first night out question

[hbchicknmama]

There are no chickens in there yet. It's still in a box How many do you think are ok to live in there? The actual measurements for the entire coop, including the run are 80x27.6x52.4"high.

 

[junebuggena]

You need a minimum of 2 square feet per standard, production type bird inside the coop. More if you have larger breeds like Orpingtons or Rocks, less if you have bantams. That does not include nest boxes. A run should be about 4 square feet per bird.

 

[junebuggena]

Do those measurements include nesting boxes? I know in my coop that adds another 20"x 14" in space to the 24x23" "living area".

Your coop is suitable for two adult bantams.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

You need a minimum of 2 square feet per standard, production type bird inside the coop. More if you have larger breeds like Orpingtons or Rocks, less if you have bantams. That does not include nest boxes. A run should be about 4 square feet per bird.

Those figures are off - those are the figures used by manufacturers of pre-fab coops which *barely* afford more space per bird than the battery houses do and they are woefully misleading as to the space that a bird needs. Sure, a bird can survive in the sort of space you are suggesting, but to have your animal merely survive should not be the goal of any responsible animal owner.

 

[junebuggena]

That's why I said minimum. And honestly, who gets pet chickens to keep in their backyard to only do the bare minimum. The coop in question doesn't even come close to meeting space requirements.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

That's why I said minimum. And honestly, who gets pet chickens to keep in their backyard to only do the bare minimum. The coop in question doesn't even come close to meeting space requirements.

You are missing my point - those figures are not a reasonable minimum amount of of space to offer birds. And the problem with those figures being perpetuated is that plenty of people DO get birds under the misguided notion about how much space they need (courtesy of those ridiculous little prefab setups that tell you you can "comfortably cram 6 birds in here with no problem") - they don't do so with the intent of doing the bare minimum, they *think* they are doing the right thing because that is what they have been told by what they feel should be a reliable source.

 

[junebuggena]

And they make a fortune off of it. People need to keep in mind, that on bad weather days, those birds will be crammed in those tiny coops all day. Why they can't sell a decent sized coop at an affordable price is beyond me. Go to Home Depot, pick up a 5 by 5 shed, put it together, cut out some vents and cover them with hardware cloth. No more space problem and it still looks nice.

 

[Lady Who]

Thank you for the advise, they are doing fine this morning.

Junbug, I know it's small, really I do.. A few months ago I thought I was getting. 3 chickens but things happened and I got 6. We are works on getten them a bigger coop but I just can't keep them in a brooder until that happans.

 

[junebuggena]

The point was, even for three bantams that coop is a bit too small.