Coop Size

[henrycurtis]

I am going to get into the backyard chicken business so I am setting forth to build a coop. I don't have tons of space but could probably do a 4x4, or maybe 4x6 coop with a small outdoor run. I want SMALL chickens (my friend has them), the name of which escapes me. My question is: how many such chickens would I be able to house happily in a small coop like I describe? Thanks for any advice!

 

[teach1rusl]

Bantams...but there are many different breeds of bantams. I believe the rule of thumb is a MINIMUM is 2 sq. ft. per bird in the housing for bantams. However, if I were keeping bantams in a 4 x 4, I wouldn't get more than four birds myself, as they seem much happier with more space, and there are less behavioral issues (bullying/pecking). Same thing in a 4 x 6...I personally wouldn't keep more than six birds.

 

[Lisa202]

I purchased a 6x4 coop with 6 nesting boxes. They say that it's good for 12-15 chickens and I believe they are referring to standard size chickens. I'm getting 10 bantams and feel that my coop will be certainly large enough for them, maybe even a few more. I will also have a 10x6 run for the daytime.
I have been reading so so much about sizes of coops and have seen a lot of different opinions, but I do know that there is a standard, so read some more so that you make an educated decision. Good luck!

 

[elmo]

[email protected] :

They say that it's good for 12-15 chickens

I have yet to see a prebuilt coopmaker that doesn't wildly exaggerate how many birds can fit in their coop. The rule of thumb you'll most often read here is 4 square feet of coop space per bird, plus 10 square feet of run space per bird. I think that's a good minimum to work with.

Personally, I don't give my bantams less space than this because even though bantams are smaller, they are also quite lively and active. They can use the space.

I figure you'll never be sorry to have built your coop too big, but you certainly will be sorry if you find out you built it too small if you end up having to do more work to keep it clean from overcrowding or have to deal with pecking problems.​