Building a chicken coop - Does this sound okay for size?

[Katari]

Long story short, we are new to the chicken thing. and are in the process of planning our coop and run but need some help from some of you "old timers". We can have a total of 11 chickens/rabbits. Since one daughter (4) wants a bunny that leaves us with 10 total. I figure I'd start out with 8 and move up to 10 when and if the girls decided 4h with hens would be a good idea. We aren't allowed Roosters so no issue there. We are building from scratch and could use some idea's/recommendations.
So far what we have come up with is a 5 X 6 (30 sq ft.) coop and a 12 x18 (216 sq ft) run. Does this sound like enough room for 8 to 10 hens? When were planning on 4 nesting boxes (to much? to little?).

Thanks for any suggestions.

Kat

 

[SunnyAlberta]

I'm also a newbie, but your dimensions sound right from what I've read. In a 30 sq ft coop you could have up to 10 full-sized chickens and those 10 would also need 100 square feet in a run. Will your rabbit(s) live with your chickens?

 

[Katari]

I hadn't actually thought of that. I figured I'd have a second pen for the rabbit(s). Do they live together well? I'll have to research that out of curiosity. Although I think I'd like to keep them seperate regardless. Besides another bunny hutch will keep the hubby busy

 

[MadHens]

Another newbie here. I would advise going a little larger on the coop - a minimum of 4 sq. ft per standard size chicken in the coop. So for 8 birds, that would be about 8' x 4', but since you're considering 10 birds, I would just go with 8' x 5.' Have you heard about "chicken math" yet?

Your run space sounds fabulous for that amount of chickens (generally a minimum of 10 sq. ft. Per bird as mentioned by a previous poster).

For nesting boxes, I've heard one box per 4 birds is usually sufficient. I would go with 3 or 4 boxes in your case.

 

[Katari]

LOL. No I haven't heard about "chicken math"! I'll have to think about readjusting my coop. UGH, back to the drawing board~

 

[fiddleblue]

I have 8 chickens in a 4 ft wide, 6 ft long, 6 ft high henhouse. THere is room in there for another 2 chickens possibly to roost (I have roosts on three of the 4 walls). I have four nestboxes in the henhouse: two on the floor, two at middle height that stick out of the henhouse. Then I have a 5th nestbox outside in the outdoor part of the coop (the run). They don't really need that many nestboxes. I would say 4 is enough for 10 chickens. The chickens tend to copycat and lay their eggs either all in the same nestbox (in which case there can be mini fights about who gets to be in there) or in the same two out of 5 boxes. THe girls like the outdoor nest box a lot right now.


I have a run area about 8 by 10 ft plus a long narrow run 2.5 ft by 30 ft. The 8 girls would have enough space even without the longer run, I think, but they enjoy having that area to wander into during the day for each day's adventure. If you let the chickens out in the backyard, out of the coop itself to forage and frolic, they will be very happy and may be content with a smaller coop.

 

[Katari]

Thanks for the info! Yes, I figured on most days I would let them come out into the yard for awhile if the dog isn't out. I wonder if it would be enough If I just made it a 6 x 6 coop with the four nesting boxes that stick out on one side. I found I may have to cut part of the run off for a rabbit run if I want them in the same general location. Hmmmm. Going out tomorrow to do measurements again...

 

[Jakoda]

this is my first chicken venture, and even tho I only have 9 chicks right now, I can just see me wanting more..with that in mind, I have used part of my 12 x 30 shed to section off for the chickens. Right now, even tho the chicks aren't out there, I SHOULD have gone BIGGER..the chick area is 12 x 4, nesting boxes on the outside, certainly big enough for my 9, but still wish I had gone bigger.

My outside run is 12 x 20 which I think is ample room for even more chicks, but definitely go bigger inside if you can , you may be like me and wish you did at a later point.
Diane

 

[thecoopbuilder]

Well it is said you need 2 square feet for each chicken in the coop and you need to make sure you have a enough roosts for those chickens as well. But the size of the coop you are looking to make is perfect for the amount of chickens you have. So you are on the right track.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

two square feet per chicken is a factory standard, bare minimum. For happy healthy birds, either go larger, or limit the number.