How many chickens?

[dooievonlooie]

My chicken coop is about 3 metres (9ft) by 3 metres and about 6ft tall. There is also an attached run of similar dimensions. Currently I have 3 x 19 week old French Wheaten Marans, 2 x 10 week old Buff Orpingtons and a 6 week old Australorp. Am I able to add to my flock? What would be the maximum amount of chickens I could have? There is plenty of roosts and ventilation in the coop. Thanks

 

[rosemarythyme]

Your main restriction is the run size, which is about big enough for 8 standard size hens. If you can expand the run by like triple and/or allow for ample free range time (majority of the day) then the coop by itself could hold up to 20 hens, provided you have roost space and ventilation for that many birds.

 

[dooievonlooie]

Your main restriction is the run size, which is about big enough for 8 standard size hens. If you can expand the run by like triple and/or allow for ample free range time (majority of the day) then the coop by itself could hold up to 20 hens, provided you have roost space and ventilation for that many birds.

Thank you for your reply. I will free range them when they are bigger as we have a resident hawk that picks off the wild rabbits in the street. 8 is a good number though if free ranging is not an option

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you for your reply. I will free range them when they are bigger as we have a resident hawk that picks off the wild rabbits in the street. 8 is a good number though if free ranging is not an option

Another thought is, since it sounds like you're just starting out, if you find that you enjoying having the 6 you have and want to expand more down the line, expand the run too at that time and then you'll be able to much more easily expand the flock as well. Because the coop space is good for the number of birds you have right now, however the reality is most chickens prefer to be out in the run or yard most of the time, so it's important to have ample space available outside.

General recommended minimum is 10 sq ft per bird in the run, but many of us find that to be inadequate, and having more space will help greatly if you choose to integrate more birds down the line.

 

[Lizzy733]

Agreed, you can fit quite a few hens in that coop, but the run needs to be bigger. 3mx3m gives you 9sqm - assume 1sqm per hen minimum - so 9 hens max.

I'd give them even more, honestly. They love extra space and you'll need it for integration when you do get more hens. Plan on being able to zone part of it off and work that into you expansion ideas. When adding things like feeders and dust bathing areas, don't count these as available space. Hens are at their nicest when there's plenty of space, resources and activities to keep them busy.

 

[dooievonlooie]

Another thought is, since it sounds like you're just starting out, if you find that you enjoying having the 6 you have and want to expand more down the line, expand the run too at that time and then you'll be able to much more easily expand the flock as well. Because the coop space is good for the number of birds you have right now, however the reality is most chickens prefer to be out in the run or yard most of the time, so it's important to have ample space available outside.

General recommended minimum is 10 sq ft per bird in the run, but many of us find that to be inadequate, and having more space will help greatly if you choose to integrate more birds down the line.

I'm not that new to chicken keeping. The last set up I had was on a hectare and the chickens spent a lot of time free ranging so I didn't have to worry about the size of the run too much. I'm in the suburbs now and circumstances may not allow me to let them free range.

My issue is that I loooove chickens, and I needed someone to cut me off before I got too carried away

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm not that new to chicken keeping. The last set up I had was on a hectare and the chickens spent a lot of time free ranging so I didn't have to worry about the size of the run too much. I'm in the suburbs now and circumstances may not allow me to let them free range.

My issue is that I loooove chickens, and I needed someone to cut me off before I got too carried away

Gotcha. I limited myself by building my coop (technically coop #2) to fit 12 birds, otherwise I could legally have hundreds easily. But this takes away any desire to expand beyond what I can realistically handle (or for you, what your neighbors can handle ).