coops

[ashmomma31]

I will have a total of 20 chickens ( yes I know a lot), I've heard to expect some to die off, plus I have friends/family that want fresh eggs too, so I figured to go with 20 chickens. I was thinking a coop 6x8 would be plenty big enough. But I want some input. Because in the event that some of the chickens do die, I don't want the coop to be to large, but if all the chickens survive then I don't want the coop to be to small. In addition to their coop they will have a run, that will have both dirt and grass, especially in the summer. They most likely wont have access to the run in the winter. I am particularly interested in hearing from other people who live either in Alaska or other cold weather places.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Really no such thing as a coop being "too large." If you're in an extremely cold climate, you need to switch up your numbers... the 4 sq ft per chicken in the coop doesn't work so well during winter when the chickens may not want to go out. In that case you want to calculate 6-8 sq ft per chicken.

A 6x8 coop in a temperate climate would hold 12 chickens.

For 20 chickens, in a very cold climate, you're looking at a 160 sq ft coop.