how many chickens will it house?

[wildriverswolf90]

I have a coop that is 15ft long x 10ft wide x 6ft high, I have 2 roost that are 2”x4”x8ft and 2”x4”x 4ft. And a run that is 10ft long x 6ft wide x 6ft high!
How many chickens could I keep in here? I plan to free range, unless there is bad weather and then I plan to keep them in the run which has a roof.
So about how many could I keep happily?

 

[KNAndrs]

The run is what is going to limit you. Your coop would hold almost 50, no problem, at one large bird for 3 sq. ft. With this amount you would have to increase the number of roosts and nest boxes. The run needs more space to maximize that number. Since it is so small It would be hard to justify that many birds, rather the run would limit you to about 15 birds. I would look at expanding it if you wanted that many birds.

This is the place to look though for the best advice on your coop and run ideas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/raising-chickens-basics.php

Blessings,
PK

 

[teach1rusl]

Yeah - your run is your main limiting factor. I don't think 10 sq. ft. per bird is adequate (the size often recommended here on BYC) per bird, so taking into account that that they'd be contained VERY RARELY, and dropping down to half that size (which is not even a tiny 2x3 space per bird), you'd max out at 12 birds.
Your shelter size says anywhere from about 35 - 50 birds (in your area, you could most likely get by with 2-3 sq. ft. per bird, since you really don't get winters). But your roost space says 24 birds.
So I'd say combine your run space with your floor space, and divide by 13 (suggested run space plus indoor space), and I'd recommend 15 - 16 chickens w/ample space.

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote:
Just add more roosts and you could hold 50 or so. Each bird should have something like 10 inches (I forget exactly) of roost space. The run is small, but since you plan on free ranging, I think you are fine. To me the covered run is more like an open air extension. It rarely snows in NC right??

Wow 15x10 coop!! Lucky Ducky!!

 

[kittycooks]

That sounds like a nice set up! I have about 9 feet of floor space per bird in the coop and run and they are fine. However, I chose very docile breeds and three hens are silkies. What kind of breed(s) are you looking at? Will they be able to free-range most of the time?

 

[wildriverswolf90]

I have 7 buff orps and 3 cochins and I want to have some more cochins and some silkies, I only want to keep docile breeds!
Unfortunately we got 30“ of snow last year and we reguarly have nights drop into the teens!
But I am not looking to expand my flock til spring, and hopefully add on to the run!
The coop was here when we bought the house and supposedly was built in 1925 with the house! It need some work but not much thankfully!

Thank you for your advice! I don't plan on keeping more than 20 birds but its nice to know if I become a victim of chicken math again, I can keep more!