Coop Size

[BryanBird]

Hey Folks, I'm new to this chicken stuff and am thinking about 200 Reds is where I'd like to start and stay. I need some advise on coop and run size. I'm looking at a coop that's 16' x 10' with sealing height at about 6'. I plan on having approx 72 nesting boxes and about 56' total of roosting area. The outside run is not a big deal, as space is not an issue. Just wanted to ask how large the outside run should be and if anyone thinks that the coop is of good size? Any feedback would be greatly accepted.
Thanks for any help.
Bryan

 

[astatula]

You can not keep 200 chickens in a 160 sq.ft. coop unless you want stressed out diseased chickens for the rest of your life.

Healthy chickens need a minimum of 2.5 sq.ft. per chicken indoors, and that's pressing your luck.

Starting out with 200 chickens is like starting out with a bazooka for your first gun. Try 20 to start, you will end up with 40 after all is done, and that can be overwhelming for a new start.

Make your coop as big as you can and make storage areas within the coop for your supplies and feed, it will save you a lot of time during clean-ups and feed and water changes.

Good luck, but keep it simple to start.

 

[cindyanne1]

I say go ahead and get that 16X20 coop, but I wouldn't start with 200 chickens. I would go with no more than 50, but that's just me.

 

[BryanBird]

Thanks for the info on my idea for the coop being way to small for that amount of birds. I would really like to stay with 200 or so chickens so my next question would be if I make the coop 20' x 26' or so, and my outside run can be as big as it needs to be. Then I guess the next thing I'll get at is if the temperature range stays between 60-85 degrees all year with some wind and rain, how much time will a chicken actually spend in the coop a day? I really don't want to sound dumb about chickens, but it's all really new to me. I think that what I'm trying to accomplish is going to need 200 birds. So if you were going to have 200, what would be your ideal settup as to make for the best chance for success?

 

[Kansaseq]

Outdoor space for birds needs to be 10sq' per bird. You need a BIG run for them, especially if they will spend most of their time out there. Good luck!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
By far your best chance of success would be to start with 50 or fewer. Really truly. Learn about chickens, get the bugs worked out of your system, figure out whether you really WANT 200 chickens after all, learn to handle the problems that arise... THEN scale up.

JMHO,

Pat

 

[astatula]

BB, your best chance at success is to visit or find advice from a nearby commercial poultry producer.

Many of your choices about equipment and flock maintenance are going to be completely different for different areas of the country as well as species of birds specifically for your situation.

You want to find an extremely low maintenance highly productive bird that takes confinement well and delivers product at the least cost per product produced, whether it's meat or eggs.

Determine feed costs, pounds of feed per pounds of meat or per egg and time spent on your part per amount of product sold or harvested.

You are looking for a business perspective on this mostly hobbyist website.

It is difficult to imagine myself making money or a sustainable income on my chickens, they are mostly my refuge from the hustle a bustle of the rest of my life.

Good luck with your endeavors, Ron