How many chickens can fit in a 7x7 coop?

[DeerChicken14]

I currently have 14 chickens and I would love to have some more this year. How many chickens can fit in a 7x7 coop?

 

[Matilda Belle]

Bare minimum is 4 square feet per bird inside the coop and 10 square feet per bird in the run.

7x7 = 49 square feet / 4 square feet per bird = 12 (12.25)

12 birds it the maximum birds you can have in that coop (you're over). That's the bare minimum. More is better.

 

[Building Bridges]

Silkiekeeper is right. Crowd them and you could have bullying, pecking, feather-pulling and an unhealthy environment. You are over recommended occupancy now.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I'll be honest, I personally feel they don't need as much space inside the coop and they need much more space than the "general rule of thumb" recommends for outside in the run. They primarily go inside the coop to sleep and lay eggs, and unless they're broody my hens don't hang out inside the coop. I very comfortably kept 20 chickens in my 7'x7' coop and I never had issues with bullying, there's actually a lot of room to spare on the roosts. Outside is another matter, they have a huge area to free range and if they only had 200sf to spend their day they would not be happy. One thing to consider that may or may not effect my flock's dynamic is that I predator proofed an enclosed run that is attached to the coop and it is open to the coop 24/7 so when they wake up in the morning they don't have to sit in their coop waiting for me to let them out.

 

[PirateGirl]

The aforementioned numbers are generally accepted for large fowl backyard laying flocks. If you are raising broilers or bantams the space needed is different. If they free range all the time and have other shelters/structures they use, again your space requirements may be different.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Technically silkiekeeper has the most of it in that you're over the limit but that depends on your situation.

For me, it's much easier to go up in flock count during the spring and summer when the chickens are out of the coop more than in the winter when they don't wanna go into the foot deep snow. It's easy to throw more chickens in during that time frame than is suggested and they tend to get along. But my run is huge (800sqft with lots of things to do) so during spring-fall they only go into the coop to lay and sleep.
Winter that's not the case. They linger indoors for hours and move in and out a lot. I have a 4'x8' coop, 12' of roost space, with no feeders indoors and 4-1.5sqft external nest boxes and my 9 chickens are fussy right now. They also insist on crowding into the same 1-2 roost bars, a third is totally untouched. Over the summer I'll be adding more that I've hatched and they will be the same or less fussy. When I remove the oldest birds, extra roos, or ones the developed poorly we'll go back down to less than 10 for the winter months. The extra time out of the coop does wonders for them and any behavioral problems.

So think about your situation and what might have you needing to keep your chickens indoors for longer, think about your chickens temperaments, and go from there.

 

[Matilda Belle]

I'll be honest, I personally feel they don't need as much space inside the coop and they need much more space than the "general rule of thumb" recommends for outside in the run. They primarily go inside the coop to sleep and lay eggs, and unless they're broody my hens don't hang out inside the coop.

That may be true in warmer climates but where I live it gets cold and the chickens stay in the coop most of the time.

 

[DeerChicken14]

I have a big chicken fence that connects to the coop. They love to roam in it! They peck at each other sometimes but not a lot.

 

[Building Bridges]

I have a big chicken fence that connects to the coop. They love to roam in it! They peck at each other sometimes but not a lot.

Where are you located? Your weather is a factor in your decision.

 

[CluckNDoodle]

That may be true in warmer climates but where I live it gets cold and the chickens stay in the coop most of the time.

This is very true, we have very mild winters here.