Coop size

[Rick589]

Looking for some opinions. I have six 8 month old BO chickens, two cockerels( I know the ratio is bad as I’ve acknowledged in other posts). I built the coop at about 17 sq.ft, not including the nest boxes, to accommodate 5 chickens at most, the hatchery gave us 6. We have an enclosed run and a large fenced in chicken yard for them to roam around in. The coop has two roost, one higher than the other, and all of the chickens use the upper roost leaving enough roosting space for about 3 more chickens. I’d like to rehome one of the cockerels, and culling one of them is out of the question, but as it stands now would anyone see a problem with adding a few more hens given the coop footprint and the unused roosting space.

 

[FrostRanger]

That coop is only large enough for 4, I wouldn't add any more birds to it. For 8 (I assume you meant 6 pullets and 2 cockerels) you want an absolute bare minimum of 32sqft

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Do you have pics? My first dog house turned coop was that size and I had 6 in it, but not for long! And now expanding is just a way of life for me (15.) The dog house actually still makes up a corner of the frame (120 sq ft.) So... Can you expand with minimal construction? Love that you built it yourself. Let us have a peak if you will....

 

[Noraaaaa]

A rule of thumb is that you want about 3-4 square feet per bird. You want to have as much room as you can for the outside space. You said you have 6 birds. (2 male and 4 female). You are selling a male. So you will end up with 5. Your coop should be acceptable for your birds as long as you have a nice outside space. It gives them about 3.4 square feet a bird. It is on the smaller side but should be fine. I like your roost plan! Mine is like that and its awsome! ALSO: I would plan on having 2 nesting boxes! Good luck!!!

 

[Rick589]

Do you have pics? My first dog house turned coop was that size and I had 6 in it, but not for long! And now expanding is just a way of life for me (15.) The dog house actually still makes up a corner of the frame (120 sq ft.) So... Can you expand with minimal construction? Love that you built it yourself. Let us have a peak if you will....

When we started this we built to accommodate no more than 5 in an attempt to resist Chciken math. As stated we ended up with 6 from the hatchery and on top of that we ended up with not one but two boys which we did not want. Anyway, being soft hearted I won’t cull one of the cockerels just because he happens to be male which is why we’re looking to rehome. Of course, as time goes on we’ve become more attached to all of them. So, knowing that the rule of thumb for spacing has us on the tight end yet knowing the chickens all use the same roost with one completely unused at night, and given they are out nearly all day could this coop actually support a few more chickens? Here are a few pics per request, this coop does have three nest boxes, one of which is currently blocked off.

 

[FrostRanger]

When we started this we built to accommodate no more than 5 in an attempt to resist Chciken math. As stated we ended up with 6 from the hatchery and on top of that we ended up with not one but two boys which we did not want. Anyway, being soft hearted I won’t cull one of the cockerels just because he happens to be male which is why we’re looking to rehome. Of course, as time goes on we’ve become more attached to all of them. So, knowing that the rule of thumb for spacing has us on the tight end yet knowing the chickens all use the same roost with one completely unused at night, and given they are out nearly all day could this coop actually support a few more chickens? Here are a few pics per request, this coop does have three nest boxes, one of which is currently blocked off.

No, night time is when squabbles are most likely to occur as birds fight for position on the roost. Plus they need appropriate room to jump off the roost. Doesn't matter that they spend all day outside. Also if you have to keep your birds inside due to severe weather conditions they will need every bit of that coop space. Not to mention integration is when you need proper coop space the most as tensions between the old and new birds will be high. I would expand the coop just for the birds you already have and even more so if you decide to add more birds

As you have learned, chicken math is very real and it's best to build with it in mind. It's hard to give them too much space and too little will just increase the risk of fights and other behavior problems