How many hens??

[Sphynxcrazy]

Just wondering how many square feet I should provide my hens? Right now I have 10 left in a 23' by 19' feet. I am waiting for my golden sex links to come available, so I was just trying to figure it out.

So how many in a 23' by 19' feet run? The coop is 8' by 8', with 12 nest boxes. I might also possibly be expanding the run, and maybe even the coop. It does get cold and snow sometimes, but the snow goes away within a day or 2. And it usually stays in the high one digits, or warmer. They have a large are in the runs that is covered so theynare out of the elements, for the most part. Usually half stay there and half go in the coop when it is bad weather.





Also, are gold sex links just as good as the red ones??

 

[Rebel Soldier]

I raise American Games so I dont know about your breed. I can tell you that you cannot have too much space! The only issue I have with cold weather is solved by dubbing my cocks. Sounds like a great set up ! If you can allow them access to free range in the daytime, they will be even happier!

 

[Sphynxcrazy]

I let them free range int he evening/ afternoon. They just started being able to be out because they eat the garden. They love bean plants... And they jump up and eat the corn.. Now everything is about gone, so they have been enjoying the corn patch, with all the bugs. The garden is the length of the property. Also they come to the house and dig up and even eat my flowers and plants. They have a lot of free ranging room, but no theyncome and dig my plants up. They even have the harvested grain fields to peck in.


Also, I am not to familiar with dubbing, but I haven't had any problems with the combs and waddles. My roo has been fine.

 

[Queen Bee]

The recommend sq ft of coop pre bird is: 4sq ft. and 10sq ft for the run... OF course, there are lots of different things that can vary these figures...

your weather? If you have long, harsh winters that they will need to be in the coop , I would add more...
if you live in an area where you have mild winters, great weather most of the time --you might be ok with 4 sq ft.

What breed?: bantams need less room than large breeds

Will you free range all / some/ none of the time?: the more time they spend in an area the more bored they will become, the more poo there will be/ less nutrients in the soil.

If it were me, I would give them the largest area I could afford! Because you will never have enough chickens/breeds and you want them to be happy...

 

[Rebel Soldier]

Sounds like a true chicken UTOPIA! If I get to come back as achicken, I hope it is at your place!

 

[Sphynxcrazy]

Okay, so my pen is big enough, but I do need a larger coop as I was going to do 30 in this pen and 20 in the other.



Sometimes I can't even get them to come out, as they get all kinds of garden stuff. They are so weird, we grew purple beans, and they wouldn't eat the. Ends. Eventually they would, but I guess they didn't realize it was food. Now I have been throwing the bean plants to them and they will eat the left over beans on them. They love the leaves, that why I have to keep them penned up. Especially when they are just getting going. ask the farmer, they did a number on 3 rows of beans the length of our property:/


The winters here are really not that bad compared to 3 hours away where family lives. They get snowed in and really only have 1 month that they dont have to wear a jacket at night. Our snow here melts within a day or two. The chickens don't mind to much. I make a path to there shady thing, and they hang out there and scratch around.



I actually did have a problem with them getting bored and killing each other. I tried all kind of stuff, but yet they were still being eaten by each other. I bought them a bale of alfalfa to peck at, but they didn't really care for it also. That what I am scared will happen with these 50 chicks I am getting. They will be in 2 different pens. I haven't had anyone in avout a year die from being cannibalized. I had max 24 in the pen.

 

[HouseMouseHens]

I have an 8x8 foot coop, and I have 13(they are still chicks though). at 4 sqft per chicken for the coop an 8x8 allows for 16 hens. I won't go more than 13 though because my run is only going to be 10x14, giving 10sqft per chicken and any less I feel wouldn't be enough.

 

[HouseMouseHens]

Okay, so my pen is big enough, but I do need a larger coop as I was going to do 30 in this pen and 20 in the other.
Sometimes I can't even get them to come out, as they get all kinds of garden stuff. They are so weird, we grew purple beans, and they wouldn't eat the. Ends. Eventually they would, but I guess they didn't realize it was food. Now I have been throwing the bean plants to them and they will eat the left over beans on them. They love the leaves, that why I have to keep them penned up. Especially when they are just getting going. ask the farmer, they did a number on 3 rows of beans the length of our property:/
The winters here are really not that bad compared to 3 hours away where family lives. They get snowed in and really only have 1 month that they dont have to wear a jacket at night. Our snow here melts within a day or two. The chickens don't mind to much. I make a path to there shady thing, and they hang out there and scratch around.
I actually did have a problem with them getting bored and killing each other. I tried all kind of stuff, but yet they were still being eaten by each other. I bought them a bale of alfalfa to peck at, but they didn't really care for it also. That what I am scared will happen with these 50 chicks I am getting. They will be in 2 different pens. I haven't had anyone in avout a year die from being cannibalized. I had max 24 in the pen.

I am a newbie, so maybe I am missing something, but 50 hens in an 8x8 coop????????? That is less than 1sqft per hen! I hope if you are getting 50 chicks you are going to build a 200sqft coop and a much larger run!

 

[cluck-cluck]

I think you're mixing up two people. HouseMouseHen has the 8X8 coop and 13 chickens and Sphynxcrazy currently has a 19X23 and wishes to expand

 

[HouseMouseHens]

I think you're mixing up two people. HouseMouseHen has the 8X8 coop and 13 chickens and Sphynxcrazy currently has a 19X23 and wishes to expand

I don't believe so since the spynxcrazy said "So how many in a 23' by 19' feet run? The coop is 8' by 8', with 12 nest boxes." So his/her coop is 8x8. 50 chickens is WAY too many for an 8x8. My coop is that large and I can have up to 16 tops.