Four Foot/Ten Foot Space per Chicken Questions

[BonnieBlue]

Pardon me if this has been discussed, but a search isn't finding this info.

In the space requirements per chicken, of 4 sq ft coop, 10 sq feet run, that is for birds no matter what the mature size, except for bantams.

Is there any kind of info/study on space requirements per weight of bird? I started wondering, because originally, I was going to get buff opingtons, but ended up getting easter eggers and olive eggers, partially because of the size of the bird. Buffy's are 8 pounds mature hen, but ee's and oe's are 4 to 4.5 pounds per hen. I started wondering why the space requirement of birds, some twice the size of others.

I'll hang up and listen.

 

[mowin]

EEs are considered a large bird. The 4-10 recommendation is a guide line. I prefer bigger.
Where do you live? It will help us help you. Different climates require different types of coops and runs.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Buffy's are 8 pounds mature hen, but ee's and oe's are 4 to 4.5 pounds per hen. I started wondering why the space requirement of birds, some twice the size of others.

Size isn't the only factor, but younger less mature birds (like chicks) can go in smaller spaces.. Pecking order start to really become more established around 3 weeks old. As pecking order sets in (and mating age approaches) so do the larger space *requirement* SUGGESTIONS/guidelines.

Energy/activity level is another consideration as well as individual personality.. Orps are lazy compared to many others (in my experience).. Roosters need more room.

The guidelines are also relative to how much they poop verses how much home keepers clean.. larger birds eat more and poop more.

Commercial operations keep them in smaller confinement.. with clipped beaks.. they don't care if the birds pick one another bald.. they don't account for personalities.

They don't account for weather differences, Broody hens, or other factors like illness or injury.

These are the things that really effect how successful a home keeper can be.

Long term confinement and boredom.. breeds contempt.. there's no way to get a break from one another.

ALL illness and disease propagate faster in crowded conditions.

I know this isn't quite studies.. it's only what I can tell you from personal experience.. even those (4/10) guidelines are NOT adequate (long term).. Bantam birds don't have bantam personalities..

Just a few thoughts.. but there are more.. hope this gives you some ideas.

 

[saysfaa]

...Is there any kind of info/study on space requirements per weight of bird?...

I don't think so because other things are so much more important than pounds of bird. Spice was my smallest by weight but she took up the most space because she was so active and so reactive. These are different things - do you understand the difference?

Different than both active and reactive are leadership styles or skills or confidence levels. Spice did not care much what any of the others did as long as they let her go where she wanted when she wanted; it was ok with her if they were touching her on the roost or at the feed bowl or in the nest or dust bath area. Another lead hen might need the others to be further away from her in any of those places or even if she was just walking around.

Spice might peck if another hen did not give way but she did not chase anyone. Another hen might chase anyone (or only certain hens) who did not give way fast enough or clearly enough. That hen would need more space.

If the flock has a settled pecking order that all are happy with then it will need less space than if there are contentions for rank.

The dimensions of the space can make a lot of difference. Also how the resources (food, water, hiding places, and so on) are laid out.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

The more room I can give them the better I feel. Coop is 100 sq ft and the run is 294 sq ft, reduced from 400 sq ft, providing 11 sq ft in coop and roughly 25 sq ft in run only because we had many more birds in yrs past. Plus we have 6 acres of free range. I take any recommendation and add more. Only because we have the room. The "standard" 4 and 10 is a good bench mark though.

 

[BonnieBlue]

This is all very informative. Thank you. I live in south Louisiana, and a neighborhood they have to stay in the run, cannot free range.

I planned my set up around how many hens (doing layers only) I needed for eggs for my needs. My coop is 16 sq feet, and my run is 56 sq feet. That is for 4 birds. I definitely wanted to not go under the 4 feet, because healthy and happy hens is a goal.

I wish I had more property, for more space, but that was the most I could come up with, so I have to stay at my 4 hen limit. The size difference really got me curoius when I started calculating space requirements Tho.

 

[Jeanw]

I would go as big as you possibly can.

 

[mowin]

This is all very informative. Thank you. I live in south Louisiana, and a neighborhood they have to stay in the run, cannot free range.

I planned my set up around how many hens (doing layers only) I needed for eggs for my needs. My coop is 16 sq feet, and my run is 56 sq feet. That is for 4 birds. I definitely wanted to not go under the 4 feet, because healthy and happy hens is a goal.

I wish I had more property, for more space, but that was the most I could come up with, so I have to stay at my 4 hen limit. The size difference really got me curoius when I started calculating space requirements Tho.

Look into a open air coop and run. Your area would be perfect for that type. You might be able to stretch it out to 5-6 hens depending on how it's configured.

@3KillerBs lives in a similar climate, and could possibly help you out.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is there any kind of info/study on space requirements per weight of bird?

I don't think you will find the kind of study you are looking for. Who is going to pay for that study? The commercial operations pay for studies but those are about how to most efficiently and economically produce commercial chickens. We don't manage ours that way. Our goals are different. I'm not willing to pay for the kind of study you are think abut.
But there is a more fundamental question, what would be the parameters of that study? We keep them in so many different climates for so many different goals, with different flock make-ups, management methods, and feeding regimes that I would not know what to study to make that many of us happy. Some free range a lot, some not at all. Some let them forage for a lot of what they eat, some carefully monitor every bite they eat. Some feed treats, some don't. Some let broody hens raise chicks with the flock, some don't. Some like you can let there chickens in the run every day of the year while further north the chickens may be stuck in the coop section only for weeks.

For some people that 4 and 10 you often see is plenty, it's overkill, more than the absolute minimum you need. For some, it is not enough. You might follow the link in my signature below to see some of the things that I consider important to consider.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

4/10 is a thumb rule based on a lot of collective experience. Like all thumb rules, It provides a starting point, from which you can (and should) adjust based on your own needs, goals, experience. As noted above, with commercial management, commercial lifespans, commercially acceptable losses, and breeds selected (in part) for being docile in confinement) you can get by with less space.

If you have particular environmental conditions, you may need more space - or less. "Open Air" coop designs effectively combine the 4 and the 10, allowing one to get by with less than 14 total, often w/o issues. OTOH, if seasonal weather keeps your birds out of the run portion for lengthy periods, the 4 should likely be increased.

My quote? "Abundance is a social lubricant" Its true of food, its frue of fresh clean water, and its definitely true of space. If you find yourself integrating birds into an existing flock, space DEFINITELY helps.

At peak, I had 85-ish birds on 5 acres (I free range). Some of my birds thought that was confining (but never left my 30 acres). I have two coops, one 8x12, the other 10x16. And a grow out pen (4x12 with an attached 12x12 run). At times, I've felt strongly I didn't have enough space - and the only times I close the doors is for hurricanes. But my birds are selected for predator awareness and skill free ranging (among other traits). Docile, they are not.

Hope that provides some insight.