Big enough for... or is it?

[ladyride]

I think this would be really tight for 40-50 chickens so about 25 would be the max IMHO. They need some room to move around a little.

 

[coalroadcabin]

FWIW, the Virginia Agricultural Extension white paper on raising small flocks suggests 2 sq. ft. per large fowl chicken inside coop and 10 sq ft. in the outside run. I'm not saying that's 100% correct, I'm just saying that other 'experts' don't necessarily prescribe to the 4 sq ft per bird that is deemed necessary by a lot of folks. I think it mostly depends on where you live. I've got 3.5 sq ft per bird inside and 11 sq. ft per bird in the covered run outside -

 

[TDM]

Quote:
Are you kidding? I hope so. I do think the Amish know quite a bit about farming. This is probably not really Amish. I'm not Amish either but I can't see saying a whole group of people are stupid...

Yes, I am kidding. If you read my other posts you will see that I agree with two square feet per bird.

 

[gale65]

Quote:
Actually the Amish don't seem to care a lot about the comfort and well being of their animals as much as making $$ from them. As evidenced by the huge number of Amish puppy mills in this state and in Pennsylvania. I actually bought a dog from an Amish guy (back before I knew what a puppy mill was) and they didn't give any indication that the animals were anything more than moneymakers for them. They probably treat their horses well, since they rely on them so heavily. But everything else seems to just be a farm animal and nothing more.

eta: just because that coop is purportedly *made* by the Amish doesn't mean an Amish person is the one who recommended the description posted or how many birds can fit in it (and technically a lot of birds *could* fit in that size coop but *should* they?).