how many chickens will fit in my planed coop?

[the-bird-man]

so i am planing to build a walk in coop that will be 6x8 and 7 feet tall. it will have nest boxes in the back but they will not stick out. i will have two perches on each side of the door that will go back to the nest boxes. i want to keep 10 full size chickens in it. would this be okay? the coop will have a good size walk in run. and it will have some windows and maybe a skylight. i plan to store feed outside or in my shed. the breeds will be black star, white leghorns and ee's. does this all sound good to you guys? any suggestions you all have i would appreciate. thanks--- brad

 

[sharol]

I have a 6x8 coop - about that height, too. My layout is different, but the floor space would be the same. I have 7 chickens, and it is my understanding that it will house 12 with no problems (6x8=48 divided by 12 chickens is 4 sq. ft. per chicken). They have a run of approximately 750 sq feet and free range in the yard an hour or two a day. We have lousy weather sometimes, so I want plenty of room in the coop for them when they are (sorry) cooped up.

I'm hoping to get a few hatching eggs this spring (chicken math).

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[oldchickenlady]

I would say just make your coop 8x8, less cutting and plywood is already that size! You are gonna want more!!! I promise!

 

[the-bird-man]

thanks for all the info

i would build it bigger but i am fairly sure i will not add that much more. at first i was only going to get 5 rir's but that changed when all my neighbors said i should get more. i should only get the 5 but since my neighbors like the idea of more than that (i was told 15-20

) but i will keep it to 10. i have a guy that is going to sell me some hens in the spring that will be just about ready to lay when i pick them up. i am very excited

 

[patandchickens]

6x8=48 sq ft, divided by 10 is not quite 5 sq ft per chicken. (Plus run). Which is a tad more than most BYCers give, although I have to tell you that chickens really do behave differently and more happily, IME, with a lot more space than that. Doesn't sound unreasonable to me, though, if your main goal is just to avoid excessive cannibalism.

Skylight not good in hot climates e.g. Texas. Make your transparent areas WALL (windows, or translucent siding panels), not roof.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[the-bird-man]

hey pat i have a question, i live here in utah where we get dry but hot heat, it gets around 100 f but in the winter it gets cold where it can go below 0 f but not always. how many vents should i put in? i was thinking of making the vents 8 inches wide by 12 inches long. sorry for all the questions, i am not good with math

 

[kgriffith]

I am always curious about size recomendations. If you ask someone who raoses chickens on a farm they will tell you 2 sq ft per bird. If you ask someone who does it as a hobby its 4 sq ft minimum. My coop is 4x4 and houses 5 birds just fine. I guess i split the difference being around 3 sq ft. I am sure i could add a bird if i wanted but it would also mean more work mainaining a relatively clean coop. IMO you have plenty of space for 10 birds and could add a few down the road as long as you maintain the coop.

 

[Judy]

I would also go 8x8. Otherwise you will have a bunch of 2' scraps -- and you will wonder why you didn't just put them in the coop. The cost will be almost the same. You should have enough room for a garbage can in the coop for feed -- very convenient in lousy weather, I promise you. And they will enjoy the extra space, especially if they want to stay in.

I agree about the nest boxes. I wouldn't put a lot of material or money into them; you never know what they will like, and it is likely you will want to change them around or use a different kind, or perhaps move one into another building with a broody and her eggs in it. For 10 chickens I would not provide more than two.

I really like a roof that slants only one way. Gives you a perfect ventilation opening on the tall side, and a convenient overhang to cover it in rainy weather.

Have you seen Pat's ventilation page? https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=1642-VENTILATION

Note she has a cold coop page too. If you haven't seen her pages they are really good, and you might find it surprising how much ventilation and space she recommends.

Some people do get by with smaller coops -- and some don't, they have pecking or even cannibalism problems. In any case chickens certainly will use all the space you give them.

 

[patandchickens]

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IMHO you need WAY more open vent-type area than that for summertime, perhaps one or two walls all mesh with panels that you can bolt on for wintertime.

How much wintertime ventilation you need depends on things like your coop size and number of chickens.

Pat

 

[the-bird-man]

i got to make it 6x8 because of space and trust me it would be 8x8 if i had more space. i am going with a dirt floor too. i also may of found someone selling 4x8 3/4 inch plywood for 75 for 6 sheets. i just gotta hope he emails me back.