Coop Confusion!

[augustiner05]

Ok guys I am a bit confused! I am gonna do this a bit backwards as I have a coop. I am a first time chicken owners. My father and I built our coop it is 6’ by 10’’ of which 6’ by 3’ or 18 ft is enclosed and will eventually hold roosts and nest boxes, while the other 6’ by 7(42 sq ft) is a run. It is 6 foot + in height.
How many chickens will this hold? I am not sure how much they will make it out of the structure because one of our two dogs is not so fond of our little chicks! I want to ensure my chickens have a nice quality of life, so what is the right amount of birds for my space?

Here is a pic of the coop.

 

[patandchickens]

Indoor space is not really an issue in a banana-tree (or is that a palm?) kind of climate

So I would suggest going more by total square footage, shooting for at least 12-15 sq ft per chicken. As I understand it your total structure is 60 sq ft, so four chickens would be quite reasonable and you might be able to put a couple more in there without too much chance of Bad Things, although remember the fewer chickens in your space the happier they'll be and the easier sanitation will be.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Horizon Structures]

Quote:
I had to grin at this because that is NOT backwards! But we get people calling in the office here fairly frequently asking for a coop because they already got the chickens... ok, fine. Except that it takes a few weeks to get the coop to them and when they hear that they get upset, because they waited too long and their chicks will be too big to be in the house by then!

Anyway... point being, I recommend really planning ahead and getting your coop ready (whether you buy it or build it) WELL in advance. It will probably take longer to finalize than you think!

Thanks for the pic; looks like a neat coop!

 

[augustiner05]

HHHmmmm. Well?! Still not sure what to do. 12 - 15 sq ft is a far cry from what this website states on its home page….. “Rule of thumb is about 2-3 square feet per chicken inside the henhouse and 4-5 sq/ft per chicken in an outside run.”

So if my coop is a total 60 sq ft, is 8 standard chickens out of the question. I do live in Southern California and yes those are banana trees behind the coop……

I guess I am looking for a set in stone number, but it seems to me that everyone has their own ideas, rules or minimums in regards to sq ft per chicken. Maybe I should change my question is 8 standard chickens in 60 sq feet cruel?

Thanks for your input I truly appreciate it!

 

[BWKatz]

4 lg fowl would be in heaven, I wouldn't go more than 6. If ur considering Bantams u could go 8 .

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I have a 6 x 10 dog kennel, and I would DEFINITELY only put 4 large fowl in there.

Bantams, maybe 6.

If they are crowded they will have problems.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Those numbers are one person's opinion, and mine is another person's opinion. GOod luck finding people with the same opinions LOL

The only thing you will find people agreeing on is that more space is always better. How much is a reasonable minimum depends greatly on your situation and your view of animal husbandry issues.

So if my coop is a total 60 sq ft, is 8 standard chickens out of the question.

Certainly not out of the question. Just they will be more crowded, harder to keep clean/nonsmelly/non-fly-ey, and a greater chance of pecking/cannibalism type problems developing. Many people do successfully keep chickens goin' at that stocking density, so if you really want to I see no reason not to try it.

Pat​

 

[BayouPoules]

Quote:
I have to agree,. especially if they will seldom if ever get to get out.

 

[gmendoza]

Quote:
Those numbers are one person's opinion, and mine is another person's opinion. GOod luck finding people with the same opinions LOL

The only thing you will find people agreeing on is that more space is always better. How much is a reasonable minimum depends greatly on your situation and your view of animal husbandry issues.

So if my coop is a total 60 sq ft, is 8 standard chickens out of the question.

Certainly not out of the question. Just they will be more crowded, harder to keep clean/nonsmelly/non-fly-ey, and a greater chance of pecking/cannibalism type problems developing. Many people do successfully keep chickens goin' at that stocking density, so if you really want to I see no reason not to try it.

Pat​

I have a coop that is 8'x8' and a run that is 12'x24' that the coop is in. The coop and run share a roof so there is a free flowing breeseway that the chickens can get into the coop by use of the roof rafters from the run.

I have 15 chickens,two ducks,and 4 guineas with 3 coturnix quail in there on the ground which equal 21 birds minus quail.I HAVE YET TO HAVE ZERO PROBLEMS.

According to the math on this post, I can only have 3 more chickens in there.What a waste of space!!!!
According to the 4-5 sqft math I can have 51 more birds in there. Very crowded!!

I will go with my instincts and my "first explored" adventure and add 15 more birds to prove this math has some severe errors.
288sqft / 36 birds =8.0sqft per bird.

"nothing ventured nothing gained"

 

[Cargo]

It also depends on the temperament of the chickens themselves. If you happen to get ornery hens....
I completely agree with Pat and BWKatz. Pat has a great deal of experience with chickens.
I would suggest getting 4 hens to start and then next year, after you know a bit more about chickens, you can decide if you have space to add more.