How do you house your 30+ chickens?

[chicklets81]

For those of you who have 30 or more chickens....

My coop is majorly flawed, and I am not able to fix it.

The solution is to put together a new coop. But my question is, my flock of 11 will be 21 in a few months (when the chicks integrate this summer...)

and the incubator has 20 something eggs in it. Bottom line is, I will have 30 or so chickens, by the end of the summer.

My current coop allows for 20 or so (11 ft by 8 ft), but, I wont be using it, and i'm going to have around 30 anyways.

How do people house that many chickens? Do you make a huge coop, or do you house them in different coops?

I picked up a free truck cap today (6 foot long..) and I was going to start a coop project, but, am trying to figure out if I should pick up another....and put them side by side.

Does the pecking order change if you have a flock that go to separate sleeping places (2 coops) at night?

How does this work?

I'd love to hear from those who have a large flock, as is what is suggested or recommended. I do not have a shed, barn or garage to use.

I free-range my chickens too, so, door opens at 8 am before work, and they have roam of the multiple acres here until night fall.

Thoughts?

 

[Chicken-Dave]

I have more than 30 and my building is about the same size. Build lots of perching area. I was explaining it to my mother the other day... everything says x and x square feet, but inside you have cubic feet. They fly. Some perch up high, some on the ground,some in nesting boxes. With free range everything is easier. They will only be in there at night. Space during the day is what really matters. My mother's chickens live in a run and hers peck at each other. Mine don't. She has had issues with mean chickens. I don't. Best of luck.

 

[aart]

How much space is needed can depend on many factors..especially climate.
The 4/10 rule of thumb is a bare minimum IMO and most often applies to smaller flocks and spaces.
And it's just a guideline, not written in stone.
The bigger space and flock you can start to massage those numbers,
you have to learn what your coop(s) can hold by watching behaviors.
Here's a great article on Space written by Ridgerunner:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

I keep more birds in summer than in winter......
....as I have a huge run that is not made for winter weather protection.
It gets crowded when the winter weather forces them to spend more time in the coop.
I cull my flock in fall, sell or slaughter older birds, cockerels from hatching get slaughtered by 16 weeks.
I kept too many last winter, it got ugly, so I sold some this spring and the remaining birds are much more harmonious.

@chicklets81 (and @Chicken-Dave ) it would help if you put your locations in your profiles as climate can have a great impact on solutions.

 

[Chicken-Dave]

Point taken. I updated my profile. I'm in West Central Indiana. Another good point is what breeds you're keeping. I have mostly kept dual purpose med to large breeds and I am switching this year to larger breeds. Because of this, we have begun the process of expanding our coop.

 

[MasAhora]

This thread interests me, I raised 5 chicks in their own coop and pen. When they were ready I let them free range with the rest of the flock but after a few weeks they stopped going back to their coop at night and joined the main group (I do not have to lock them in the coop for protection so its open 24/7). In fact I could not even tempt them with their favourite treats to return to their own coop for 5 minutes... the 'grown ups' love going to the old chick coop for loafing, dust bathing, even broody nests but they all return to the 'main' coop (which will become too small when my numbers exceed 20).