coop size?

[Picco]

I will be moving in June to the country! I am making the blueprints for my new coop. I would like to house 1,000 chickens but I'm settling for a dozen

. I will have 5 acres but because of dogs I will have to keep them penned up most of the time. any suggestions for fencing? I'd like to make a pretty big yard for them. What would be the recommended dimensions for a coop and yard for:

1 standard americauna
6 standard wyandottes
2 bantam cochins
1 mille fleur
2 silkies

 

[Wes in Tx]

12x4=48 sqft 6x8=48 sqft meets minimum recommended size for coop. My recommendation is a 10x10 coop which would hold 25 birds. 12x10=120 sqft meets minimum recommended size for a run giving each bird 10 sqft ft per bird. I recommend a 50x50 run which gives each bird 250 sqft to run around on. You have enough room and you know you will get more birds later on.

AS for what type wire to use the minimum is 2x4 welded wire but if you build it big like I suggest I would go with the heavy duty 2x4 horse wire. More expensive but will last longer and not as easy to get into.

 

[joanna]

OK, so if I understand this...my 8x4 coop (32 sf) should house 8 birds? but doesn't the run size affect this? if they have a LARGE area (17x15), the coop is really only to sleep in? it's going to be off the ground, so they have shelter there and 2 levels in the coop to protect them from the weather.

I'm not wanting to get 100 birds or anything like that, just wondering really how many birds my set-up can handle if I decide to get more later.

thanks.

 

[George in NH]

I have found that coop upkeep is the most important thing. Keep your coop as clean as possible and provide plenty of outdoor space and your chickens will most likely do fine. Keep the feedrers full and fresh water in the water containers at all times. This means going to the coop morning and night. Always be observant of what is going on in the coop. Spend extra time looking the chcikens over and watch out for problems developing.

A few things I have learned along the way is that if you have chickens with fancy feathers (especially top hats) the others will not be able to resist them. I have found this to be true whether I have 10 chickens in a 10x16 coop or 200 chickens outside running free on several acres.

It is Best to keep all waterfowl out of chicken coop and the run or you'll spend a lot of time cleaning. Not only will the waterfowl make a complete mess of the coop, but they will also make a complete mess of the run. Chickens are much neater with their drinking habits.

Remove all litter and replace with new litter as ofeten as possible or when needed. If you don't want to enter the coop for fear of getting dirty then you've let the mess build up too long. Dust webs from walls and ceilings. Scrape droppings off roost and anywhere else droppings may land. Remove old litter whenever possible and add new. Use a spackle knife to remove droppings from corners and crevices. Keep air circulating.

Anyone can raise more chickens per square footage, in a coop, if they are consistant in their coop maintainence and allow the chickens to be outdoor in a large run.

Dare to break the rules but when you do be prepared to put extra effort into keeping the coop clean. It wasn't too long ago that most of us had never heard (before computers) of the number of chickens per square footage rule and our chickens managed to live the same as they do now.

My only serious problem with keeping chickens (no matter how many and what space kept in) has been letting waterfowl share their living space. I learned the two should be kept seperate when confined.