How many chickens will fit in this coop?

[NorseDad]

I'm not incredibly experienced by any means. My hen house is a 4x4 and I have 5 hens in there. I was going to go with 4, but was sent an extra. (Un)fortunately, I did too good a job and didn't lose any babies along the way. 5 feels like a crowd in the hen house if I'm honest. I have them with a very large run beyond the minimum 10sqft/bird, but come hurricane time here in Florida, I'll have to see if I'll need to give one of the hens away.

You already said you're going to look at going bigger, so that sounds like a good idea to my amateur ears. Good Luck!

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm not incredibly experienced by any means. My hen house is a 4x4 and I have 5 hens in there. I was going to go with 4, but was sent an extra. (Un)fortunately, I did too good a job and didn't lose any babies along the way. 5 feels like a crowd in the hen house if I'm honest. I have them with a very large run beyond the minimum 10sqft/bird, but come hurricane time here in Florida, I'll have to see if I'll need to give one of the hens away.

You already said you're going to look at going bigger, so that sounds like a good idea to my amateur ears. Good Luck!

Summer of 2020, when we had so many storms come through that I lost count of how many we actually had, I didn't close my coop up for hurricanes. I left the pop door open, let them decide what to do, and saw them out foraging between rain bands.

I am, however, pretty sure that the winds were always no more than tropical storm force by the time they made it to central NC.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Also for bad weather they can go under the coop.

Good thing you don't have my "bad weather." Obviously your weather/climate vastly differ from mine, but if mine tried to go under the coop during really bad weather for protection, they'd be swimming! Thankfully I didn't need to lock them in for this year's floods.

 

[aart]

Good thing you don't have my "bad weather." Obviously your weather/climate vastly differ from mine, but if mine tried to go under the coop during really bad weather for protection, they'd be swimming! Thankfully I didn't need to lock them in for this year's floods.

OP lives in Maine, plenty of "bad weather" there.

 

[rosemarythyme]

OP lives in Maine, plenty of "bad weather" there.

Yup, though a different sort I'm sure. Assuming this new coop won't be under a roofed run or roofed overhang, enough snow build up could also render the underside of the coop impractical to access during a bad stretch.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Good thing you don't have my "bad weather." Obviously your weather/climate vastly differ from mine, but if mine tried to go under the coop during really bad weather for protection, they'd be swimming! Thankfully I didn't need to lock them in for this year's floods.

No floods here.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

OP lives in Maine, plenty of "bad weather" there.

Not this year. People assume Maine winters are really bad, but they're really not...at all.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Not this year. People assume Maine winters are really bad, but they're really not...at all.

I think the assumption is far north = you're freezing to death. As long as you're able to compensate for any bad turns of weather in your area, that's the important thing.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

I think the assumption is far north = you're freezing to death. As long as you're able to compensate for any bad turns of weather in your area, that's the important thing.

My chickens have done just fine for the past 4 years. But yes, thanks.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Not this year. People assume Maine winters are really bad, but they're really not...at all.

I guess you are nearer to the coast? It's been -12*F, windy, and snowy here. My chickens stay inside most of the winter and a larger coop is needed.