How many hens can fit in this coop?

[SunnySideUp91]

How many hens do you think could comfortably be housed at the Sunny Side Up Coop? The coop is about 6.5x4, but it is very tall. For reference I am standing in front of the coop and I am 5'5" (This was before we moved the coop and added the run). There are 4 roosting bars at different heights inside. It is insulated. The run is 21x10. I currently have 6 hens (the inside photo of the coop was taken before the roos found a new home). With the typical 4 sq. ft. per bird, I would be at about 7. I am wondering if with the height of the coop and the space in the run if I could go over 7, and if so, by how much while making sure the ladies are comfortable

 

[AGeese]

I wouldn't push it with more birds. Nice house though.

 

[SunnySideUp91]

I wouldn't push it with more birds. Nice house though.

Thank you!

 

[Ecarroll]

I wouldn't push it with more birds. Nice house though.

I wouldnt go over seven either, and adding just one bird is stressful for everyone, so if one dies (hope not) you could add two, but otherwise you are good like that.

 

[AGeese]

Thank you!

Welcome, think of expanding instead then you can have many more

 

[SunnySideUp91]

Welcome, think of expanding instead then you can have many more

I for sure see that happening in the future

 

[rosemarythyme]

You need to subtract the space under the coop with your height measurement, that doesn't count when talking about interior volume. For reference my coop is around 9.5' at peak (interior floor to interior ceiling) and all that does is give me more wall space for more ventilation and more overall air volume.

It does not allow chickens to stack.

You don't have floor space for more birds and I don't see enough ventilation either from the photos provided, though that may depend on your climate and management. Recommendation for ventilation is 1 sq ft per bird open 24/7 in moderate climates - so more birds, more vents needed.

 

[SunnySideUp91]

You need to subtract the space under the coop with your height measurement, that doesn't count when talking about interior volume. For reference my coop is around 9.5' at peak (interior floor to interior ceiling) and all that does is give me more wall space for more ventilation and more overall air volume.

It does not allow chickens to stack.

You don't have floor space for more birds and I don't see enough ventilation either from the photos provided, though that may depend on your climate and management. Recommendation for ventilation is 1 sq ft per bird open 24/7 in moderate climates - so more birds, more vents needed.

Thank you for the explanation! The back of the coop has two large hardware cloth doors, the front has the two squares you see and then there is a little ventilation at the top. We used the cardboard over hardware cloth because of the cold weather, but we left some slits to still allow air flow. We did the same on the back doors. We don't have super cold winters, but it has been getting in the 20s at night. They seem to be spending a lot of time indoors during the cold days. The weather fluctuates. Do you think the cardboard is needed? Wanted to prevent a draft. I attached a photo of the back from when it was under construction for reference

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you for the explanation! The back of the coop has two large hardware cloth doors, the front has the two squares you see and then there is a little ventilation at the top. We used the cardboard over hardware cloth because of the cold weather, but we left some slits to still allow air flow. We did the same on the back doors. We don't have super cold winters, but it has been getting in the 20s at night. They seem to be spending a lot of time indoors during the cold days. The weather fluctuates. Do you think the cardboard is needed? Wanted to prevent a draft. I attached a photo of the back from when it was under construction for reference

Thanks for the extra photos. The temperature shouldn't be an issue however the cardboard may still be needed depending on wind direction and precipitation, and roost placement. It's impossible to guess how air flow actually moves in a space without being there. You can try testing it with ribbons/yarn at roost level to see how the air moves, and then go from there in seeing if more of the panels can be opened up to promote non-drafty air flow.

I've gone out to my coop in a typical wind storm in my area and held a light ribbon at roosting height. Despite the fact that my roosts are flanked by open windows on either side there was no noticeable draft, so as long as it's a typical wind/rainstorm I can leave windows open.

That said, very rarely we get wind driven winter storms from a different direction and that can cause rain and snow to get in, so we do close up in that case, however I also have ridge vents, under eave vents, gable and floor vents (the benefits of having an overly tall coop!) so even with windows closed minimal ventilation is maintained.

 

[SunnySideUp91]

Thanks for the extra photos. The temperature shouldn't be an issue however the cardboard may still be needed depending on wind direction and precipitation, and roost placement. It's impossible to guess how air flow actually moves in a space without being there. You can try testing it with ribbons/yarn at roost level to see how the air moves, and then go from there in seeing if more of the panels can be opened up to promote non-drafty air flow.

I've gone out to my coop in a typical wind storm in my area and held a light ribbon at roosting height. Despite the fact that my roosts are flanked by open windows on either side there was no noticeable draft, so as long as it's a typical wind/rainstorm I can leave windows open.

That said, very rarely we get wind driven winter storms from a different direction and that can cause rain and snow to get in, so we do close up in that case, however I also have ridge vents, under eave vents, gable and floor vents (the benefits of having an overly tall coop!) so even with windows closed minimal ventilation is maintained.

Awesome idea with using the ribbons/yarn to test the wind! Thank you for the detailed reply, much appreciated