How many hens can I fit in my coop?

[EmmaRainboe]

Adorable pic but needs major upsizing! For example, I have several sections for Roos & their hens, & my smallest section there's 1 Roo & his 3 hens, (I know he should have more hens but they are older & he's a very gentle boy with his girls who do not want any others to join them right now). Anyway, that's 4 older Wyandottes in a 4x8 section with their private 6x10 run with a shade gazebo. They're older & calmer, they take dust baths in 1 spot & don't turf up alot. Inside coop they have a hanging cabbage, hanging feed, a flock block & xylophone to peck at. You gotta have room for that stuff, as well as perches & nesting egg boxes. Plus I need room to walk in there with a bucket & scooper to clean under night perches. No way to cram all that into a 2x3. I like a coop & pen I can walk into easily, but that's just me...I hang out with them a lot.

Not related so I am so sorry but.... how do you have grass?!?! My girls would have demolished every INCH in a day!

 

[BDutch]

I think that could be good for 4 at the most! And it all depends on where you live and how wet/dry it is. Getting to see your run would help too. So I started out with something very similar to you and after one week of owning the chicks (who had yet to move out) I decided that it was WAY not predator proof as well as it was way too small! So I reworked it and made it into something more desirable. BUT, if I had to do it all over again, I would build my own from scratch bc it’s way less expensive and I’ve learned exactly what works!

Great explanation and photos!
I think its not such a bad idea to start with a wooden prefab that has the ability to adapt. But do start with half the size or half the amount of chickens they recommend. Its a way to experience what the chivkens and you need. A children’s play house instead is a good alternative if you don’t want to start from scratch.

If soneone is building a coop from scratch before having experienced what chickens, the climate and the caretaker needs , it probably needs adjustments too.

Don’t trow away the small coop after building a great coop from scratch. You can always use it as sick bay, for a broody + chicks, or a quarantine coop for new chickens .

 

[BDutch]

Not related so I am so sorry but.... how do you have grass?!?! My girls would have demolished every INCH in a day!

A few years ago I made a ‘1 meter /4 sqft veggie’ garden for my chickens with logs, grass and herb seeds in it and hwc (1/2 “) on top. They can’t scratch in it , but can pick from the grasses and herbs. This worked well for me.

If the run is really big, open or netted, grass wil grow in the run if the soil is fertile and with enough rain/water. If you scatter grains and seeds in the run it will grow if there is more then the chickens will eat. I have 7 tiny chickens in a 15m2 netted run. They get a few hands of scratch every day. I fertilised the soil with autumn leaves and unwanted herbs from gardening (never used poison). Now the soil is rich and moist. The grains they don’t like very much , started to grow. And parts of the run are green.

My run with greens (I think it’s mainly barley ) :

The old window behind the multi coloured chicken (naine de Tournaisis) gives shelter and underneath is a great spot for a sand bath.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Not related so I am so sorry but.... how do you have grass?!?! My girls would have demolished every INCH in a day!

Sharing my "greenery growing in pens" too.
I 1st put sod down yrs ago after slipping, like ice skating on mud, while carrying water jugs once. I did it thinking this will keep me from killing myself over fall & winter, but I know it's temporary, the chickens will turf it up come spring. Well, surprisingly it lasted from Nov til July, & it only died in July due to drought, not really the chickens fault.

1st planting sod the key is keeping off the 1st 2 weeks (graze chickens elsewhere & try to choose a time just before several days of rain is forecast). Need to water daily 2-3 weeks for roots to get anchored. Once established just water if there's no rain for a week. That can be a challenge here in July & August, we get droughts. The chickens do like turfing & eating greens, but if given a choice, they prefer chickweed & clover, so I did plant some & cover with an elevated screen frame, so they can actually jump on & walk on it, as they peck & eat what grows through the hardware cloth, not destroying the roots. They also got free range time with me daily when I got home from work. In their pens are shade gazebos, with perches postioned towards front, as they dustbathe in the soil towards the back. I mix DE & a bit of sand in that bath bowl area. They often bathe all together, it is funny, but I noticed when molting they'd rather dustbathe alone. This summer I offered another spot to dustbathe in privacy, under a step, so far so good, thank goodness no eggs laid there either, I check. My pens are open, so sod gets rain. Also, chickens meander around whole pen & may peck for grubs but they spend most time pecking the chickweed & clover, in their gazebos or under the step. I have alot of predators here so can't free range unless I'm out with them. Lots of foxes here. When I garden they stick by me, helping me turn soil, loving grubs & bugs. There's also a flock block, food, hanging cabbage & xylophone to play, & their food & water inside the coop. I also offer hanging veggies, rotating every other day or so, corn cob, tomato, squash, zucchini, cucumber, etc., rotating keeps it interesting. If they get bored they may start turfing a bit, that does happen with longer days June but then we get very hot July & they just prefer shady gazebo or under step then, so I can fill any divets they made & I replenish their dustbathe "hole" then as well. Once they get their dustbathe filled with fresh soil, sand & DE they are loving it, leave the sod alone again, I can keep it watered July & Aug drought. I know it sounds like lots of work, but when I got home from work I'd be out in the garden watering flowers, veggies & hanging with my flock anyway, so no difference where I'd be, just using the hose more, but it's worth it. Not only am I not slipping in mud anymore, but my chickens feet are staying cleaner. As many of my chickens were rescued from a nasty place, they had bumblefoot. I've learned that once a chicken has had bumblefoot, they can get it chronic ongoing, especially when they've got literal pockets between toes, so another benefit of the sod has been less stuff getting stuck between their toes in those pockets less often. I've had Parrots & Homing Pigeons & Fancy Pigeons for decades, but still fairly new to chickens, since 2015, so I'm still learning. Sod grass may work for me here in Delaware, but we get alot of rain. I don't know how well this would work in other areas, maybe Pennsylvania, Maryland & Virginia but doubt it would work in hot, dry climates. I know the 1st year I tried it, it only lasted 1 year, all died when we had July August drought & I didn't have the grazing greens or other interesting things for the chickens to do. Some breeds are messier than others, too, my Marans are much messier than my Wyandottes, inside the coop & out, Lol. It's been a learning trial & error. I don't have guttering on the 1st little coop, so rain coming down along that spot made made a mini trench, so I put walking pavers on the trench area & that has worked great.

It is raining like a monsoon today, just tool a few pics, that's why these few look wet & my chickens are inside, just got super windy right now, too. My chickens hate wind, rain or not.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but I'd be outside doing something anyway, it is how I unwind & I love time with my flock or just being outside in general. If you're like me you're always thinking of ideas & improvements. I'm already planning more pecking greens & a large, protected grazing area where I can plant stuff they like. It's fun!

 

[hensforhan]

I think that could be good for 4 at the most! And it all depends on where you live and how wet/dry it is. Getting to see your run would help too. So I started out with something very similar to you and after one week of owning the chicks (who had yet to move out) I decided that it was WAY not predator proof as well as it was way too small! So I reworked it and made it into something more desirable. BUT, if I had to do it all over again, I would build my own from scratch bc it’s way less expensive and I’ve learned exactly what works!

Wow yours looks great - thank you for the advice

 

[slawluv]

Did you try to leave 1 egg in all the nesting boxes they do not prefer?

I did, I even had those little ceramic eggs you can buy. I let them do what they wanted in the end and only have one box now.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

Nest egg boxes...I too bought white ceramic eggs (my hens lay cream, tan, brown and blue). They help bring young hens to the box for laying. I had 2 or 3 boxes, noticed most use 1 box, maybe 2, & my sections are from 4 to 7 hens, so 2 boxes is ok in my case. When I lined it with straw they kicked it all out but when I stuff it and pack down nice bowl shaped with wood chips they don't kick them all out, I have no clue why they want to kick out the straw but who knows what they are thinking lol.

 

[BDutch]

@Liz Birdlover
Maybe they tried to make a comfy nest with the straw and kicked it out because the batten to prevent this is quit low and straw is very light.

I have a layer of sand underneath the bedding , which is a mixture of wood chips + tobacco (against lice) + some hay (nice smell and they like yo eat from).

 

[Chickenman MAN]

I noticed all of these so called coops, even the ones Tractor Supply sells, are really only appropriate to be used as a rabbit hutch for 1 or 2 rabbits! I had rabbits at 1 point so I know what I am talking about. Something that is only 2'X3' is not enough space for 2 chickens. A coop is not only just for sleeping, when the weather is bad they're going to stay in there more, and if you get bad weather for several days in a row they are going to be bored and poop is going to accumulate, which is not healthy. I don't understand why places continue to advertise products and how many they can accommodate incorrectly! The same goes for bird cages, they will sell a cage saying it's appropriate for a Cockatiel when it's not even big enough for a Canary! It's just not right.

I've got to say, and this is in response to all the comments. My coop is only about 3.5 by 3.5 ft but I have four hens in it with two nesting boxes and about 3.3ft roosts, they are perfectly happy. That being said...my run is MASSIVE, about 25 by 25 ft if not more, I haven't exactly measured it. In addition, I do plan to buy a 6 by 8ft shed and convert to a coop in the summer, but also to sell on eventually. In addition, my hens hate going in the coop during the day unless they are broody or are laying, maybe because of the small size but they seem to prefer the outside.

 

[BDutch]

@Chickenman MAN
The size of the coop can be a real issue if you live in a climate with harsh winters. If you’re climate is mild/quite warm I agree that you’re chickens don’t need much space in the coop if they can go out to a run / free range from dawn till dusk. But a shed convert probably is a great improvement!