how big should the chicken doors be?

[PurplePoppiPpl]

i am in the process of building my first chicken coop and was wondering what size the chicken door should be...
thanks

P.S. I have speckled sussex, silver laced wyandotte, belgian d'Uccle, cochin, BO, and amerucunas...

 

[They Call Me Pete]

What size chickens do you plan on having ?

 

[Chick_In_The_Burbs]

Our LF coop's door is 12 or 14 inches across. He little banty coop's door is about 8 inches across. Those sizes seem to work well for our girls.

 

[debid]

I have similarly sized birds and the pop door is 12Wx14H. They seem comfortable using it.

 

[CarolynF]

My pop door is only 10" wide and it's just fine. I think it's 14" high. We've had australorp, barneveldor, EE and black copper marans

 

[KDK1]

Mine is 7" wide by 11" tall. I have 5 RIRs and 3 araucanas. Nobody has any trouble gaining access.

 

[debid]

It's funny because when I see them duck and scoot under a fallen limb, it's pretty obvious they could get through a space half the size I've provided.

Something worth considering when you're cutting the hole is whether you'll eventually want an automatic door. Door kits require specific hole sizes for installation and it's always easier to enlarge than to reduce the cutout. I also wanted to suggest that you make the hole several inches above the coop floor. Mine is 8" up and nobody complains about having to hop. It really helps to keep the litter in.

 

[KDK1]

It's funny because when I see them duck and scoot under a fallen limb, it's pretty obvious they could get through a space half the size I've provided.

Something worth considering when you're cutting the hole is whether you'll eventually want an automatic door. Door kits require specific hole sizes for installation and it's always easier to enlarge than to reduce the cutout. I also wanted to suggest that you make the hole several inches above the coop floor. Mine is 8" up and nobody complains about having to hop. It really helps to keep the litter in.

Good point. Before I built the new coop, I added the add-a-motor to my existing pop door. Although door size really doesn't apply here. The whole thing got transferred to the new coop.