How many chickens would be comfortable?

[Tigerjane]

I'm planning a coop that is 6x4, and a run (including space under the coop) that is 6x12. This is adequate space for . . . . how many chickens? Full-size versus bantums?

 

[CalebtheChicken]

24 chickens ~ give or take

 

[pixie74943]

umm.. my calculations give me six or seven... I assume you mean 6x4 feet?

btw thats six or seven large chickens, you can double that (roughly) for bantams

 

[Sunnysideupdale Farms]

If they will be allowed some free range time outside of the coop from time to time (like once or twice a week at least) I'd say about a dozen. However, if they are to be there full time without any free ranging I'd say 6 to 8 at the most for full size birds. Bantams you could probably double those numbers. I'm sure many will say this is a conservative number, but with a hen house and run that size, which are the exact same dimensions we have for our coop, 8 is a good number. Then again, we just got 3 chicks for one of our hens who went broody so we are currently in the "Wait and See" time for the 11 chickens we now have as to whether or not our coop we built large enough for 12 (in theory) will actually work for a number close to that. Ours also do some free ranging during most days too if it is nice outside.

 

[justtoni44]

At 4 sq feet per chicken for the coop................6 chickens....some rcommend 3 sq. feet per chicken but I do not like to crowd them..............what kind of winter weather do you have? Are they going to be locked up for long periods of time in winter?
10 sq feet of run per chicken.

 

[spottedtail]

6 x 4 = 24 sq ft.
At 4 sq ft per full-size bird, thats 6 birds.
But that's tight if they're going to be indoors much.

If it was me, I'd go 3 ... or 4 at the most.
That's full-size chickens....I have no idea about bantams.

spot

 

[Sunnysideupdale Farms]

She said the henhouse will be 6x4 with a 6x12 foot run. I think some of you missed that. And anyone who has a 6x4 henhouse (I do) knows that is plenty of space for a dozen birds to sleep in. Our eight full size birds all sleep on the top roost, only 4 feet across, quite comfortably. If they all sleep in a 1x4 foot section, I have a feeling that a few more birds will fit nicely somewhere in the other 5x4 foot section, maybe minus the nest boxes we have on the opposite wall taking up another foot, albeit they are raised 18 inches off the floor. Of course, our henhouse is also 4 feet high (raised two feet off the ground on stilts above part of the run) so there is a lot of room in there, even though they only use it to sleep and lay.

 

[gryeyes]

Hmmmm. 4 sq ft per LF in the coop. Coop is 4x6. That's six. With the run, it's not ADDED to, that's the run space, a separate calculation. 10 sq ft per LF in a run. 6x12 = 72, divided by 10, that's 7.2 LF. So, the run supports more than the coop. The more space they have, the better it is, and there will be less of a problem with feather picking and other "crowded bird" behaviors.

 

[Tigerjane]

Quote:
The nesting boxes will be external, the coop will be elevated about 2ft, and we're planning a peaked roof covering the coop and another 4ft of the run with an as-of-yet undetermined height, but somewhere around 6-6.5ft tall. We've also planning on two roosts. The birds will get to free-range anywhere from 1-several hours most days, split between morning and evenings to avoid midday heat (I'm in central TX). I really appreciate everyone's input! I'm still in the sketching phase, pricing materials this weekend

 

[Morgan7782]

I don't think the height of the coop matters in how many birds you can fit.. Unless it has different stories like a hotel or something. If you don't get harsh winters that would cause a lot of indoor time I would do 6 standards max. If you do have hard winters I would stick with 4 or maybe 5 standards. Bantams I would go 6/7 good winter or 5/6 if you have bad winters.

Just my opinion

I have two standard girls in a coop that is 8 square feet, and they have not had any issues. However they spend from 8am to 8pm free ranging (not even in the run which is 9 ft by 12 ft) I am getting a new coop that will be the teenage coop until everybody is introduced, then they will have a choice between the smaller or larger coop as the runs will be connected

more is ALWAYS better, and just remember chances are you will get more chickens PLAN accordingly haha!