Coop big enough?

[KLCRollins]

We are not far from you over in Denton.

 

[Jubilee1111]

I have a 4x4x4 open front coop that is a spare/emergency use coop. Seven hens can get comfortable in it but it seems crowded. I think in Summer it would be unbearably hot in there because they don't have room to spread out allow their body heat to dissipate. If given their choice, my chickens will not sleep in there, even in cold and rainy weather.

Almost all the losses I heard of from fellow chicken keepers last Summer were due to the heat. Many of those birds weren't really crowded. That fact has me so worried I am currently building a new coop with interior dimensions of 7' x 10' x 8' tall and open on three sides, enclosed with 1/2 x 1 welded cage wire with lumber on the bottom 18" and for framing/doors. I opted for that over hardware cloth because I feel it's much more durable and the coop is big enough to place roosts away from the perimeter.

Edited to add... my chickens free range on three acres during the day.

 

[AmyLM]

oh wow. You arnt that far from us! Cool, nice to know there other other chicken people around

So what breeds are you going to have?

 

[KLCRollins]

Right now we have 4 americaunas, 5 speckled sussex, and 5 black australorps that are almost one years old. We inherited a dominique from a neighbor about 3 weeks ago. Our most recent additions are 4 red sex links and 4 white wyandottes (about 5 weeks old), 2 buff orpingtons (about 2 weeks old), 1 black chick that I can't remember the breed (about 1 week old), and 2 mystery chicks (about 4 weeks old) that were dyed "Easter chicks". We are a full house right now!!!