Coop size ?

[City Farmer Jim]

I think I'm a little confused about coop size needed for chickens.
It seems all are suggesting that square feet per chicken is needed ...shouldn't it be cubic feet instead? Square feet refers to basically the the foot print of floor space say 4 ft by 8 ft or 32 square feet and not taking into account how tall the coop is which translates into the roosting area. Does the square feet infer that the coop needs to be a minimum height of a given dimension say 4 ft, 6 ft, 8 ft ? Inquiring minds need to understand.

 

[black_cat]

I think I'm a little confused about coop size needed for chickens.
It seems all are suggesting that square feet per chicken is needed ...shouldn't it be cubic feet instead? Square feet refers to basically the the foot print of floor space say 4 ft by 8 ft or 32 square feet and not taking into account how tall the coop is which translates into the roosting area. Does the square feet infer that the coop needs to be a minimum height of a given dimension say 4 ft, 6 ft, 8 ft ? Inquiring minds need to understand.

There aren't as specific rules of thumb with height. Lots of people prefer coops that they can stand up in. The required criteria:
-Enough space for a roost, or multiple roosts. The chickens need to get on and off of them without bumping their heads.
-Ventilation generally needs to be at the top of the coop, and high enough that it won't mess with the chickens' temperature.
-Nesting boxes need to be below the roosts, whether they're internal or external. Otherwise the hens will sleep in them.
Most of the height requirements revolve around the roosts:
There needs to be space to make them significantly higher than the nesting boxes, and have enough space below the ceiling/ventilation that the birds will be able to not bump their heads or get their temperatures messed with while roosting. Hope this helps.

 

[City Farmer Jim]

So my plans of a 4x8x4 should be sufficient for 10 birds, that's about 3.250 square feet per bird ?

 

[black_cat]

So my plans of a 4x8x4 should be sufficient for 10 birds, that's about 3.250 square feet per bird ?

Usually you don't want less than 4 square feet per bird, I think. If the nesting boxes are external, it could be good, but if they are taking up space inside the coop it would not work. I'm wondering if @aart could help you out-she's much more experienced with this than I am.

 

[City Farmer Jim]

Thank you and will give her a shout.

 

[MountainWoman73]

I appreciate the question! It refers to floor area. The coop height isn't specified because people build all sorts of different coop styles. If the whole coop is raised up with the run underneath it, it can be pretty short. Walk-in style coops are tall enough to accommodate a person. The important thing is that the chickens can get up off the ground. You're right that adding a lot of roosts does increase the functional living space, but it's not counted in the square footage. It's still important that your birds have enough floor space even if there is a lot of roost space. They won't spend much time on the roosts during the day anyway.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Good question! I always just assumed the specs only referred to the floor area of a coop because chickens are ground dwelling birds. They are perfectly fine in short cops and runs because they don't utilize the vertical space.

 

[JesseR89]

@black_cat Do they have to be directly above the nesting boxes or just higher then the boxes? I haven’t opened up my boxes yet as mine aren’t laying yet. I kept the roost on one side and the nesting boxes on the other side assuming they’d be pooping a lot off the roosts and figured it was better to limit the amount of poop near the nesting area.

 

[aart]

.shouldn't it be cubic feet instead?

Nope, because it's about 'walking around' room.
Tho height of coop does play a part in ventilation as well as the keepers comfort in tending the birds. Floor space also factors into roost height, they need a place to land when coming off of roost without crashing into something, including other birds.
No magic math here, every situation is different and the 'big picture' should be taken into account.

 

[MountainWoman73]

@black_cat Do they have to be directly above the nesting boxes or just higher then the boxes? I haven’t opened up my boxes yet as mine aren’t laying yet. I kept the roost on one side and the nesting boxes on the other side assuming they’d be pooping a lot off the roosts and figured it was better to limit the amount of poop near the nesting area.

Just higher. The logic being that chickens will often prefer to roost in the highest space available and will choose to sleep in the nest boxes if they are higher than the roosts.