How many in new house and yard???

[chiknlady]

I currently have--2 banties, 2 heavies and a Yokohama Roo--I have restored an old coop and am creating a new run. The coop is 8'LX4'wX6'T and the exterior run is 14'x16'. Spring is in the air and I am thinking of adding to my flock--any idea's on how many little chickadees I can accomodate. These are my pets and no one will be eaten--they are strickly layers and the roo adds character. So if I keep the 5 I have--how many more can I comfortably house?

 

[bigmike&nan]

Well I GOT THE BUG and want to build a new coop - one for some Cochins we'd like to get to live in separate.


We have an 8 ft long by 4 ft wide run and a 4 ft by 4 ft by 3 ft tall coop upstairs, we got two Wyandotte hens and a Bantam Cochin roo... On a rainy day like today the covered half of the run is a little crowded, if they had to stay like that for days on end it'd get real old.

Based on your dimensions I would think your guys are in a very healthy environment and would leave it as is... or maybe get a couple more bantams at best... If I have learned anything in the last 6 weeks (I am a noobie) it is that new additions to the flock can create a situation where personalities can clash and you have pecked on hens... Best to give them as much room as you can. After seeing this sweet Bantam Cochin female all pecked up last week I learned to be more cautious about the environment I bring newcomers into... It broke my heart to see this warm hen so pestered...

I am sure those guys you have really love all that walking around room...

Good luck deciding,

Michael

 

[chiknlady]

thnx for reminding me of pecking order--best to keep the ladies with enough space--or it will be the rooster who is hen pecked

 

[Chirpy]

The general rule of thumb is to have 4 sq. feet per chicken for an inside coop. Now, if you have bantams you can make that 3 sq. feet. So - for your size coop you could have 8 Standard size chickens. Since you have 2 bantams I would say you could go ahead and add three more standard size chickens to your coop.

However, it's important to note that IMO (learning from experience) it's never wise to 'push' your limits. I had exactly the number approved for my size coop and when they had to be locked in for a couple of days this winter I had my first problems with feather pecking. I would recommend that you only add two more and leave some 'breathing' room for your flock. The problems arise when your birds cannot get outside for a day or two or more. You will likely then have pecking issues because the birds are enclosed and get bored, etc.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

If your hens are pets/eggs only, then I'd wait a few years to add more chickens. These hens won't lay forever, and it would be nice to bring home a couple more younger hens to produce eggs then.

Carla

 

[chiknlady]

Thank you everyone--3 of the hens are somewhat mature--so I am not starting from scratch--I got 1 egg on Mother's day and none today...I had them in a smaller enclosure and coop and I had recently adopted the Roo and a younger hen--who was to be culled. So I had to make more room for everyone--now it seems like I have so much room--that I need to fill it--but you all make excellent points! I might cry watching the peeps get picked on...or worse yet eaten...