Can I Keep More Chickens?

[birdwrangler057]

Hello! Ok, so I have a 10' x 4.5' A-frame coop, and 7 chickens already in it, I would love to get some more hens, how many more do you think I could keep? I also free range all my chickens so run space does not have to be applied.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Are you keeping bantam or large fowl birds? What breeds are they? How many days of the year do your current birds find the conditions outside enough to keep them inside for most, if not all, of the day? There is really no way to say how many birds you can add to your current flock without encountering potential problems -- if you go by the general guideline of allowing 4 square feet per bird and are talking about large fowl you could potentially have the room for 3-4 more birds *but* that guideline is not a set rule and other factors can make fewer or more birds comfortably accommodated in the space you have....such as the questions posed above and others.

 

[birdwrangler057]

Are you keeping bantam or large fowl birds?  What breeds are they?  How many days of the year do your current birds find the conditions outside enough to keep them inside for most, if not all, of the day?   There is really no way to say how many birds you can add to your current flock without encountering potential problems -- if you go by the general guideline of allowing 4 square feet per bird and are talking about large fowl you could potentially have the room for 3-4 more birds *but* that guideline is not a set rule and other factors can make fewer or more birds comfortably accommodated in the space you have....such as the questions posed above and others.

I have all large fowl, and I try to free range them every other day, and will do multiple days on end if they miss a few. Thanks!

 

[Molpet]

I have all large fowl, and I try to free range them every other day, and will do multiple days on end if they miss a few. Thanks!

so every other day the coop is also the run!!!

the general rule is 4 sq ft of coop and 10 sg ft of run = 14sgft
10' x 4.5= 45 sq ft divided by 14 = 3.21 birds Total
also need to take out the space the water and food uses
adding new birds causes stress while they integrate and the actually need more room..

 

[birdwrangler057]

so every other day the coop is also the run!!!

the general rule is 4 sq ft of coop and 10 sg ft of run = 14sgft 
[COLOR=333333]10' x 4.5= 45 sq ft divided by 14 = [/COLOR]3.21 birds Total
also need to take out the space the water and food uses
adding new birds causes stress while they integrate and the actually need more room..

True, but my chickens seem pretty comfortable already, and like I said I free range every other day or so. Thanks for the help

 

[birdwrangler057]

I'll try to post pic soon

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I have all large fowl, and I try to free range them every other day, and will do multiple days on end if they miss a few. Thanks!

So they are confined to just the coop about 50% of the time in any given week? This is not the same as "they free range so run space does not apply" -- in fact, it would make having a secure run with sufficient space for the birds in question that much more important.

 

[birdwrangler057]

...

So they are confined to just the coop about 50% of the time in any given week?  This is not the same as "they free range so run space does not apply" -- in fact, it would make having a secure run with sufficient space for the birds in question that much more important.
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Ok, I actually have been thinking about getting some fence for a small run. So, could I still get more birds, I was only thinking about 1-2 RIR's, BR's, or BO's?That's all I want to know.

 

[birdwrangler057]

...

So they are confined to just the coop about 50% of the time in any given week?  This is not the same as "they free range so run space does not apply" -- in fact, it would make having a secure run with sufficient space for the birds in question that much more important.
[/

Ok, I actually have been thinking about getting some fence for a small run. So, could I still get more birds, I was only thinking about 1-2 RIR's, BR's, or BO's?That's all I want to know.

Whoops, I accidentally added my post to your quote

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings, birdwrangler, and

! Pleased you joined us! I'll defer to Ol Grey Mare's expertise on this and just wish you well and thanks for joining BYC!!