Coop Space questions

[countrygirl911]

I have and 8ft by 10 ft coop with a 16ft by 16ft run And 2 7 foot roosts in the air that is 16 inches away from the wall held up by three boards comming from the wall pluse 2 5 foot roosts that are closer to the ground. how many chickens can i fit in that area. some say 3 square feet per bird some say 4square feet per bird also some say 2 square feet per bird. i have 17 already in the coop i have 12 more i need to home and i am about 4 weeks away from getting another coop. because the next 4 weeks are going to be very busy

 

[countrygirl911]

forgot to mention that 2 of the chickens in there now are bantams

 

[DanEP]

8x10 is enough room for 20 chickens but will be pretty small for 29. You might be ok for a couple of weeks but watch out for pecking while in the coop.The run should be ok so I'd let them out as early as possible to to give them room.

Good luck Dan

 

[countrygirl911]

i was thinking of putting 6 to 8 in there and trying to give the others to my cousin

 

[Genetic Rooster]

is there a standard figure for calculating how much space each chicken needs? does that number change for roosters? if they are kept separately ?

 

[YYZ]

Great advice all. Sounds like an ideal coop !

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quote:
Depends. Formulas are nice, but reality is sometimes harder. If they have to spend weeks cooped up in the winter, they need 8 sq ft per bird. The 4 square foot "rule" doesn't match reality when they get bored by winter weather. Just sayin'.

 

[justafew4me]

I have a question along the same lines. I have very limited space in my side yard. Is a run 3'W X8-9' L (by 30" H) big enough for 2-3 hens? I have had chickens years ago when I lived in the country where space was not a problem, but keeping chickens in the city is new for me. I have my name on 3 sex-link pullets that should come in @ mid-May. I had thought to build a run with a house over one end. I am thinking to put them in my small side yard where my potting bench is as it has a wooden fence separating it from both the front and back yards, and I could occaisionally let them out in that space. Plus they'd be safe from my JRT's in the backyard and not visible from the front yard.

 

[countrygirl911]

my cousin has decided that she would take them at least 8 of the 12 so that would put it 21 in the coop will this be ok?

 

[goobhen]

Good evening! I have had chickens now for 2 years. I joined BYC when I was researching chicken coops. I had great intentions, I bought 25 chicks and found a friend to give my extras. I was given six chicks from a fellow BYC. I ended up with 23 chickens. The advice given here is correct. I got rid of 2 roos, nature took care of a few. I had some pass away when they started laying. A varmit got 6...... I am giving away 1 roo & 4 hens. I am getting rid of 2 more roos. I will have only one roo at a time, and no more than 15 hens. My coop size is 12 x 8. 4' is the human section, the actual coop is 8 x 8. I have 6 nesting boxes (I should have had a minimum of 8 when I had all my hens), I also have a roost built to the specifications that I got from a Gail Damrow book. They did okay first winter, I heated the coop. I do not heat in my coop any longer. Second most important thing to having the right amount of birds for the size of your coop, is ventilation, made all the difference this year. I put a window in the loft & left it open all winter. Not one bird had frost bite this year! Last year, Sheldon, my roo, had half his comb blackened from frostbite.
My run is a total of 672 feet. It is a good size for all my birds, but not having too many in the coop is one of the most important things to consider for your birds. Pecking was not too much of a problem for me, but the over health of my birds improved with the down-sizing of my flock. They have better living conditions, the coop stays cleaner. The hens just seem to be more content. I wish I had realized this 2 years ago! Enjoy your chickens! Theresa

I am thinking my actual coop size is a tad larger than the 8x8 figure that my DH said it is though.........