Breeding Coop and Pen

[Corey NC]

I am starting to think about building a breeding coop for about 5 hens and a roo. Not sure whether it will be standards or batams yet but I was wondering how big it should be, would 4 x 8 be too small? I'd love to see pics of ya'lls breeding pens to get a good idea of how much room they need.

Thanks!

 

[allen wranch]

The standard square footage for chickens is 4 square feet for standards and 2 square feet for bantams.

It would be rather crowded for 6 standard chickens in a 4 x 8 coop.

Look at the thread at the top of this page and also in the BYC reference section. There are lots of good coop ideas there.

 

[speckledhen]

Corey, you know I have Suede in with Velvet and two Brahmas and soon will have another Blue Orp pullet in my former guinea/former nursery coop. You also know how huge he is and Velvet is no lightweight herself. Basically, I have the same size coop as you mentioned, 4.5 x 7.5' and they seem to do just fine in it. I wouldn't put more than my five large birds in it, I dont think. If I had bantams, I could put maybe 9 or 10 in there, IMO. 4 x 8 = 32 sq ft which, if you go by 4 sq ft per bird, you should be able to put 8 standards in it, but that would be too tight, I think, if they had to be closed up for any length of time.

 

[allen wranch]

You also need to consider the placement of roosts, feeder and/or waterer in your coop when you consider the square footage.

Birds generate a lot of heat. Although good when roosting in the winter, the summers could be a problem when it is already hot.