coop size question

[Lee110]

hello,
I do not have chicken yet, but I would like to start off with 6 chickens in the spring. I have a lot of land.
I have a question regarding coop. What is the proper size for the internal portion (NOT the run portion) of the chicken coup? Is it 3 to 4 sq ft per chicken or 1.5 to 2 sq ft per chicken? Or a different size?
Thanks for any help.
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[Chicken girl 15]

Depends on who answers. Me? I go with 2 per for summer and 6 per for winter. However I'm in New York and we have cold crappy winters. The more outside time they spend the less inside space they need.

 

[Lee110]

Thanks for getting back to me. I live in NJ, so should I build a coop 6 sq ft per chicken; 36 sq feet for 6 chickens?
thanks
lee

 

[jonnygiant]

I'm in NJ as well. Im getting chickens for the first time and planning on keeping 12. I went with the 4sq rule for coop size. So my coop is 4 x 10 alittle shy on sq ft but it works nice with plywood. Then I'm planning on doing about an 8 X 10 run. Good luck.

 

[ejcrist]

I'm new at this too and I went with an 8x8 coop and a 8x24 run attached for 25 birds. I know the coop is a little tight for the barred rocks and leghorns I have but our summers are awfully warm so I'm thinking any bird with half a brain, even half of a small bird brain, would likely stay out in the run most of the year. And, in a worse case scenario, if we're too tight on space we'll just eat a couple until we get to where we need to be. But I've heard all sorts of rules of thumb, and I'd think in NJ where winters can be pretty nippy your birds would probably sleep close so I'm guessing you could probably get by ok with even a small coop. I'd think if they need some space they'd just hang out in the run during the day because from everything I've read chickens aren't too bothered by the cold but the heat can cause problems.