Construction

[jackieml20]

My husband is in the process of building me a coop it will be like a A frame coop once he is finished we had all the material from a old swing set. Is there a certain size we should have we have 8 hens? I was thinking of putting linoleum on the floor as it would be easy to clean after removing the litter any suggestions would be great. Thanks

 

[donrae]

Overall, the more space the better. A basic guideline for minimum space is 4 square feet per bird in teh coop, and 10 square feet per bird in the run. So, 32 feet in the coop, 80 in the run for a guideline.

Things to keep in mind....

If you free range a lot, you don't need as large a coop or run
If you have extended periods of deep snow or other foul weather, a larger coop is better
If you plan to get more birds, make the space larger now. Easier than trying to add on later!