How big should a coop be for 5 chickens for a backyard, no I don’t have a farm or 5acres for a backyard

[Percheron chick]

With limited space and living in OK, build a combo set up. You don't need a separate coop and run. Build a roofed structure with 2 or 3 walls with the front open to the "run". Place roosts and nesting boxes in the walled off area. If you roof the entire structure, it will be predator proof and eliminate the need to lock them up at night, keep things dry in the rainy season and help keep them comfortable and laying in the summer.

 

[Mr Pilo]

With limited space and living in OK, build a combo set up. You don't need a separate coop and run. Build a roofed structure with 2 or 3 walls with the front open to the "run". Place roosts and nesting boxes in the walled off area. If you roof the entire structure, it will be predator proof and eliminate the need to lock them up at night, keep things dry in the rainy season and help keep them comfortable and laying in the summer.

An open coop, I thought about that but what about in the winter when we get windy cold days? Or even like we had a few weeks ago?

 

[Mr Pilo]

An open coop, I thought about that but what about in the winter when we get windy cold days? Or even like we had a few weeks ago?

What you think something like this, coop 6x5ft and run 8-10ft x 5ft, elevated coop

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

What you think something like this, coop 6x5ft and run 8-10ft x 5ft, elevated coop

As long as you BUILD it (or have it built for you,) the coop would probably be fine. But PLEASE don't buy a pre-fab coop. They NEVER have enough ventilation, are generally too small for the number of birds they SAY they hold, and they are made from cheap materials and rarely if ever last more than a season or 2 if out in the elements. 8x5 run is too small, IMO.

Looking at that coop again, it also is likely too small. UNLESS they are NOT counting the width of the nest boxes in their measurment.

 

[21hens-incharge]

What you think something like this, coop 6x5ft and run 8-10ft x 5ft, elevated coop

I think they are counting the nest boxes in the measurements. Nest boxes should not be counted as usable floor space.

 

[Percheron chick]

I had -11 temps last week with a high of 9. Not even close to normal in CO. I have a batch of 4 month old pullets in a 3 sided loafing shed with only dog houses for protection. They barely noticed it. Once you get them outside off of heat, they are capable of withstanding some crazy temps.
Airflow will be non-existent in that coop and your girls will more than likely quit using the coop in the summer. It will get over 100* in there. A roofed structure will keep them dry and putting up solid walls to the prevailing winds is all the protection they want. That run with a sloped roof and no coop would be my starting point.

 

[Percheron chick]

This would be a killer set up. It's a BYC article from 2017.

 

[cmom]

 

[cmom]

It appears the wire is 2x4 welded wire with chicken wire wrapped around the bottom half. Depending on what predators you have it is probably ok. It also appears that the patrician in the middle also has the same welded wire. I would probably use chicken wire because if you were to have a male in both sides of the one in the picture, surely the males would be fighting through the welded wire. That is why I have chicken wire too. I have had males fight so I put the chicken wire up and it's only up to separate the two sides. I put the welded wire up because every few years I had to replace the chicken wire so the birds will have some separation.

My suggestion would be to build bigger than you think you need and you won't regret it. If you haven't yet, check out the BYC coops and it may give you some ideas. Good luck and have fun...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/categories/chicken-coops.12/

 

[rosemarythyme]

It will be elevated and I meant 8-10ft x 5ft. Thanks for the info

If you have the room to go wider, I'd aim for at least 6' wide, the reason being low ranked chickens that can't get far enough from higher ranked birds will get chased, and roughly 5-6' is usually far enough to not trigger this response.

Also lumber is more efficient in 4' increments, as 21hens-incharge mentioned, so a 8x8 run may not cost that much more than 8x6, for example, but offers more bang for the buck.