Coop and run sizing question

[Julieh1968]

Hi all!

I would like to get 3-4 chickens to raise in my backyard. I have a old 6ft tall freestanding wooden cabinet that I would like to use as a base for my coop. The cabinet is VERY sturdy and heavy so I am not too worried about if it will be weather-tight. I do however wonder if it will be big enough for 4 chickens. The dimensions are 6' high x 2' deep and 4' wide. I was planning on cutting a hole in the side of it to which I would build and attach two nest boxes with hinged lid so this would leave the rest of the inside for the roost area.

Additionally, I will build a run area for them which will be 4' wide x 15' long. There is the potential to increase the width of the run by 2' for a total of 6' wide by 15' long. The 4' wide by 15' long area is on a concrete pad. The additional 2' would be grass. I would prefer to keep my chickens on the concrete area alone if it would be big enough.

They will be housed in this set up during the day while I am at work and I plan to let them out to roam in my privacy fenced backyard for at least a couple of hours each evening.

Thanks for taking the time to read. I will appreciate any advice provided.

 

[FirewifeJess]

You will have many differing opinions on this topic, but IMO, yes it's enough if you plan to allow them free-range access several times a week as well. If they were ever to need to be confined to the coop for any reason other than nighttime though, it would be way too small. If you get 4 large fowl birds, that's only 2s/f per bird. The typical "rule" (that I don't know if many follow) is 4s/f per bird in the coop, 10s/f in the run. Mine do perfectly fine with 3s/f per bird in the coop but we're talking larger scale (I have a dozen birds in a 5x7 coop, which they only sleep and lay in). My run is also a temporary holding area for about half the day when I run errands and home school, the rest of the day the birds are in my half acre backyard. As long as there's no need for the birds to be cooped up, they will be great having a secure coop and run that size. HTH!

 

[RWD]

Square foot allotments are misleading, and vary from situation to situation. My 6'x10' coop will easily house 10 chickens 24 hours a day 7 days a week. My coop can be moved daily to new grass, and no manure buildup. The roost area is 4x6 and they only go in to sleep or lay eggs. This coop was designed over several years for a definite purpose, not a piece of furniture that might work. I can carry up to 15 hens in my coop, but I need to move every other day. Permanent structures are ok as coops but require a lot of cleaning and extra space because of boredom, from lack of the ability of the chicken to spend most of its day gathering its own food. And in closing, some people with the worst possible housing can do a great job of raising poultry because the love and care they put into their birds.

 

[hollyhock]

that looks very functional and simple, the best i really like that a lot

Square foot allotments are misleading, and vary from situation to situation. My 6'x10' coop will easily house 10 chickens 24 hours a day 7 days a week. My coop can be moved daily to new grass, and no manure buildup. The roost area is 4x6 and they only go in to sleep or lay eggs. This coop was designed over several years for a definite purpose, not a piece of furniture that might work. I can carry up to 15 hens in my coop, but I need to move every other day. Permanent structures are ok as coops but require a lot of cleaning and extra space because of boredom, from lack of the ability of the chicken to spend most of its day gathering its own food. And in closing, some people with the worst possible housing can do a great job of raising poultry because the love and care they put into their birds.

 

[RWD]

Thanks, simple has always worked best for me. We have sold over 200 of this design, for $650.00 and coninues to be my best seller.