How many chickens in 100 sq ft run

[Hannah2911]

I have a 100 sq ft run and then a small hen house. I have 5 hens right now. Wondering if I can add 2 making sure they don’t just fit but would be happy and not to tight. They don’t free range as I’m in the city

 

[fldiver97]

Minimum recommended is 10 sq ft per chicken for runs. If you have enough space inside the coop adding a couple more should be okay

 

[kattabelly]

Minimum recommended is 10 sq ft per chicken for runs. If you have enough space inside the coop adding a couple more should be okay

That's an absolute minimum that some people find can be made to work, more often with bantams or smaller and more docile birds.

Adding two more birds to the run in the OP might work or it might not (I wouldn't even try, personally) - seven chickens in a 100sqft run works out at just over 14sqft per bird, which is less than the 15sqft I've also seen quoted as an absolute minimum for large fowl - but I'd definitely recommend adding a lot more "clutter" first.

 

[ABQ chicken keeper]

I have a 100 sq ft run and then a small hen house. I have 5 hens right now. Wondering if I can add 2 making sure they don’t just fit but would be happy and not to tight. They don’t free range as I’m in the city

What size are the chickens you have now? Are the two you plan to add adults or juveniles and what size are they? Chicken can be brutal to newcomers especially if they are a lot younger ... it's an opportunity to establish a new pecking order.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The "small hen house" is of more concern to me than the size of your run. It's generally recommended that you provide a minimum of 4 sq ft of open floor space per bird in the coop they sleep in, and one linear foot of roost per bird. The birds need room to flap their wings to get up and down from the roost, so the fact that they only take up one square foot sitting still is not enough.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

I have a 100 sq ft run and then a small hen house. I have 5 hens right now. Wondering if I can add 2 making sure they don’t just fit but would be happy and not to tight. They don’t free range as I’m in the city

How big is your coop (henhouse)?

In bad weather, especially sustained over a few days, they’re going to want/need to get away from one another. If the coop is small, you need a larger run.

What is the footprint of your coop, length by width? Only count square footage that they can easily move around in, so not including internal nest boxes, etc. Overall height is mostly irrelevant.

 

[McChooky]

I wouldn't try to add hens in a run this small.Chickens can be very difficult to integrate in small spaces.They need places to hide

 

[McChooky]

I don't know if you're allowed to build chicken tunnels but this would give them all more room. You could also re-home the hens you've got and raise the number of chickens you want together from baby chicks. The odds are they'll get along better than integrating hens(especially if they're the same breed)

 

[Justagalwithchicks]

I second the chunnels. I live in town also and do supervised free range. Sometimes, I don't want them free ranging because I am busy or they can destroy a flower bed pretty fast. You can use a movable wire kennel. They are very lightweight and easy to use. I have a tunnel also. Under the overhang of my house where the foundation is (hard to describe) i have one with a flower bed in front. Its 2 or 3 ft wide and probably about 30 feet long. Its great in the heat of the summer because it's always cool and shady with great dusty dirt . I trained my girls and you can too, to come to it with a small container and shake chicken food in it. Sometimes, it has scratch and they hear that and come running. My run is approx 164 sq feet and I utilize my "other options" all the time. Best of luck.