coop size question

Most people reccomend 4 sq feet per hen especially if they have long periods of bad weather where they might be confined for long times. My interpretation of that is long cold winters though, and I suspect you could do with a fair amount less, even if they're in there during storms etc. 10 x 16 or 8 x 20 or some permutation of that (4sq/hen) is darn BIG and I'm just not convince you need it that big. with good roosts, and room for them to move around on various levels, I'll bet you could do with 10x12, or so... that's just my opinion and I'm sure you'll hear lots of opinions here.

In Fla you can make large sections of it very open with really heavy guage hardware cloth for protection from preditors and excellent ventilation, but have panels ready to put up in case of really stormy weather... stress is what causes them to get grumpy and hurt each other in confined spaces.

//edit// they still need REALLY GOOD ventilation even in a hurricane! if they're scared from storms and such, they'll stress and overheat faster. don't go making it air tight!!!

 

Bigger than your house! Okay, maybe not THAT big. I really don't know! Bigger is better so try to make it pretty huge.

 

Let's see....40 hens x 4sq. feet each = 160 sq. feet of living space. So that could look like many different things, such as 12 x 14...or 8 x 20,or 10 x 16...something along those lines. That's actually not THAT huge if you think about it. The run would be another matter...unless they are free rangers...

 

Like I said earlier though, considering the weather where they're at, I doubt if 4 sq feet per hen is necessary. I had less room than that for mine in my first coop, and they managed very well. As long as they aren't locked in excessively... bigger is of course better, and like our houses, too small is more difficult to keep clean etc.

If you have flat land, easy access and room for it, 10x16 or so is darned do-able. Research a good Fla style coop, and then throw a cook out and have a coop raising! (just don't hand out beer while the power tools are in active use or people are up on the roof!)