How many birds in coop?

[Wolfefarmyard]

How many birds do you think could comfortably fit in a 10 by 12 ft coop?

They are free ranged all day.

Thanks!

 

[ReagyEggy]

I would say maybe even up to 30 hens, as long as there are enough nesting boxes and roost space. If they're free ranged all day, the coop part shouldn't matter quite so much.

My math: 10x12 coop is 120ft squared area, so divide by 4 for 4 ft per chicken and you get 30 chickens.

Most places say 2 or 3 feet per chicken but 4 is for good measure.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I would go with a slightly smaller number because nest boxes and feed dishes take some space away.

I would go with 25 being a comfortable number.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

I would go with a slightly smaller number because nest boxes and feed dishes take some space away.

I would go with 25 being a comfortable number.

I do have 6 nesting boxes that are hung on a wall inside, as for the feed dishes, there are none, we keep the feed and water outside.

 

[Terrapin13]

I would say 24 chickens considering the number of nesting boxes available.

 

[50-45-1]

That 25 to 30 birds are going to be pretty cramped in the winter when the weather is cold and snowey and they dont got out from december to march. The daYs mine can safely go outside in the run (after i spend an hour snow shoveling it out) are about maybe 10 to 12 days.
New York has similar weather as i do in Michigan.
Word of caution. Why not go with 15 or 20 max to start if you have never had chickens in this coop before and see how it goes for the first winter. Then increase if you have no problems.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

I am building a coop and plan to have only 10 chickens at most. I do know everything says 5 chickens per nesting boxes was important.

 

[Alaskan]

How many birds do you think could comfortably fit in a 10 by 12 ft coop?

They are free ranged all day.

Thanks!

I see you are in NY. I hear that you get snow over there.

Unless you have a roofed and sheltered run that keeps out snow and wind, I would say the max number is 15 standard sized chickens.

I have found 8 square feet of snow free space is the minimum needed if you have nasty winters.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

We don’t have a run for this particular coop, but there’s a covered area right outside of it so that they’re out of the snow ect.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

That 25 to 30 birds are going to be pretty cramped in the winter when the weather is cold and snowey and they dont got out from december to march. The daYs mine can safely go outside in the run (after i spend an hour snow shoveling it out) are about maybe 10 to 12 days.
New York has similar weather as i do in Michigan.
Word of caution. Why not go with 15 or 20 max to start if you have never had chickens in this coop before and see how it goes for the first winter. Then increase if you have no problems.

I’ve had somewhere around 12+ chickens in this coop for the past 2 years. I’ve noticed there’s so much space left and have been considering adding on to this particular laying flock for a while now.