How many is too many for my set up?

alicek4

In the Brooder
7 Years
Jul 13, 2012
52
3
33
Hey --
New to this, bought 6 hens for eggs in April. One turned out to be a roo, which is fine as we live on a 100 acre farm. This is our set up: We bought a coop at Tractor Supply that is supposed to house 2 to 4 chickens. All 6 use this as a roost just for sleeping at night, and they are not crowded in there at all. When Tractor Supply says the coop is for 2-4 chickens, do they mean living in there full time? The coop is in a large dog run, which has been well fortified against crtiiters on the top and bottom, plus we have a dog that likes the Angry Birds and watches out for them. My husband just built a large unit of 8 nesting boxes, also inside the run. Their food and water is inside the run,also. Even with all of this in the run, there is still plenty of room for them to run around BUT they free range all day, anyway. The only situation where they would spend any amount of time in the run is if we are on vacation.
My question is this -- since they are free ranging and really only use the coop to roost at night, do we have room for 2 more chickens? I would like to add to the flock (having researched this already and know what's involved in introducing them if I do get more). I feel there is plenty of room, but since I am new to this I want to make sure I am not over crowding them. I could always add another little coop for them to roost in at night.
TIA!!
 
You don't give any sizes so I would not dare give a guess. I don't know what your winters are like. Are they free ranging when you are on vacation? Look at the worst case scenario, not the best case.
 
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I'm no expert, but if the coop you got at TSC is the same as they were selling at my TSC, you are already over capacity. Chicks bought in April aren't at their full size yet, either.
If you over crowd them, they will start picking on each other.
Would it be possible to build another coop for any additional chickens?

Good luck!
 
Yeah, I'm terrible at even guessing what the actual dimensions are. But I can say the coop is roomy just for roosting (I am thinkiing it was built for chickens to actually live in, not just roost,and that is why the limit was 4) and the run, like I said still has lots of running room in it. We haven't gone anywhere since they have been free ranging, but the worst case scenario is that they would be in the run for up to a week, wheras they free range now, We lock the run up at dusk after they go in to roost. Winters in KY can get pretty cold but the breeds I have are supposed to be tolerant (RIR and Sex links). Perhaps later I can post a pic of what I have; I have been good about researching everything and making sure I have what I need, I don't want to rush into anything and have these birds turn on me.
 
Pictures would be fantastic and sorting out how well your set-up would work. I know reading, that each hen should have 12inches of roost space so i have 4 birds which means i need 4ft of roosts.

I also know if they get crowded things get bad, chickens seem to behave much like children, group too many, too close and things go crazy lol
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However, you mention your run is well secured so do they have access to this all the time in addition to the coop itself? if so, that is definitely a factor in what is needed for the coop sizing.
 
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Don't want crazy Angry Birds!! I'll post pics later. If they need 12 inches of roosting space perhaps I can just figure it out. I thought perhaps if they have plenty of room during the day and just use it to roost at night it may be adequate. But I would rather get another coop for them to roost in than to over crowd them.
 
And yes they have access to the entire run, which is very well secured, all night and the whole farm all day.
 
If you have cold snowy winters then you really need 2-4 square feet of floor space per bird and room for food and water containers. Birds should have enough room to open their wings without hitting anything. As they will be inside alot!!! If you live down south they need enough shade to get into on the hot days. Bigger is always better when it comes to coops.Cause with a Roo you are going to be doing chicken math very soon!!
 

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