Chicken math coop and run question

[BenStrick]

Hello all,

First post! I’m looking to build a coop and run that will comfortably fit six hens—the maximum allowable in Portland, Maine. I’ve read the guidance of 4 sq/ft of coop, 10 sq/ft of run, 1 sq/ft of roost and ventilation per chicken. For 6 birds I can meet that with a 4’x6’ coop and 6’x10’ run. I’m interested in deep bedding and I’d build external nesting boxes.

My two questions are:
1) Is this really big enough for six birds, considering they will be confined to the run most of the time, especially during our long winters?

2) Is it possible to have a low maintenance, truly stink free coop and run using the deep bedding/deep litter method with 6 birds in a coop/run this size? Stink free is absolutely key for marital harmony.

I’m imagining something like the attached drawing.

Thank you!
—-Ben

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you can go bigger on any of the "minimums" I'd recommend it. They're referred to as general guidelines and minimums for a reason - not all flocks will do well in this amount of space so you may have some behavioral problems that folks with a bigger set up don't have, and the tighter you go towards minimum the more maintenance you're usually going to need to do to compensate for it. Deep litter and deep bedding both work by volume, so as you can imagine it's harder to increase volume of litter in a smaller footprint than a larger one, or to increase ventilation and air volume in a shorter coop.

Personally speaking I'd advocate for a minimum run size of 10x10 even with a small flock, as that gives you room for some clutter, isolation cages if needed, and just extra space to move around in for maintenance.

Also not sure how accurate that rendering is to what you're considering, but if you normally get a good amount of snow you may need to pitch the roof more sharply to get the snow to slide off. I'm not an expert on roof pitches, but something to think about.

 

[BenStrick]

If you can go bigger on any of the "minimums" I'd recommend it. They're referred to as general guidelines and minimums for a reason - not all flocks will do well in this amount of space so you may have some behavioral problems that folks with a bigger set up don't have, and the tighter you go towards minimum the more maintenance you're usually going to need to do to compensate for it. Deep litter and deep bedding both work by volume, so as you can imagine it's harder to increase volume of litter in a smaller footprint than a larger one, or to increase ventilation and air volume in a shorter coop.

Personally speaking I'd advocate for a minimum run size of 10x10 even with a small flock, as that gives you room for some clutter, isolation cages if needed, and just extra space to move around in for maintenance.

Also not sure how accurate that rendering is to what you're considering, but if you normally get a good amount of snow you may need to pitch the roof more sharply to get the snow to slide off. I'm not an expert on roof pitches, but something to think about.

Thank you! That was my worry, even if I pick docile varieties.

I won’t be able to get to 10’x10’, but I may be able to get to 8’x10’. I can also decrease to 4 birds. 4 will likely provide enough for our family, 6 would allow us to share more. I’ve planned for 12” of litter in the coop. The ventilation will be trickier. I think I drew a 3/12 pitch on that drawing. I’ve upped it to 4/12 in a future iteration. 4/12 should be more than fine for our area, especially because my FIL has enough leftover metal standing seam panels for our coop roof.

I’ve got a new drawing in progress that includes some of the advice in the minimalist thread. I’ll post it when I’m done.

Thank you! I appreciate the advice!

 

[NagemTX]

I'm planning on running 5 to 6 in a coop/pen that is 9wide by 18long, or 9wide by 12long. That would be coop and run together as it's best to do open air where I live south of Houston.

 

[2ndTink]

You won't regret having extra room, especially if they are staying in the run and coop full time and needing to stay away from bad weather.

Can't help on your second question, I haven't tried deep litter yet but might this year.

I'm glad to see engineering paper put to good use!

 

[BenStrick]

You won't regret having extra room, especially if they are staying in the run and coop full time and needing to stay away from bad weather.

Can't help on your second question, I haven't tried deep litter yet but might this year.

I'm glad to see engineering paper put to good use!

So much easier to draw to scale!

 

[BenStrick]

I'm planning on running 5 to 6 in a coop/pen that is 9wide by 18long, or 9wide by 12long. That would be coop and run together as it's best to do open air where I live south of Houston.

I wish I had that much room!

 

[aart]

Is this really big enough for six birds, considering they will be confined to the run most of the time, especially during our long winters?

Double it.....and plan to add wind/snow blocks to the run walls in winter.
Employ large roof overhangs with open soffit ventilation.

So much easier to draw to scale!

Some don't find it easy at all, but it's definitely the way to go.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Great advice already.

Adding to that....deep bedding is extremely difficult in short coops. A walk in would allow for better management of deep bedding.

Not sure if you can manage it with the roofing you have but a 4x8 is just as easy or even easier to build with minimal waste than a 4x6.

 

[BenStrick]

Double it.....and plan to add wind/snow blocks to the run walls in winter.
Employ large roof overhangs with open soffit ventilation.


Some don't find it easy at all, but it's definitely the way to go.

Definitely planning wind/snow blocks for winter. I was thinking of using greenhouse film

Double it.....and plan to add wind/snow blocks to the run walls in winter.
Employ large roof overhangs with open soffit ventilation.


Some don't find it easy at all, but it's definitely the way to go.

Definitely planning on wind/snow blocks, large overhangs, and soffit vents. I was using greenhouse film or vinyl over the run walls. Space is an issue, so I may need to reduce the number of chickens.