Do I have enough room?

[Stedman]

I plan on having five chickens . I'm going to be building my own coop and run it will be a stationary one with the coop is 4 x 4 in the run is 10 x 5 they will be spending most of their time in these two is this enough room for them

 

[3riverschick]

I plan on having five chickens . I'm going to be building my own coop and run it will be a stationary one with the coop is 4 x 4 in the run is 10 x 5 they will be spending most of their time in these two is this enough room for them

Hi,
Can you build the coop 4x5 instead? That would give the birds a full 4 sq. ft. per bird instead of 3. They can do fine with 3 sq. ft. per bird, if that's what you have. 4 sq. ft. per bird is nice if hey are going to be cooped a lot during the winter. The run dimensions are just fine. 10 sq. ft. per bird. Do yourself a favor tho. Make 2x4 wood ,chicken wire covered panels 5 ft. wide by 6 ft. high with a horizontal stabilizing 2x4 bar across 3 ft. up. Carriage bolt them together and add a door in one of the panels. Put several cross 2x4's across the top ad add chicken wire. There's nothing like a yard you are able to stand up in to enjoy your chickens. It's much better than crawling on your knees thru poop to catch a bird. I made my run this way and it lasted for years thru all kinds of bitter and nasty weather. It took a direct hit from a 70 ft. pine tree to smash it flat,.
Best,
Karen

 

[BruceAZ]

I plan on having five chickens . I'm going to be building my own coop and run it will be a stationary one with the coop is 4 x 4 in the run is 10 x 5 they will be spending most of their time in these two is this enough room for them

you have the same flock size as me

your coop and run is a bit bigger than mine though

coop 3'x4'
run 4'x8'

they are outside in the run most of the time so the small coop was not a problem at all-- since they only use the coop to sleep and laying eggs..

now they are free ranging all day

but if you live in an area with a lot of rain and the chickens are inside the coop all day.. then having a bigger coop is ideal though

 

[Stedman]

The run will have a roof on it so most of the rain and snow will stay out of it

 

[aart]

Even 4x5 would be bare minimum......go bigger....need room for feed and water.
What is your climate/location?

 

[3riverschick]

Even 4x5 would be bare minimum......go bigger....need room for feed and water.
What is your climate/location?

Makes me nuts when folk don't explain their climate as it has so much to do with how we build.
Best,
Karen

 

[Stedman]

I am in Massachusetts