space but they seem to crowd together and there is always some empty space on the roosts.

This is actually considered "spreading out" for my chickens. Haha. There are 10 chickens in this photo. On probably about 5 feet of roost.