Chicken sq. ft questions

[chookchick]

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Well, they may not be the best, but they do serve as a starting point for newbies. I think we can comfortably say, if you are building a tractor with a 4' by 4' enclosed area, and you try to stuff 5 or 6 chickens in there, that you are likely to have problems at some time. And conversely, if you have pecking problems, and that is your situation, you probably would do well to provide them more room. You could also add the caveat that factors such as climate, free-ranging, run size, breed etc...do play in, but I think having a starting point is very useful.

 

[catdaddy66]

I have several sources that state 4 sq. ft. per bird and others say 2 sq. ft. I also heard the argument over floor and roost space combined. What are rest of you guys (and gals) hearing?

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[patandchickens]

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That's the thing, everyone has their own take on it because there IS no one magic number (for a big variety of reasons). I don't think you'll find anyone on BYC advocating much less than 2 sq ft per chicken indoors (plus run or free range), and there are probably a greater number of people on this board advocating 3-4 sq ft per chicken indoors (plus outdoors). But, a lot of people are more in the 5-8 sq ft per chicken range (plus outdoors) and I'm at 10-15 sq ft per chicken (plus ouydoors) myself and am unlikely to ever go lower than that because honest to gosh they really do BEHAVE DIFFERENTLY at lower stocking densities.

Whether floor space matters (as opposed to roost space alone) depends on whether they will ever be staying indoors (by choice or because you've had to shut them in during a hurricane or blizzard or loose dogs roaming the neighborhood)... if you live on Oahu and they live their entire lives outdoors, it probably really IS only roost length that matters

Really, I wish people would focus more on keeping as few chickens in as much space as possible, rather than collecting as *many* in as *little* space as possible

Pat

 

[Ridgerunner]

You've been getting a lot of good discussion here. I'll throw in my opinion on the general topic.

As long as you have enough height for the roosts to be noticably higher than the nest boxes, height does not matter to chickens. They are basically ground dwelling birds, so the ground area is all that really matters space wise. I said, it does not matter to the chickens. It does matter to me if I have to work in there. It matters quite a bit.

If the nest boxes are high enough off the ground that the chickens can easily get under them, then nest boxes do not take away from the space available. The tops of the nesting boxes does not add to the living space either although they may occasionally be up there. Ground level is what counts.

Some of the things that make up the space requirement are, in my opinion:

1. Personal space for the birds. They have different personalities and different individual requirements. Some are very possessive of personal space and some can share.

2. Access to feeder and waterer. More than one at a time needs to get to the feeder especially, but access to the waterer is also important. Part of this is that they seem to like to all eat at once but part of it is that a dominant bird may keep others from eating or drinking, especially with limited access.

3. Being able to put the feeder and waterer where they will not poop in it when they roost.

4. Poop load. The larger area they have the less often you have to actively manage the poop. They poop a lot while on the roost so you may have to give that area special consideration, but mucking out the entire coop can be backbreaking work plus you have to have some place to put all that bedding and poop. In my opinion, totally cleaning out the coop is something that needs to happen as seldom as possible.

5. How often are they able to get out of the coop. The more they are confined to the coop, the larger the personal space needs to be. The normal recommendation on this forum is 4 square feet per full sized chicken with a minimum of 10 square feet of run per bird. This additional requirement outside is sometimes not mentioned. How often they are allowed out of the coop may depend on a lot more than just weather. Your work schedule, when you are able to turn them loose, what time of day you open the pop door to let them out or lock them up at night, all this and more enters into the equation.

6. Do you feed and water in the coop or outside. The more they are outside, the less pressure on the size of the coop.

7. The size of the chicken. Bantams require less room than full sized chickens. This has to be tempered by breed and the individual personalities. Some bantams can be more protective of personal space than others, but this is also true of full sized breeds.

8. The breed of the chicken. Some handle confinement better than others.

9. The number of chickens. As Pat mentioned, the greater the number of chickens, the more personal space they can have if the square foot per chicken stays constant. A greater number also can give more space to position the feeders and waterers properly in relation to the roosts and provide access.

10. What is your flock make-up. A flock with more than one rooster may be more peaceful if it has more space. I don't want to start the argument about number or roosters here as I know more than one rooster can often peacefully coexist with a flock, but I firmly believe more space helps.

11. What is the maximum number of chickens you will have. Consider hatching chicks or bringing in replacements. Look down the road a bit.

I'm sure I am missing several components, but the point I'm trying to make is that we all have different conditions. There is no magic number that suits us all. The 4 square feet in a coop with 10 square feet in the run is a good rule of thumb for a minimum that, most of the time, will keep us out of trouble, but not always. And I can very much see that people need a guideline, especially when they are starting out, especially in a situation where space is at a premium. I do believe that more is better both in the coop and in they run.

Good luck. I think 6 chickens in your 7' x 7' coop with your climate will work out well if they can get to the outside occasionally.

Editted for spelling. Again!!!