Coop advice for a new chicken owner

[Alyssavasquez]

Hi! I'm a first time chicken owner and somehow ended up with 20 hens(they are so cute!). We are building our own coop out of scrap wood and a big wood work bench. I am still worried about size. So far just the bench is 8×5ft but we are trying to add onto it and the run is going to be 6ft tall but haven't decided on exact length because we have plenty of space to make it as long as we want. So questions and pics if you have them.
1) How big would you make the coop for 20 hens? 8×10 just for the coop? They will be locked up in it at night and let out in the morning.
2) How long is the minimum run length for 20 hens with the hight being 6ft tall?
Any advice would be appreciated, TIA!

 

[Ted Brown]

Many will chime in...

Rules of thunb are 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, 10 sq ft per bird in the run so 14 sq ft per bird total.

Climate has an impact, cold/snowy locations where the birds do not have access to a covered run will need substantially more space in the coop.

 

[aart]

Rules of thunb are 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, 10 sq ft per bird in the run so 14 sq ft per bird total.

Minimum....coop and run to be calculated separately, usually not combined.

Climate has an impact, cold/snowy locations where the birds do not have access to a covered run will need substantially more space in the coop.

Ditto Dat!^^^

Welcome to BYC! @Alyssavasquez
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[Alyssavasquez]

Minimum....coop and run to be calculated separately, usually not combined.

Ditto Dat!^^^

Welcome to BYC! @Alyssavasquez
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!
View attachment 1722967

Thank you! I added it. I'm in South Carolina so snow rarely ever happens here.

 

[aart]

I'm in South Carolina so snow rarely ever happens here.

You may want extra ventilation your coop...and shade in your run.
3 good links in my signature for beginners to read.

 

[Alaskan]

1) How big would you make the coop for 20 hens? 8×10 just for the coop? They will be locked up in it at night and let out in the morning.

I think that area of the world is both very hot as well as humid? In which case I would build something like this which is a coop and run combination:

And for 20 hens I would make it 400 square feet total, a 10 x 40 would be nice.

2) How long is the minimum run length for 20 hens with the hight being 6ft tall?

Bigger is always better.... but how long you need it depends on how wide it is.

Minimum run is 20x10, so 200 square feet.