The Garden Coop fits 8 standard hens quite comfortably. The "up to 8" does not refer to bantams. We have 8 standards in ours, and many others who've built from our plans actually keep a few more with only minor modifications to the space or the position of the ladder or nesting boxes.
Especially if you have an extra outer run to let them into from time to time, 8 works great!
If you look at the space requirements in Barbara Kilarski's
Keep Chickens!, she suggests a minimum of 2 sq. ft. in the henhouse and 4 sq. ft. in the run. With 8 standards, The Garden Coop gives you 1.9+ sq. ft. per bird in the henhouse and 5.9+ per hen in the henhouse. That seems tight on the henhouse, but because it's a fully secure, integrated henhouse/run design, they're never locked into the henhouse portion and can roost wherever they please. This makes a big difference.
In Portland, our hens prefer to roost mostly in the run, except during the coldest weeks/months. I imagine in Texas, your hens will do the same, effectively making the whole thing one (very) big henhouse.
