DO YOU THINK MY COOP AND RUN ARE BIG ENOUGH FOR 14 HENS???

[CrayCrayChick]

I got my girls on June 13th as 1 day-old chicks.So they are a little over 4 months now. Me and my dad built this coop and run for them in July. There are 14 in total, and I was just wondering is the coop and run an appropriate size? I'd love to have them free-range, but we have dogs and there are TONS of aerial predators around. the top of the run is covered in wire and banked at the bottom-I close the door at night so they'll be safe. I'm 13 years old, and new to raising hens...I will be getting nest boxes soon! Here's some pictures (sorry if they're a bit blurry)!

And these ARE hens, right? xD I got them from the Agro- Co op, and they just gave me "7 white-egg layers" and "7 brown-egg layers". I really want to know what kind of breed they are, or if they are just, like, mutts xP And I'm definitely no expert on chicken breeds, but after doing a bit of research, I think the 7 brown hens are Isa Browns, and the 7 whites are either White Leghorn or White Plymouth Rock-so if anyone could identify the breeds I'd very much appreciate it! The browns are A LOT friendlier than the whites, even though all of them were treated the same-if that makes a difference. They don't have any feathers on their feet. Again, they are a little over 4 months now. SO YEAH! If anyone could give their opinion on ze coop and run or identify them, you'll receive my undying love.
Haha, just joking. Okay, enough blabbing. Thanks to anyone who answers!!!!!!!!!

 

[sn0wwhite]

Hi and Welcome to BYC!

Your coop and run look really well made and functional, but from the pictures it might be a little small for 14 chickens. Do you know or can you get a tape measure to measure how big it is?

I'm pretty new to keeping chickens too, but I attended a seminar about chicken keeping put on by the local university and they said that white leghorns are a great all purpose bird, but are not usually the nicest pet. They can be not very friendly.

 

[BantamLover21]

Do you know the dimensions of your coop (width, length)? Adult large-fowl laying hens need at least 2 square feet each of indoor space, and (if possible--they'll be happy for anything you can provide) 5 square feet of outside/run space. So, a 28 square foot coop and a 70 square foot run would be ideal. But they can do with less, so don't worry if they don't have quite as much as my calculations.

In answer to your other questions, all of your chickens appear to be pullets. I live in the United States, and am not all that familiar with Canadian chicken breeds, but this is what I think:

White birds: White Leghorn, which is a breed of chicken known for laying large quantities of big white eggs. White Leghorns can be flighty, but their egg production makes up for that disadvantage.

Red birds: Some sort of Red Sex-link (some examples include Red Stars, Isa Browns, Cinnamon Queens, etc.). Red Sex-links are hybrid chickens usually made (it varies depending on the source) by crossing a Rhode Island Red cock with a White Rock or another white breed of chicken. They exhibit a sex-linked character, which means that at hatch-time, the male and female chicks will be different colors. In this case, male RSL chicks are usually yellowish, while the female chicks are more of an orange-red color. RSL's are great layers of large brown eggs, and usually make wonderful, docile pets.

Good luck with your chickens! It sounds like they have a great, secure place to live.

 

[CrayCrayChick]

Thank you so much!

 

[CrayCrayChick]

Yeah you're right, the White Leghorns are not friendly. At all.

 

[BantamLover21]

Yeah you're right, the White Leghorns are not friendly. At all.

Well, they were bred for eggs not as pets, unfortunately. I would just handle them as much as you can, and perhaps they'll get tamer.

 

[ChickenLegs13]

Neat little pen but it's way too small. It appears to be 8x6 or there abouts, a 4 chicken setup at best. With 14 full grown birds it will be standing room only. I like at least 10 sq ft per bird in my pens and even then they still squawk each other and bounce off the walls like idiots.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Neat little pen but it's way too small. It appears to be 8x6 or there abouts, a 4 chicken setup at best. With 14 full grown birds it will be standing room only. I like at least 10 sq ft per bird in my pens and even then they still squawk each other and bounce off the walls like idiots.

X2. Run needs to be larger for 14 birds. It's always better to go larger and avoid potential crowding/stress related aggression issues. Pecking and bullying problems are much easier to prevent then to stop once they get started and overcrowding is a prime cause.

 

[farmgirlroots]

The good thing is that it looks like from your photos it would be pretty simple to expand your run toward the back (toward the blue tarp I see in the background). I agree that with 14 they will need much more outside space to scratch and peck around in if you aren't able to free range. They will be much happier and thus treat each other better if you are able to provide more space for them! My second suggestion would be to add even more rocks and bricks to the base on top of the wire. You need it nice and stacked to be the best deterrent possible to those predators who are good at digging. Nicely built coop!

 

[Mac14]

I think the coop has a good amount of space, but the run is lacking I'm afraid.
The Leghorns are very flighty. I suggest that you don't try to pick them up all the time, that might cause trauma. Instead, offer them treats and don't give them any reason to think that you (or any other person) will harm them.
Also, you could look up poisonous foods for chickens to make sure they won't get sick.
You will learn A LOT from BYC, it's such an amazing place. In the 1 1/2 years I've had chickens, I learned more than I care to mention. Happy posting!

Edit: I suggest 10 square feet per chicken outside, if you possibly can, more. You will soon find out about chicken math. Here is a thread I think would be helpful.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...sh-you-had-known-before-you-got-your-chickens