Coop Size

[Turdbird]

Very new to this. I'm thinking of puuting coop on short end of a 6x10 dog kennel. Would a 6ft wide, 4ft deep and 6ft high coop be big enough for 6 to 10 chickens. Thanks

 

[chickens r life]

A general rule is 4 square feet per bird.

 

[Cindy in PA]

The general rule is 4 sq. ft. per bird in the coop & 10 sq. ft. per bird in the run. More is always better.

 

[newjimmy]

if u get snow like me, a bigger coop or sheltered run is nice, my hens wont touch the snow or ice.

 

[chickens r life]

If you are looking to expand, then I'd build the coop a lot larger. Originally, I started off with one 7x6 coop. You'd think that would be plenty. I ended up building 2 more coops because I was expanding my flock so quickly!!

 

[Turdbird]

Thanks I might go 4x8 to start.

 

[mechanic57]

4x8 could be a bit tight for them when they are full grown. They will need room to spread out on the roost in the summer and they may not come out if there's snow on the ground in winter. Crowding leads to them fighting and pecking each other's feathers out.

 

[ShrekDawg]

4x8 could be a bit tight for them when they are full grown. They will need room to spread out on the roost in the summer and they may not come out if there's snow on the ground in winter. Crowding leads to them fighting and pecking each other's feathers out.

This is true too but if you make the roosts go lengthwise the 8 foot way then there should be plenty of room to spread out. Or have 2 roosts.

I have a 3x3 coop kit from TSC for now that we got on sale and it's inside a 6x12 dog kennel. It is now way too small for the 8 but they've been in it since 7 weeks (they're 22 weeks now) so it was fine as chicks but now we need to expand. We just bought the wood today finally to expand. But anyways, my point is there's 2 roosts in there and they all manage to cram in. Obviously it's tight and they do need a lot more space but they only take up about 1 sq foot on the roosts and i have a feeling that even in the new coop they will want to somewhat be near each other for security.

But for mine, because of how tight they have it, 4x8 will be a huge improvement. But I also don't plan on putting anymore than 8 in mine and 8 is the max for that going by the 4 sq ft rule. Mine are also all big birds so may need more room but I'm making them a big run too. Sometimes they get to free range but not very often but I'm hoping once the new coop and run is built they will be able to free range more. But if they only go inside to sleep and lay eggs like mine then 4x8 is fine. Especially if they only get 6. I would not recommend putting 10 or 12 in there. Mine also do go inside in bad weather but haven't lately and have been staying out in rain. The roosts are only a couple inches off the ground and real close to each other so zero floor space almost basically so that could be why, that they don't want to be on the roosts in the day. This week I have been taking the roosts out during the day if they want to go in. They haven't.

Anyways, if they have a very large run, get to free ranfe, or even just have a covered run then they won't be in the coop really much at all and can get away with less actual coop space.

I know some people even would cram 16 into a 4x8 if the free range (2 sq ft rule) but I think that's cruel

 

[Turdbird]

Thanks I'm going to start with a 4x8 and 6 birds.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thanks I'm going to start with a 4x8 and 6 birds.

That sounds like a good plan to start and should be plenty of room! And that way you could maybe add 2 later on or replace if you lost any etc