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

[Shannon Robinson50]

We have a 5x5 ft coop house with wooden floor attached to a covered run on soil that is 5x 7 ft. and 4&1/2 feet tall. It is an inline rectangle. We have 2 roosting bars running diagonal in the run, along with a 7 gallon waterer, and a gallon sized feeder. We use straw bedding, and they have a piece of tree trunk to sit on or sit behind. There are two nest boxes in the coop. They are peaceful and well behaved, happy, and have never had any health problems. We keep auracuna and buff Orpington, so good sized birds just a bit smaller than Rhode island reds.

 

[Mr Pilo]

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.

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 boxesI’m still

Yes I’m building it, hopefully this weekend

 

[Mr Pilo]

We have a 5x5 ft coop house with wooden floor attached to a covered run on soil that is 5x 7 ft. and 4&1/2 feet tall. It is an inline rectangle. We have 2 roosting bars running diagonal in the run, along with a 7 gallon waterer, and a gallon sized feeder. We use straw bedding, and they have a piece of tree trunk to sit on or sit behind. There are two nest boxes in the coop. They are peaceful and well behaved, happy, and have never had any health problems. We keep auracuna and buff Orpington, so good sized birds just a bit smaller than Rhode island reds.

How many ladies you keep inside?

 

[concrete_boots]

I have 5 and I did the math per bird then doubled the space
My run is 12x12 and coop is 5x4 and 4ft inside, plus 3 nest boxes, and they free range a couple days a week

 

[cmom]

The rule of thumb for nest boxes is 4 birds per nest box. I have noticed no matter how many nest boxes you have many of the birds will lay in the same nest box. In one of my coops I have a large community nest box. Here are a couple of birds in one of the the regular nest boxes. This was many years ago but sometimes I still find more than one bird in a nest box.

 

[BReeder!]

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

4x5 coop elevated in a 10x5 run would be adequit; but just know you are at the minimum space, especially for the run. If it is a covered run with constant access, I worry less about the coop size having to be bigger than 4x5 as they'll have access to a protected outdoor area even in nasty weather.

Now staying on the small side does have its faults. You will need to clean more often.
I recommend beddng of some sort in the run. That way you can do deep litter (DLM) in the run to make cleaning less of a chore and give new life to chicken manure as compost eventually.
As for the coop, since you are planning a smaller elevated coop make it so that one entire side can open for easy access so you can clean. Shavings and deep bedding (as I have learned, DB is different from DLM) can help make coop cleaning less of a chore too. Just raise the chicken door and nest boxes about 6" of the ground. A little research on DLM and DB and you will understand why.

 

[cmom]

Not sure what DB is. I thought it stood for Dark Brahma or dear brother.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Not sure what DB is. I thought it stood for Dark Brahma or dear brother.

Think Deep Bedding

 

[3KillerBs]

Think Deep Bedding

My new article, written with the help of many BYC members.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/using-deep-bedding-in-a-small-coop.76343/

 

[Shannon Robinson50]

How many ladies you keep inside?

We have 6