How many hens should I use for my coop???

[Mark1]

I agree 100% with this statement from Beekissed, ".but I do insure my food animals have a good life as I can give them before they die."

But, I have a 7x4' coop, with the access door always open so the hens can come and go as they please in a 40x60' fenced area.. I have another coop 8' long but all 11 of my hens prefer to roost in the smaller coop together. Your limiting factor is your run size, if you can increase it you can increase your hens to more than the 3-4 that your run will currently support. I wouldn't suggest 11 hens in that size of coop, my crazy hens just don't seem to mind.

 

[lularat]

Beekissed has given excellent advice. I have a 5 x 6 coop and 3 nesting boxes for 6 hens and I wished it were a little bigger. Thinking about enlarging it this Spring. They do not free range, but have a run approximately 300 sq ft. and spend most of their time there. The run is very predator proof, but I still lock them in their coop at night. My girls are pets and I agree that if an animal, no matter what kind is going to a source of food, it should be treated very well. And yes, I have invested quite a bit to keep my girls happy and healthy. Wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[Chick Charm]

I find that the original statement by beekissed was that this space provided by the OP was only good enough for 1 chicken. Then they later stated that 2or3 chickens would be max. Then the "cramming" "jail" and "clown car" and unhealthy conditions of chickens were associated by too many chickens in a small space. The OP never said his hens would not see time free grazing. So why would anyone say that without more knowledge of the OP's objectives.

Remember when helpful advice was available to help you build a coop and care for chickens when you got started? If I was told my backyard and coop/plans was only sufficient for 1 single chicken, I think that might just not want to start. Maybe that ideal is a tad OVERBOARD!

 

[Beekissed]

I find that the original statement by beekissed was that this space provided by the OP was only good enough for 1 chicken. Then they later stated that 2or3 chickens would be max. Then the "cramming" "jail" and "clown car" and unhealthy conditions of chickens were associated by too many chickens in a small space. The OP never said his hens would not see time free grazing. So why would anyone say that without more knowledge of the OP's objectives.

Remember when helpful advice was available to help you build a coop and care for chickens when you got started? If I was told my backyard and coop/plans was only sufficient for 1 single chicken, I think that might just not want to start. Maybe that ideal is a tad OVERBOARD!

Because I was working on what was stated and not assuming they would be free ranged. They didn't specify. And unhealthy conditions for chickens ARE associated by having too many chickens in a small space. Now, if they had said they will be sleeping here but will be free ranging, the response would have been different.

What you consider unhelpful advice is just your opinion on the matter because you advocate for many birds in small spaces. That's your right and you gave your "helpful" advice on the matter. I gave my "helpful" advice on the matter as well and it truly is helpful and can help them avoid trouble down the road.

People ask for advice so they can receive advice, it was not volunteered out of hand to discourage, it was in answer to a question. It was a good answer, though you don't feel it was so. I happen to feel your answer was not a good one, but I'm not busting your chops on it because this site has almost a quarter million members and they will all have a different answer based on their experience...and that's fine because we are not all cookie cutter people.

My experience has been that small coops should hold very small number of chickens and medium coops should hold a little more and large coops hold more than that. It's all proportionate. That suburban backyarders try to place a medium or large number of birds into dollhouse coops is out of proportion to the living needs of the animal and it has proven to lead to many, many problems in flock management for them as they go along.

Warning of that is helpful, IMO.

 

[Chick Charm]

Hopefully the OP will have a understanding that putting more than 1 single chicken in their set up as described is not a recipe for unhealthy chicken keeping. However your changing of opinion to 2 to 3 chickens isn't that far off from my original and unchanged idea of 4/5 birds at least lets me know that even you are convinced that more than one chicken can live in those proposed spaces healthily. However was it really necessary to use the words unhealthy or jail or clown car associated with anyone who OPINION differed from yours. Condescending don't you think.

Wow. I wonder why we haven't heard from the OP? Heaven forbid you fit more than 1 chicken in your 80 sf coop.

 

[lularat]

My experience has been that small coops should hold very small number of chickens and medium coops should hold a little more and large coops hold more than that. It's all proportionate. That suburban backyarders try to place a medium or large number of birds into dollhouse coops is out of proportion to the living needs of the animal and it has proven to lead to many, many problems in flock management for them as they go along.

Agreed, some of those dollhouse coops are only big enough for a few bantams. They look large enough in the pictures, but in reality are quite small. I had thought about ordering one of those, but after seeing one in person, I knew there was no way. One coop was supposed to house 4-6 chickens, but I would only put 2-3 chickens in there. We ended up building our own, and as I said, I wished we had built it a bit larger. I think a little larger is always better for the health of the chickens.

 

[Beekissed]

Hopefully the OP will have a understanding that putting more than 1 single chicken in their set up as described is not a recipe for unhealthy chicken keeping. However your changing of opinion to 2 to 3 chickens isn't that far off from my original and unchanged idea of 4/5 birds at least lets me know that even you are convinced that more than one chicken can live in those proposed spaces healthily. However was it really necessary to use the words unhealthy or jail or clown car associated with anyone who OPINION differed from yours. Condescending don't you think.

Wow. I wonder why we haven't heard from the OP? Heaven forbid you fit more than 1 chicken in your 80 sf coop.

Condescension answers condescension and mine was not the first. The tone of the posts that harangued me for my opinion were just that..aggressive and condescending. I changed my original idea because I had misread the dimensions of the coop at first read. You are the one making a big deal over the whole situation and have neatly avoided chastising the condescension of the posts that support your own position, which is rather convenient, and have chosen to focus on my posts for some reason whereas I have made no unsolicited comments towards you or on your posts.

Your further posting in the same condescension that you are supposedly offended by seems a little unorthodox if you disapprove of the tone, but each to his own.

You have a right to your own opinions.

 

[Belott]

I think Beekissed use of jail, unhealthy and clown car in the text she used them was appropriate. They were not directed at anybody specifically, just a description of conditions.

And the OP does not have an 80sq foot coop.

David

 

[Chick Charm]

I stand corrected. It is 73 1/3 sf.

And anyone stating that more than 1 chicken for this space is asking for poor health of a chicken. Totally reasonable.

 

[Belott]

I stand corrected. It is 73 1/3 sf.

Last I checked 4X6=24 for the coop
4X12=48 for the run
How many birds on the 4/10 rule is based on the lesser square feet if confined to that only, not combined!
David

And anyone stating that more than 1 chicken for this space is asking for poor health of a chicken. Totally reasonable.