Help, please--trying to see if I have enough space!

[Dona Worry]

I will potentially have as many as 16 chickens by next week, and I am trying to add up all my various spaces to see if every one will have enough room. There is 2 cockerels, and the pullets are a variety of ages, which in my mind complicates things.
I have: 2 coops-- one is 6x6, the other 4x4.
3 runs, one is an old pool frame that I THINK is 18' across, but haven't measured. I think it is smaller, more like 15 or 16, but the person who gave it to me swears it's 18.
The other runs are 12x12 and a 10x4.
There is also a covered area (ie calf hutch) attached to the round pen that is 4x6, and I will be adding another, either the same size or 5' round this fall.
This is their confined space. I am having a minor fox problem, BUT it is getting dealt with, and once it is, they will free range until winter weather sets in.
Will this be enough space for 16 birds in the winter or when there are predators lurking?

 

[ChickNanny13]

The recommended minimum (read) is 4sq ft in the coop per chicken and 10 sq ft per in the run ... Are they of one flock or are will you be getting the from separate homes?
If they're from separate flocks, are you planning on quarantine the separate birds?

 

[pennyJo1960]

You have not mentioned are they able to see each other from the runs photos help allot buy your hardware cloth from amazon you will need allot also hot wire is recommended
chicken wire will not stop predators

 

[True Patriot]

Without seeing it and just going by the average numbers. You have coop space for 13. Run space 43. That's only based on the dimensions you have given. There are a lot of factors that will affect how they live in any given conditions. But IMHO you need more coop space. You also didn't mention how much roosting space is in the coop. How much room they have to sleep is also a factor.

 

[Dona Worry]

You have not mentioned are they able to see each other from the runs photos help allot buy your hardware cloth from amazon you will need allot also hot wire is recommended
chicken wire will not stop predators

Right now it is a work in progress. Two of the runs haven't even show up yet! Eventually all of the runs will be connected, but with the option to close the connecting doors. Ideally, I will fence my whole yard with a hotwire net, and let the chickens run as 1 flock, but in the winter they will need some space where there is not as much snow and wind.

The recommended minimum (read) is 4sq ft in the coop per chicken and 10 sq ft per in the run ... Are they of one flock or are will you be getting the from separate homes?
If they're from separate flocks, are you planning on quarantine the separate birds?

Right now, I have an established flock of 10 in the 18' round pen, and the 6X6 coop. That flock has the 2 juvenile cockerel, hence the acquisition of the second coop+ pullets to help out my hen to roo ratio.
The 6 new girls are slightly younger than my current flock, but for some reason a lot smaller. They will not be blended for at least a month, during which they will be wormed, checked for mites or other nasties, switched to a higher protein food and hopefully, GROW. They all look healthy, but they are very small, and all should be standard birds.
They won't be TRULY quarantined because I only have so much flat space suitable to keep them, so they will probably only be about 10 feet away from my existing flock, but it is stupid windy at my house, so I don't think they'll share too many germs.

 

[Dona Worry]

Without seeing it and just going by the average numbers. You have coop space for 13. Run space 43. That's only based on the dimensions you have given. There are a lot of factors that will affect how they live in any given conditions. But IMHO you need more coop space. You also didn't mention how much roosting space is in the coop. How much room they have to sleep is also a factor.

I don't understand 'run space 43'. Math was never my strong subject. Do you mean 43 feet? Space for 43 birds? Something else?
As for roosting space, small coop has 2 roosting bars that go down each side, so almost exactly 8 feet there, big coop has 4 rungs of roost, but the birds really only like the top two, so about 10 feet, give or take. If you count in the lower, less desired roosts that goes to 16' of roost in the big coop.

 

[Dona Worry]

This should give a fairly good idea of the round run, and the size of the coop and hutch. The run is currently a triple layer of chicken wire (don't judge, it was an emergency job and the materials were free) but I plan to bury wire along the outside and add some hardware cloth.

 

[True Patriot]

I don't understand 'run space 43'. Math was never my strong subject. Do you mean 43 feet? Space for 43 birds? Something else?
As for roosting space, small coop has 2 roosting bars that go down each side, so almost exactly 8 feet there, big coop has 4 rungs of roost, but the birds really only like the top two, so about 10 feet, give or take. If you count in the lower, less desired roosts that goes to 16' of roost in the big coop.

Not a problem. I wasn't totally clear now that I re-read it. ( Sounded better in my head) Run space for 43 chickens. Your roost space should be ok, as long as some defer to the less desirable locations. Are you planning on keeping them as 2 separate flocks. If together they may all try to squeeze into one coop or the other.

 

[True Patriot]

This should give a fairly good idea of the round run, and the size of the coop and hutch. The run is currently a triple layer of chicken wire (don't judge, it was an emergency job and the materials were free) but I plan to bury wire along the outside and add some hardware cloth. View attachment 1480202 View attachment 1480217
View attachment 1480220

I remember your post. It looks like you did a nice job with the pool frame. Considering that it was a rush job it came out fine. As you can, keep reinforcing. The chicken wire will only last so long, and won't do much for a determined predator. Over all I like the idea

 

[lazy gardener]

The big issue I see is that chickens are flock animals. If they bond together as a flock, they are all going to want to sleep together in the same space as a flock. Wishing you the best with your predator management.