Coop and flock size problem

Hi there homestead 101 just my humble opinion but no, I do not think the coop will work for 16. I have to admit I am surprised it works for 11 and you do not have issues with boredom, stress, feather picking etc.

General rule of thumb is that you need 4 square foot of coop space for each bird and 10 square foot of run.

 

The run is fine, but how on earth did you fit enough roosting space for 11 in such a small coop? You should have at least 1 linear foot per bird. Roosting time must be pretty chaotic. And no, that coop is not well ventilated. You are already well over capacity in that coop. I would not add more birds till you have something much larger. Introducing new birds to a flock requires a lot of space.

 

Please don't put more birds in that coop.

 

Ha! I had a similar setup but with a smaller run for a few years. I think I also had 11 hens in mine for a bit and they seemed content. If you're able to keep up with the bedding in the coop and they seem healthy to you, keep going with it. There's no substitute for observation. Though I agree that your coop would benefit from more ventilation. I keep my birds around 2 sq ft per bird in the coop, but have been as low as about 1.7 for periods of a few weeks. Goes to show that there's a range of opinions on that topic.

Could you do 16? Yes, but I don't think it'd last for long. That's almost 50% more poop every night = 50% more bedding work. And the added population pressure will also increase stress and decrease flock health (= less eggs). Then you will probably lose a few hens to various issues. Then you're back to where you started (hens & eggs), or even less. I guess all I'm trying to convey is that if you decide to move forward with 16 hens, have a plan to not stay that way, because it won't stay that way.

Good luck to you! Check back in and let us know how it all came out!

PapaBear