Coop size

[Chicks4me8]

I am new to the whole chicken thing. The chickens are actually my daughter's 4H project. She currently has 4 RIR, 2 Egyptian Fayoumis and 2 bantams. Would it be ok to have all of them in one coop that is going to be roughly 4x4 and then have an outside yard that is going to be roughly 4x5? All of the chickens are hens (not sure if that matters or not). They will also be able to free range for a couple of hours a day as long as I am home.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

It is recommended generally to have 4 square feet per chicken in the coop plus 10 square feet per chicken in the run.

The bantams would appreciate larger rather than smaller so they don't end up being pecked on the roost by the RIRs from my experience with LF and bantams.

If you have a lot of cold winter weather, an even larger space is prudent since they spend a lot of time walking around on the inside of the coop. For mild winter weather, the minimal space is OK. Make sure they have shade out in the run too, is my recommendation.

I have Fayoumis too, and they are turning out to be very sweet chickens, low in the peck order. Even my silkies are higher!

Just to give you an idea, I have a 7 x 7 coop. I would comfortably be able to fit 12 huge large fowl in there. Bantams, 25 have fit OK. So it depends on your size of chickens too.

If your flock has grown up together and are just one big happy family, then I would have no problem at all with putting them in a 4 x 4 myself, since we hardly get any snow. Your outside yard would need some enlarging in my opinion, is all. I would try to get them at least a 8 x 10 space, even if they will free range some. I'd try to put a pallet elevated on concrete blocks or some other form of shade in the run too, so they can hide under it and take dust baths.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

BTW Fayoumis aren't accepted by the APA as far as I know...don't know if you knew that or not or if it matters to you for 4 H.

I love them so much!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

This is not written in stone, but the rule of thumb is about 10 sq ft per bird in the outside run and 4 sq ft per regular sized bird in the coop. You can get by with a smaller coop as long as they are basically only roosting and laying in the coop. But I would say your run is too small if they will be there the majority of the day.

I would always advise to build bigger than you think you need if you are able.

Edit: ChickensAreSweet totally beat me to the punch. Forgive the redundancy please.

 

[Chicks4me8]

I will see what I can do to increase the size of the yard. However where the coop/yard is going to be there is not a lot of "wiggle" room. But I am sure I can get something a little bigger made for them. These chicks are literally going to be in my back yard and I am putting them in the "safest" area of my yard (meaning that neighbor kids, dogs, cats, and the like are not able to get at them and harass them).

 

[Chicks4me8]

BTW Fayoumis aren't accepted by the APA as far as I know...don't know if you knew that or not or if it matters to you for 4 H.

I love them so much!

I have read that as well and as for 4H I am not to sure yet either. Either way I think they are the funniest of our older 6 chickens that we have. We just got the bantams today.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I will see what I can do to increase the size of the yard. However where the coop/yard is going to be there is not a lot of "wiggle" room. But I am sure I can get something a little bigger made for them. These chicks are literally going to be in my back yard and I am putting them in the "safest" area of my yard (meaning that neighbor kids, dogs, cats, and the like are not able to get at them and harass them).

Safe is good!

 

[Chicks4me8]

I want them to be happy and healthy but I want them to be safe as well. I will take a second look at my plans and see what I can do.

 

[cknkids]

We're fairly new to chickens and have ours in our yard also. One thing I think really works for us is leaving the house open to the run, we roofed our run and enclosed it in 1/2" hardware cloth so its predator proof. This way once the sun is up they have the whole space and are not limited to just the house. Also our hen house is raised so they get that extra space under it in the run and it's a great place to hang food and water.

 

[Chicks4me8]

I never thought about lifting the coop off the ground for additional space. Time do do some research about how tall I want my coop so I can add some legs to it.