- Thread starter
- #22
Chicken_Ninja
In the Brooder
I must say that I'm really surprised by how helpful you guys are here... Of all the research I have been doing so far (2 months now), this thread have changed how I thought things will do fine. Except for converting from/to the metric system, this is so helpfulWait...I just went back and re-read your intro. 20-30 chickens? Do you realize you need a minimum of 120 SF of floor space in your coop for 30 chickens? That doesn't include nesting boxes, and you'll need about 5 of those. Then you'll need at least 30 feet of roosting bars. I've never seen a raised coop that big before, but I'm sure it can be done. Then, in the run, you need a minimum of 300 SF of space, and I think that will be too small to avoid problems. I go the opposite way and give my chickens 4000 SF of safe free range space during the day, which will be open to them during the day even when the new coop and run are finished. You'll need to think about obstacles, perches and ways to entertain chickens. Make sure you have 3-5 feeding stations. I have 5 or more for my 12 chickens. Depending on the season and what is happening with them, I may add but never less than 5.
Again, I didn't start here. I learned the hard way...kind of like what you want to do.
@DobieLover yes I am dropping the raised coop idea but I still think it would have looked much cooler
My planned coop area was around 96 SF, maybe I will keep that and have 25 instead of 30 chickens.. The run will be meshed from all sides (including the ground as we have mongooses that can dig from below). During a sunny day the chicken can have a much wider area to roam (around 10,000 SF) but that depends on my mom's willingness and patience to keep an eye on them
I'm sure I will have tons of questions to come as, no, I do not want to learn the hard way, appreciate you sharing your experience and knowledge