Help!! Can I fit more hens in my coop/run???

[Kmath]

One roost on the back wall above nesting boxes . One on the left side wall 4 feet long and one on the right hand side. 3 feet long. And they have lots of room. My coop is 5 feet tall there is 3 different levels of roosts. They also spend zero time inside unless they sleep.

 

[Kmath]

The reason for quarantining the new comers is to prevent disease transmission more than to prevent fighting. A chicken is  a prey animal and will hide illness as long as possible. In the quarantining process you would have time to observe and treat (if treatable) the diseases they may have come in contact with without having your birds exposed.
By not quarantining you are putting your birds at risk.

I would suggest if you are still planning to get the birds and not quarantine that you at least treat them for lice and mites BEFORE they touch the ground at your home.

I do not see how you have so many roosts in the coop and could still add more. How on earth do they get up and down.
I would not try to squeeze them in that small of a space. Overcrowding leads to many illnesses and behavioral issues that can be very difficult to cure or break.

They jump....?

 

[21hens-incharge]

I was meaning what clearance do they have for their wings when jumping. It sounds very crowded in there.

 

[Kmath]

I was meaning what clearance do they have for their wings when jumping. It sounds very crowded in there.

Not crowded even in the least. When I check on them at night they are cuddled in pairs no where near each other. Not hard for the chicken to jump up 3 feet.

 

[Kmath]

the top row is now a roost cause that's what they used it for and we put a roost like the one of the left on the right hand side as high as the nesting box level. I also learned they don't always like to be above nesting boxes. 2 of my hens always sleep in the left roost.

 

[KittyKat3756]

Quote:Your proposed run size is smaller than people here have recommended.
There was a recommendation earlier for 10² ft per hen. I personally consider that to be too small for the long term. In UK, the recommendation it is often 21² ft (roughly 2² metres) per hen. The legal requirement in UK is actually 43² ft per hen for free range hens.
You are planning to have 8² ft per hen in your run, which is too small according to all of those recommendations.
Your hens currently have 10² ft of run space. If you add another 6 hens, they will have 5² ft of run space. Half of the minimum that they should have. From your photo, it looks like you have brown egg laying hybrids which are quite vicious in general. If you crowd more hens in, they are likely to start eating feathers. Also it looks like one of your hens has diarrhoea.

 

[JadedPhoenix]

I was going to try to get away without quarantining them. My breed is very docile and non aggressive and the new chickens are the same breed as well. We are building a bigger coop in 2 months. A 12x12 inside with a a 12x20 run for 30 chickens. So this is just temporarily. I have. 3 nesting boxes . 2 they use. One 4 foot roost, a 3 foot roost, 2 foot roost inside. Was going to build another 4 and 3 foot roost inside. Can I squeeze them in for 2 months?

No, this is not something that will work for your new or old chickens. WAY too little space and dangerous without quarantine of any kind. Pass on getting new chickens until you can adequately care for them.

 

[Kmath]

Quote:Your proposed run size is smaller than people here have recommended.
There was a recommendation earlier for 10² ft per hen. I personally consider that to be too small for the long term. In UK, the recommendation it is often 21² ft (roughly 2² metres) per hen. The legal requirement in UK is actually 43² ft per hen for free range hens.
You are planning to have 8² ft per hen in your run, which is too small according to all of those recommendations.
Your hens currently have 10² ft of run space. If you add another 6 hens, they will have 5² ft of run space. Half of the minimum that they should have. From your photo, it looks like you have brown egg laying hybrids which are quite vicious in general. If you crowd more hens in, they are likely to start eating feathers. Also it looks like one of your hens has diarrhoea.

I don't live in the UK. I was talking about very short term, 2 months. And actually golden comets are very friendly. I added 2 to this flock earlier and it was like they were family from day one. Not an aggressive breed at all. 21sq feet per chicken is ridiculous. And once again I don't live in the UK. I believe you missed the whole point of my question but thank you

 

[Kmath]

Please don't a

No, this is not something that will work for your new or old chickens.  WAY too little space and dangerous without quarantine of any kind.  Pass on getting new chickens until you can adequately care for them.

please don't assume I do not take care of my chickens. The reason I asked was because my breed came available and they never do here and wanted to grab them. We already have all out material for the larger coop. And it works fine with my old chickens thank you.

 

[KittyKat3756]

I don't live in the UK. I was talking about very short term, 2 months. And actually golden comets are very friendly. I added 2 to this flock earlier and it was like they were family from day one. Not an aggressive breed at all. 21sq feet per chicken is ridiculous. And once again I don't live in the UK. I believe you missed the whole point of my question but thank you

The point was to demonstrate that you are planning to put chickens not only into an area which is considered too small by members of this community, but also by law in a country which, while being relatively progressive about animal welfare, is relatively backwards about chicken welfare. It is kinda irresponsible to aim for the bare minimum that the animals need to survive when there are many people telling you here (I think a fair few from personal experience) that it is not good enough.

Chicken behaviour more often than not changes drastically when hens are overcrowded. If you do not believe us, then read some of the posts on the forums… there have been a couple just in the last few days where people have left their chickens locked up in a run which was too small and came home to find them with bald patches.

I understood your question to be about whether you can add 6 more hens to your setup for 2 months with a plan to move them to larger run with an additional 18 chickens. If this is not what you were asking, then I think we may all be somewhat confused!