Chicken coop size

[Sunny-Side Up]

It might be best for you to build your own coop. That way you can get exactly what you want and need, and combine all of the tips and things that you learn and want into one coop. Some tips:

• Not only make it what's best for you chickens, but also for you. If it's easy to clean, good looking, and well built you will want to go out there and clean it more often, neighbors won't complain, and you won't have to constantly repair it
• Predator and weather proof
• Has nesting boxes, roosts, food, water, and walking space
• Big enough -- some good tips have been mentioned above in other posts
• Good drainage
• Run
• You could make a chicken tractor (a portable chicken coop that you can easily move to new pasture) or rotation yards. This is where you build a chicken coop, and have several runs going around it so you can have them in one for a few weeks, and rotate so the others get a rest. Sorry I'm bad at explaining; you can look it up or ask for more help here
• Good ventilation and insulation

Lets see if I can think of anything else...
But the biggest thing is... well... the big. Make sure it's big enough.

 

[Folly's place]

The easiest plan is to buy a garden shed and modify it for the birds, and add a run.
The best is a Woods coop; it's what I would have if starting over. My coop is a shed style, with three additions, as 'chicken math' overcame my better sense.
The important issues are;
having enough space
predator proofing
ventilation.
All are equally important. Lots of good information on this site!!!
Mary

 

[lazy gardener]

No. That coop is not big enough for even one bird to live comfortably. Check out Sunset Sheds and Garages. This will give you the fundamentals of how to put a building together. As other posters have stated, you need at least 4 s.f. in coop and 10 s.f. in run per bird. Nest boxes should be at least 12 x 12 and perhaps 15" high. You will need 12" of perch space per bird, and the perches should be at least 2' above floor, 18" below ceiling, they should also be ABOVE the nest boxes, and 15" away from back wall, with plenty of space in front of them so the birds can jump down without doing a face plant on the wall in front of them. You will also need 1 s.f. of ventilation per bird.

You can view the coops section on BYC to get some ideas.

 

[Fontainesgirl]

The easiest plan is to buy a garden shed and modify it for the birds, and add a run.
The best is a Woods coop; it's what I would have if starting over. My coop is a shed style, with three additions, as 'chicken math' overcame my better sense.
The important issues are;
having enough space
predator proofing
ventilation.
All are equally important. Lots of good information on this site!!!
Mary

ok thank you so much !

 

[IamRainey]

I agree about passing on the rabbit hutches (which may be sold as chicken coops).

They should be required to have a warning that they're only good for use inside your closed garage unless you live on a desert island without predators.

 

[X_and_Z]

Look through the BYC coop pages here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/category/chicken-coops.12/

I suggest that you look at the location of the coops to find designs that work in climates that are similar to yours and to plan for more chickens than you think you want now - you will want to add more in the future both because chickens are addicting and to ensure a steady egg supply.

 

[K813ZRA]

I agree, make sure you have enough space. Chickens go nuts when locked up in the winter, or at least mine do, who are used to free ranging. My first coop, where I house my Orpingtons, is 6 sqf per bird in the coop and almost 16 sqf per bird in the run and I still had an issue with birds picking on each other the first winter. Not an issue when there is no snow because they will leave the covered run and go out into the uncovered run or yard.

Having said that, BO's are large birds and I have not had any issues with other breeds. Then again, I now try to go for the full 10sqf per bird in the coop and not just the run to avoid these issues. I am not saying that others need to do this but only pointing out that the minimum is just that. A minimum that works in a long list of scenarios but that there is always room for improvement!

Moving on, those pre-fab coops are expensive to begin with! If you are capable of building your own you will save money. If you look for used materials, or seconds or even freebies you can save even more money.

On the note of coops, walk-in style coops are my preferred build because they are just so much easier to maintain.