how many chickens can I get

[Chookcrazy]

I am a victim of chicken math and would like to know how many chickens I will be able to house comfortably. I have two chicken pens that are 6.2metres x 5.2metres. One of the pens currently houses 13 medium sized chickens who are allowed to free range during the day. The other pen contains 11 silkies who do not free range during the day.
Please help, I already have an incubator full of eggs and two pekin chicks I got today.

 

[Charm1704]

go for it.....you can always add on if you run out of room....~Charm1704

 

[donrae]

I think you're at capacity. You need to think of how many chickens can I manage and care for, not how many can I cram into one space and flirt with overcrowding issues.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

It is recommended that each chicken have 4 sq feet of space in the coop and 10 sq feet of space in the pen. More is better. Having too many chickens can really be quite a disaster. You will find that you will have to clean the pens out more often and that the birds will pick at each other more. I learned this myself. As hard as it may be, it is best to keep the number down and enjoy what you have. If you want more chickens, you may need to move other chickens you already have out. In the pen with 13 medium size chickens, you could add 10 chickens. In the pen with 11 silkies you could probably add 12 chickens. That is the absolute max IMO.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

I think you're at capacity. You need to think of how many chickens can I manage and care for, not how many can I cram into one space and flirt with overcrowding issues.

x2

 

[Chookcrazy]

Thanks for your help. I can manage a lot of chickens because I have quite a big yard. I think after this last batch have hatched I will put the incubator away until I have more room.

 

[Erin~TheChickenLover]

Thanks for your help. I can manage a lot of chickens because I have quite a big yard. I think after this last batch have hatched I will put the incubator away until I have more room.

Yes, that is a good idea. My main thing to deal with when thinking about getting more chickens is "How much poop can I scoop?". I have 20 acres but that doesn't make the poop stack up any less in the coops and runs and I won't have them nasty and stinky. I've found that with more chickens I have less time to enjoy them because I have to spend more time cleaning their pens. We all have to deal with chicken math at one time or another.