How many chickens can my coop hold?

[josh1505]

So I’m near completion of my first chicken coop (I’ll try to get some pix to post). The coop layout is 5ft X 5ft and 6.5ft tall with a 5ft X 9ft run area for the chickens (fully equipped with nesting boxes & perches/roosts). I want to keep it humane and don’t want any overcrowding. What is your opinion… How many chickens can I house in this area?

 

[Luvin Life]

and

from IN. I can't wait for pics. Not sure about the sq. ft. per bird ratio.

 

[1stepcloser]

From what I read (so take it for what its worth) you are supposed to have 10 sf per chicken (anyone? anyone?)....so your run would be adequate for 4 and a half chickens? LOL

 

[Kittymomma]

I think you would be fine with 5-6.

I have a few questions though. Is your run covered? What are the winters like where you live? If you have harsh or very wet winters and no covered outdoor area you may want to have fewer chickens because they'll be spending a lot of time in the coop and not so much in the run. That being said, mine go out even on rainy days, they just don't like it when it's really wet and windy.

 

[PortageGirl]

common wisdom is 4 sq ft of floor space per bird, so that is probably 6 chooks. Some of it depends on size of your birds and type... temperment and your weather. If you have a lot of foul (fowl?) weather, maybe you want one less, if you have bantams, you could opt for one more etc...

Good luck! you'll have fun with em.

 

[TipsyDog]

I would say 4 sf. per chicken in the coop and 10 sf. per chicken in the run. Give or take.

I'd love to see pictures of your new coop!

 

[RendonRoo]

6 and 1/4th of a chicken. Like stated in previous post it depends on type and size of chickens your gonna have. You could do like i did and order what you have space for then order some more and start building like crazy. I think thats the first sign of chicken obsession, and no there is no cure. Good Luck

 

[dscheck]

Welcome to the wild and wacky world of chickens! I would say that you should be fine with 6 chickens. I have a coop that suits four birds just fine and it is about 4 x 4 with a covered run about 10 x 5...lots of wing room! But, when they are in the coop at night, they are crowded in the coop a bit (although it says it can have 6 birds) and not all of them roost on the pole. Two sometimes sit in a nest on the floor...good luck!

 

[rstampa]

Here is a quote from MyPetChickens.com on sq ft per chicken.
"Be roomy: at least 4 square feet per bird if birds are able to roam freely during the day, and at least 10 square feet per bird if they are permanently confined."

There are all sorts of theories on sq ft. Just as long as you proved them with plenty of space so they're not crowned in. The larger the space the less fighting and bulling there will be.

And by the size of your coop and run you'll have a total of 70 sq. ft. That will alow you 7 chickens if they are confined.

Hope this helps.