How many chickens can i have?

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

I have a coop that is about 75 sq. ft. (8x10).. How many chickens could i have? The run is about 100 sq. ft. (10x10)

 

[oldchickenlady]

You figure 4 sq feet per bird for a coop (that they dont get out of much) and 10 sq feet of run per bird. So if you have 100 sq feet of run, you can have 10 birds. Do you intend to have a rooster and have babies? If yes then you need to start with fewer birds to allow room for adding more birds. Or build more coops and runs! I free range mine. My run is 10x10 (only sleeping there until coop is finished) and my coop is 8x8. I have 12 birds, but should have more eventually as I have a rooster.

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

im planning on getting five or six chicks to start and maybe adding more? I don't think we will be getting a rooster TOO NOISY!

 

[teach1rusl]

Based on your RUN, 10 LF chickens fairly comfortably. Now if they will be amply freeranged (for few hours daily) too, then you could actually comfortably house more than that, as your housing would be okay for about double that many. In other words, you have more housing than run space based on recommended proportions. Either way, you're certainly going to be fine with the number of chicks you're talking about

More space is ALWAYS better...

 

[redhen]

Right..if you freerange them..you could fit more in that coop..

But if you just keep them in the run... then like 10 ..

 

[ekemily]

What everybody else is saying. 10 or more, depending on your free ranging vs. run time.
i mainly wanted to say

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

Thanks guys! I will probably get 5 and then let them free range for an hour or two... im just scared my cat will eat them!

 

[ekemily]

I have cats around my chickens, and they have never bothered them or even looked like they wanted to. My chickens are full grown though. Baby chicks are a different story.

 

[Iheartchicks<3:)]

Wel my cat has killed full grown pregnant bunnies

Do you think when the babies are pullets/full grown he will still attack?

 

[patandchickens]

Rather than "how many chickens can I justify packing into this size space" is it not better to ask oneself "how FEW chickens can I put in there and still be reasonably well entertained/fed"?

I hate this whole "magic number" business, be it 2 sq ft per hen or 4 or 10 or umpty-bazillion or anything else. It may give people a vague ballpark (i.e. 'no, you cannot put 100 hens in a 4x4 house' and 'it is certainly possible to have more than 10 hens per acre') but mostly seems to be leant on (HEAVILY!), by most members of this forum, to justify a modern collect-em-all lets-go-shopping bias towards quantity over quality

All else being equal, as long as you have at least 3-5 chickens total, they are pretty much always going to be happier with as MUCH space as possible, i.e. as FEW chickens as possible. They really really do act differently if you give them (for example) 10 or 15 sq ft apiece indoors (plus run) rather than 4 or 6. Also it is a lot EASIER to keep fewer chickens per a given size area, because sanitation/feeding/watering chores are less and you are far less apt to run into mud or odor problems.

Just sayin',

Pat