How many feet per hen in the coop?

[chickenlickin8]

I am ordering new pullet chicks for spring and I have a small coop (12 ft long X 4 ft wide). If I order 8 or 9 chicks, is that enough space for them to live comfortably as adults? I will have 6 nest boxes for them as well. They will not be free range. Thanks!

 

[sonew123]

Quote:
works like this

12 x 4= 48 feet divided by 4ft = 12 chickens but make it comfy and stick to 10 4 sq ft a bird

oh and 3 nesting boxes is plenty-youll find theyll fight over 1-2 of them haha not use all of them

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

The general recommendations are as follows according to what I have read repeatedly on BYC:

4 square feet per chicken in the coop (minimum) plus 10 square feet per chicken in the run.

If all you have is a coop, and no run, then you would have to add those amounts together to be 14 square feet per chicken, IMO.

You have 48 square feet total, which will be their entire living space, correct?

If you ALSO have a run, then all you need to consider is the 4 square feet per chicken. These are general recommendations based on preventing cannibalism and feather eating.

So, if their entire living space is the 48 square feet, I would not put more than 3 hens in there. If that is just the coop, and you are providing an additional run, then you could easily fit 9 hens in there. You want at least one foot of roost per hen for comfort, IMO (unless they are bantams).

 

[tammye]

more room is better than less room IMO, you need even more room per bird if they are going to stay in the coop for extended periods of time, say all day while you are at work, during winter ect..

 

[obaan1]

Just wondering how large their run will be.