Help with coop

[ahuff]

I'm trying to find a simple and small coop for about 13 birds and I'm having a hard time on finding what to build or how big it should be any help thanks

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi, personally i like using garden shed designs. The broadly accepted space requirements are as follows:

4 sq ft per bird inside the coop
10 sq ft per bird in the run
1 ft roosting space (I prefer more)
Ventilation - 1 sq ft per 10 sq ft of coop space (just read that on another thread, but i am not sure of its validity, so check that one out).

These should be considered as minimum space requirements, so build bigger if you can (you will always want more chickens

). More space = happier flock.

Heres an article that you may find interesting

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/aarts-coop-page

Search "coop ventilation" for more info.

All the best

CT

 

[ahuff]

Thank you just finished reading he's deal it's not bad we had a case of chicken math I wanted 6 then my son got six then my wife got six i gave away six thinking of doing it again cuz I can't build that size

 

[Pork Pie]

Chicken maths blights us all - good decision to get rid of some and have a happy flock

Ct

 

[ahuff]

Ya if I had more property I'd have 50 of them lol if I had 8 birds with a 4x4x4 coop with a 8 x4 run do you think that would be ok if keep my 3 Plymouths and 2 black sex links and 3 couchen bantams

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ya if I had more property I'd have 50 of them lol if I had 8 birds with a 4x4x4 coop with a 8 x4 run do you think that would be ok if keep my 3 Plymouths and 2 black sex links and 3 couchen bantams

In my opinion that's not big enough.

I have 8 in a 3x3 coop kit from Tractor Supply and a 6x12 dog kennel we had laying around and it's way too small. Of course the coop sits right in the middle and is partially enclosed on the bottom so the run is kind of cut off but still

The minimum is 4 square feet per bird. Some will say 2 or 3 square feet is fine but that's commercial standards mostly and it really isn't imo. I have heard some say 4 square feet is for Leghorn sized birds and for larger dual purpose breeds it should be more but I think 4 square feet for most chickens is fine.

I am currently in the process of building a new coop and run.

The coop is going to be 4x8, with a 6x8 base for nest boxes and storage. The 4x8 does not include the nest boxes.

If you have a large run or free range you might be able to get away with it but that run is tiny too.

Now you have bantams so could possibly squeeze into that coop but I don't think it would be fair and highly recommend just building a 4x8 coop or rehoming some more. We found a really good plan on here for cheap.

That 4x4 coop is 16 square feet and so could hold 4 chickens, maybe 5 if you wanted to keep just the large fowl or rehome some large fowl and some bantams. Although on another, completely separate note, sometimes the smaller more docile bantam breeds get picked on and bullied, even killed sometimes, because chickens LOVE to push their weight around so it really isn't recommended to keep bantams and LF together. Unless maybe they're feisty breeds and not Silkies or something. You should build a separate coop or rehome some.

The run is 10 square feet per bird.

Our run at 6x12, 72 square feet, is big enough for 7.2 birds. 4x8, 32 square feet, is only big enough for 3.2 birds. No where near big enough or fair. They need room to scratch and dust bathe and do chicken-y things.

Our new run is going to be a hoop coop (made with cattle panels from TSC), a cheap option, and 8x16.

 

[Pork Pie]

I agree with the above sentiments. More space = happier flock, fewer issues and headaches.

Ct

 

[ahuff]

Ok so I have changed my run to 10x15 I'm taking the wood from my run to make my coop to a 4x6with the nest boxes connected From the outside so I can lift the lid to get eggs I'm not good with math figuring out sq ft so please have patients with me but do you feel this is good I'm going to keep just 7 birds I found a older lady hew wants my others

 

[Pork Pie]

Maybe not ideal for the coop space, but it sounds reasonable enough to try. If you come across issues, then just be prepared for a plan B, i.e. get rid of one. To be honest, a lot depends on climate, conditions and breed of chicken.

Good luck

CT

 

[ShrekDawg]

Ok so I have changed my run to 10x15 I'm taking the wood from my run to make my coop to a 4x6with the nest boxes connected From the outside so I can lift the lid to get eggs I'm not good with math figuring out sq ft so please have patients with me but do you feel this is good I'm going to keep just 7 birds I found a older lady hew wants my others

Maybe not ideal for the coop space, but it sounds reasonable enough to try. If you come across issues, then just be prepared for a plan B, i.e. get rid of one. To be honest, a lot depends on climate, conditions and breed of chicken. 

Good luck

CT

Glad to see that you were able to expamd and are going to try that and I agree that it should be reasonable enough to try also, sorry if I came off as a bit mean or harsh before, or inpatient with the math bit, it's just often people get really upset over the square footage thing and fight/argue so I guess I'm prepared for an argument and type it in maybe a more less friendly way so sorry if it came off that way! I think it's great you're willing to try to change it

And if it helps, which I'm not sure if it will?, I can explain how I came to those numbers and everything. Maybe you know some of this but figure I will. Sorry if you don't want me to or anything.

So to get the square footage you multiply length and the width. So for instance, in your original 4x4 example, multiply those (4 and 4) and you get 16, which is the square footage of the coop.

Then, to figure out how many birds you can fit in there, you take 16 and divide it by the number of square feet you want to give each bird, so in this case, 4. So 16 divided by 4 equals 4. So you can fit 4 birds in there. Or maybe it would help to think 4 fits into 16 4 times.

So in your new example of 4 by 6, there are 24 square feet.

4×6=24

24÷4=6


So 6 birds can fit in it.

But you can usually fit one or two more in with enough run and roost space, which you are now providing. Like Ken said, watch their behavior and if you start to notice fights or anything, be prepared to rehome one. 4x6 is good for 6 and 4x8 is good for 8 so you're kind of in between both those numbers so I would just watch them.

And for the run space, the calculations are the same, you just put in different numbers. You want 10 square feet in the run so divide by 10 instead of 4.

Good luck with your chickens and hopefully this was helpful!