coop dimensions question????

[chickenchok]

I read in the FAQ section this quote "Inside a minimum of 2 square feet of floor space. Outside, a minimum of 10
square feet in the run per bird (some say 4 sq. ft., but that's only 2x2,
and I personally think that's restrictive)."

We're building our coop this weekend so I need to get this nailed down. I have read everywhere else that the requirements were 4sf/ chicken. But it never defines whether it's indoor or outdoor space. Is the above quote accurate? If so, we can scale back our coop and save some $$!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Please help!

Our chicks are growing VERY quickly!

 

[Nemo]

A minimum of four sqft in the coop and ten in the run.

 

[Alaskan]

don't scale back, bigger is always better

 

[patandchickens]

Build it as big as you can stand, you will not regret it and neither will your chickens.

Personally my chickens have like 8-15 sq ft INDOORS plus more than that outdoors, and I am really uncomfortable with how they act when there's less. At the very least I'd advocate going with what most people here consider appropriate, i.e. 4 sq ft per hen indoors PLUS 6-10 sq ft per hen outdoors.

Bigger is ALWAYS better. Especially when you realize next year you want more chickens <g>

Have fun,

Pat

 

[cmom]

Bigger is better. I'm making plans right now to build a larger permanent coop. The one I have now is about 8' x 8'. that is built on skids so I can move it around. My run has wheels on to so that it can be moved. Also I move their range area, as I fence in an area for my birds. When I did let them truly free range they demolished my gardens.

 

[chickenchok]

Thank you for your input so far. How do they act if they have restricted space indoors? I'm very new to this adventure with my first 7 chicks still in the brooder (they're about 1 1/2 weeks old) and we're totally in love with them already.

 

[Alaskan]

feather plucking, cannibalism, disease

 

[amysue2012]

If you love them now just wait...as purple chicken says they are evil...they draw you in. You have seven now just wait in a year it will double, triple, or ?

Go as big as you can you wont regret it.

I've built two new coops this year for my specialty chickens so they dont cross breed.

Good Luck...

 

[LocoPollo]

I built a little 4 x 6 a couple of months ago and now i am overrun with chickens lol. Needless to say I am looking at an 10 x 12 for my fall project lol.