Give me your advice

[ButtersMama]

Please....

We have 5 chickens from last year (our first chickens). We built a beautiful coop 4 x 4 x 4' high with attached run which is 5 x 4'.

I want to get 2 or 3 more babies

. I know that the chicks would have to be grown before introducing, but I'm concerned about the fall and winter and them all living together. Can I squeeze two more in there?

 

[soffeann1997]

Yes you will be fine.

 

[amillecay]

What exaclty do you mean? do you want to know if they will be old enough by then? or the size of the coop? because both will be fine each chicken needs about 2 square ft and you have plenty so it's all good, good luck!!

 

[soffeann1997]

This is true.

What exaclty do you mean? do you want to know if they will be old enough by then? or the size of the coop? because both will be fine each chicken needs about 2 square ft and you have plenty so it's all good, good luck!!

 

[mcjessen]

Honestly, I'd give them more room. Looking at just floor space, 4x4 is only 16 sq ft and from everything I've read, chickens need 3-4 sq ft per bird, unless they're bantams which you don't specify. Having 5 birds you'd need 15-20 sq ft. Adding two more, ideally, you'd need 28 sq ft. My new rule of thumb for coop space is 4sq ft per bird as I was having some issues with an Australorp even though we had plenty of room for three chickens. That's just me though. Run space should be 10 sq ft per bird unless they're bantams. If your current chickens are doing fine with the amount of space you have now, they may react differently when two more are added. That's just my two cents. I'd give them more room, especially if you're introducing more birds.

 

[soffeann1997]

It's a good idea to give them more room as mcjessen said but I would not say it is nessicary

Honestly, I'd give them more room. Looking at just floor space, 4x4 is only 16 sq ft and from everything I've read, chickens need 3-4 sq ft per bird, unless they're bantams which you don't specify. Having 5 birds you'd need 15-20 sq ft. Adding two more, ideally, you'd need 28 sq ft. My new rule of thumb for coop space is 4sq ft per bird as I was having some issues with an Australorp even though we had plenty of room for three chickens. That's just me though. Run space should be 10 sq ft per bird unless they're bantams. If your current chickens are doing fine with the amount of space you have now, they may react differently when two more are added. That's just my two cents. I'd give them more room, especially if you're introducing more birds.