Chicken complex design help.

[River campbell]

Hey I wanna make a small complex, i made a graphic for my idea, Can someone please edit the image to add stuff, suggest stuff, and help me figure out the correct size for the complex?

 

[River campbell]

Oh by the way both runs with be opened, the main coop run will just be for when I let them out late, or when they cant fully go out.

 

[Hilltop Flock]

Some info about the number birds you keep/want would be helpful. Each bird should get 3-4 sq ft of space within the coop and about 10 sq ft in the run.

As I look at your design, you have a lot of area jotted out for nesting boxes. Each nesting box should be about 1x1 ft area. You need about 2 boxes for every six hens.

The roosting bars should be long enough that each bird has a foot of roosting space each.

 

[River campbell]

Im getting over 20 chickens, and currently have 7, could you maybe improve the image to show

 

[21hens-incharge]

At 27 birds (assuming all hens) you only need 6-7 nest boxes.

For all 27 at adult age you need a MINIMUM of 270 square feet of run space. It's easier to do the math for a 300 square foot run. That would be 10x30 or 15x20. Your main coop would need to be at least 8x16 or 128 square feet since nest boxes are drawn inside it.

Pullet coop and brooder coop will depend on how many you intend to have at any given time.

 

[River campbell]

Run only has to be small as its like an airlock as they are free range

 

[21hens-incharge]

Depending on weather conditions and predators if they end up confined for more than a couple days in a small run they can get nasty with each other and fight.

For example I haven't been able to let mine out much due to hawks for the last 3 YEARS.

 

[rosemarythyme]

That is an excessive amount of nests in the main coop if 20-something birds is the goal. I assume this isn't to scale in any fashion? You'd need more roost if it is somewhat to scale.

I agree on increasing run size, or else there's almost no reason to have it at all (just have the birds free range no matter what).

As you already have a brooding area planned, I wouldn't do 2 separate coops, just make 1 big one (and 1 larger run) and integrate the babies early. Saves work and material cost.

 

[3KillerBs]

The main thing is to meet the minimum space requirements for the number of birds.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

Unless you are ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you can let them out to free range from dawn to dusk every single day then you DO need the full minimum run space to prevent both behavioral and sanitation problems due to overcrowding.

There are advantages to having multiple, separate areas around/within a common run.

There are advantages to having one large facility that can be divided.

Your convenience in caring for them is one of main factors to consider when making this choice.