head exploding: will my trailer coop be too small?

[TeamChaos]

So, I'm rehabbing an old beeline trailer- my conservative estimate is 10 foot long by 6 foot wide. I have 26 chickens that will be moving into it and now I'm hearing from all directions that it's "too small". Is this the case? I swear, I had no idea I had so many chicken experts in my family until I started building a coop and run- turns out that I'm doing everything wrong!

 

[KenLamWV]

I'm new also but from what I have heard and read, a full grown chicken needs roughly 4 square feet of space per bird. A 10x6 only gives 60sqft and your 26 birds need over 100 sqft and this is not including the run if you have one. I only have 16 birds and my coop is 10x8 with a 16 foot run outside for starters. Good Luck.

 

[Acre of Blessings]

My birds are only in the coop in the night and all of them don't go in then to roost because we have trees positioned in different ways and some of them root there at night. Here is a pic if you can see the trees

Also our coop is like 16x 12 or 14 and is 8 feet tall. We have 26 hens and 2 roos. We have 2 16x32 runs attatched to the coop and the chickens have fenced in access to 1/2 acre that we made for them. Here is a pic of the large coop

Remember that chickens only sleep in the coop and only one or two go in at a time to lay.....so you use what you can use and can afford.

 

[teach1rusl]

You'll get different opinions (even from the "experts") because a lot depends on where you live. Folks who live in year-round warm weather areas can get by with less space per bird in the coop because literally the birds are NEVER in the coop except to sleep and to go in to lay eggs.
But for folks who actually get winters, it's recommended that you give a minimum of 4 sq. feet per large fowl chicken/2 sq. feet for bantam breeds inside the coop. This is because many chickens either can't or won't go outside in snow or really cold weather (especially if it's cold and windy)...hence the term "cooped up." Overcrowding in these situations often result in lots of feather pecking and bullying behavior. Imagine you and a bunch of your family stuck in a motel room together for weeks at a time...lol. By day three you'd want to chew one anothers' heads off.
Keeping a coop clean and sanitary is also much easier to manage when there is no overcrowding issues. Personally, I would not have more than 15 chickens in a coop that size if they are standard sized birds unless you live in certain parts of CA, FL, AZ or similar places. With 26 birds, that's a LOT of roost space too to fit into that space....@26 linear feet???

 

[Kiwibird]

Where are your chickens housed now, and how much bigger is this trailer than that space? Could some of them remain where they are at present, giving enough total area? Is there room to make a mezzanine floor in part of the trailer, effectively increasing the living space for chickens within it? Would attaching a lean-to addition be easy and practical?

Other thoughts are that some varieties need more space than others, and that climate and the amount of the year spent indoors play a part in deciding how much indoor space chickens really need.

The problems caused by overcrowding can sometimes be addressed in other ways. Lower light levels and different feeding regimes decrease bullying between chickens. Hygienic feed and water dispenser options reduce the risk of disease. Good ventilation reduces the risk of overheating.

Take real measurements in case they are bigger than your "conservative estimate" as well. You will feel more optimistic if you discover that you have more space than you thought.

I'm sure your trailer will be wonderful, whether it becomes part or all of the final solution!

 

[Backyard_Chicken_rancher]

I belive it is 4 sq ft inside 10 sq ft outside But don't quote me on it now mind you my run is 6 wide and 12 feet long and they love it they are outside most of the day unless it is windy or rainy they eat drink and run around out there and are very happy I now have 12 but will be smaller if I have to many roos (not old enough to know yet) now my coop is 16 x 8 x 8 and they seem to enjoy scratching around and playing in there on windy rainy days so go with what you got and do want you want. As for the "experts" in the family do as I do tell them I get my advice from my chickens not you....and yes they do give me advice. ( they do they will tell you if it is to small by plucking each other or fighting more then what is the norm, not laying right or at all, attacking you when you open the door (trying to get out as fast as possible) crowding at the pop door things like that is advice to you) Yep that will shut them up

 

[TeamChaos]

Thank you all for your quick and well-informed answers! teach1rusl- that hotel room analogy is perfect, after one afternoon in that trailer with several family members stopping by to 'inspect' it, I was ready to fly the coop!

So, without getting overly complicated, let me add some details- the roosts are raised off the floor: the first runs the length of what used to be the couch, probably 4 to 5 ft long; the second runs where the old table and bench seats used to be, 5 ft (?) and up above that area is the old pull out bunk bed that will also have a 5 ft roost.. so in addition to the floor space, I plan on building *up* so that there are more levels and better use of the height.

I'm in Wisconsin and one of the pluses of rehabbing this coop instead of building one from scratch is that it's well insulated for the winter months.

The chickens will have a run, two actually- a secure run that will be about 12 by 6 and then a daytime run (for when we're out in the yard too) that has yet to be determined... all of this with hopes of letting them free range once they are experienced chickens and I'm an experienced keeper.

 

[TeamChaos]

These photos were taken BEFORE I gutted it and started cleaning... just for the record

 

[HennyJenny]

That's a pretty collectible little trailer - are you sure you can't sell it and do yourself some favors? People are snatching those little vintage trailers up like crazy - and the wood in that one is in pretty awesome condition from your pictures.

 

[ChixMama]

You could pull the trailer into an RV park & sell the eggs!!

Have eggs, will travel!