How much room do I actually need for 4 chickens?

[U_Stormcrow]

Wow, I thought I was doing okay. I’m well into my coop build. Putting 6 chickens in a Bella Coop build from cleancoops.com. It is 4x4 and I was going to make the run bigger than it’s “optional” suggested build. Because one of the nest boxes would have been on the south side I removed it and increased the other nest box size (on north side) so it has 3 cubicles. I will probably open part of the yard to them sometimes. It also has that space underneath does that count? I hope it’s enough. Also it’s on a slope. I’ll post pictures and ask questions tomorrow.

Please flag us in that post, when you do.

The answer is, no, its not big enough - but maybe we can find some ways to help. Budget and available materials would be good to know, too.

The "thumb rules" are just that, rules of thumb which provide a good starting point, from which allowances and adjustments are made based on climate, management methods, breeds, etc. Larger is almost always better. Smaller greatly increases potential problems. But there are building methods and designs, in some climates, which allow some creative space solutions.

 

[Aunt Angus]

But there are building methods and designs, in some climates, which allow some creative space solutions.

Oh, gosh, yes! This! I have seen some amazingly creative ways to do this here on BYC - things that I never ever would have thought of. You might consider posting a thread and asking folks how they've expanded their areas/enlarged their coops. Chicken people are super resourceful.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

One of our respected posters has a very informative post regarding the thumb rules, and some memorable comments. One of which is (paraphrasing) "if its measured in inches, its too small". Another, I believe, is a rather disparaging (but accurate) comment about coops that look like doll's houses.

and if you should search BYC for that phrase, "doll house" in the Coop & Run Design forum, well, let's just say its not a collection of praise posts. Azygous, one of BYC's experts on poultry illness and injuries, used to comment frequently re: "doll house" pre-fabs and builds. Never positively. Kid's plastic "play houses" do get repurposed here for chickens sometimes - as entertainment/enrichment, NOT as coops (with enough hardware cloth, and if you didn't care about predators, that is sized for two, maybe three small breed, well behaved birds).

 

[3KillerBs]

Awesome pic to illustrate!

Thank you. I'm working on an article intending to illustrate the guidelines so people can visualize what they really mean and help them work out the math.

One of our respected posters has a very informative post regarding the thumb rules, and some memorable comments. One of which is (paraphrasing) "if its measured in inches, its too small". Another, I believe, is a rather disparaging (but accurate) comment about coops that look like doll's houses.

Rules of Thumb

• If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.
• If it's measured in inches instead of feet it's too small.
• If your walk-in closet is larger than the coop-run combo you're thinking of buying think carefully about whether you have an utterly awesome closet or are looking at a seriously undersized chicken coop.
• If it has more nestboxes than the number of chickens it can legitimately hold the designer knew nothing about chickens' actual needs and it probably has other design flaws too.

 

[3KillerBs]

P.S. We talk a lot about the guidelines and offer rules of thumb and they DO get people off to a good start. But everyone should also read this article which shows why they are *guidelines* rather than hard-and-fast RULES.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thank you. I'm working on an article intending to illustrate the guidelines so people can visualize what they really mean and help them work out the math.



Rules of Thumb

• If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.
• If it's measured in inches instead of feet it's too small.
• If your walk-in closet is larger than the coop-run combo you're thinking of buying think carefully about whether you have an utterly awesome closet or are looking at a seriously undersized chicken coop.
• If it has more nestboxes than the number of chickens it can legitimately hold the designer knew nothing about chickens' actual needs and it probably has other design flaws too.

You know as soon as your article is done, I'll be linking it frequently!

 

[3KillerBs]

You know as soon as your article is done, I'll be linking it frequently!

I'm working on getting good photos of common objects that are the same size as the recommendations and figuring out how to give a sense of scale to photos of various sheds on our property.

I also want to make a few more of those "crayon" diagrams to replace stuff I linked off the internet.

 

[Aunt Angus]

But seriously - don't give up hope! There are lots of options. I promise!

 

[Amka]

Thank you all for your input! And thanks for starting the thread, @ChickenOfSpades. I hope it's okay I'm using it, just didn't want to start a new one. Flagging @rosemarythyme @3KillerBs @Aunt Angus @TheFatBlueCat @townchicks @U_Stormcrow

@3KillerBs, thanks for the link to your coop renovation, it was super helpful.

Again, this is for 6 chickens in a suburban area.

In northern Utah, my dry climate includes winters with Fahrenheit temps as low as single digits with highs in the teens in the winter and a few days of summer highs in the triple digits. We also can get monsoon winds and rain occasionally.

This is the build so far, partially primed. Its color will eventually be a very pale blue, the lighter color so it doesn't absorb as much heat in the summer. I got the plans for the Bella coop from cleancoops.com, and according to them, it's big enough. The coop itself is 4x4 ft. The big opening will be the door for access to clean. The plans call for making a roosting box, with a dowel handle, that will be just inside the door. I'm not sure about this for roosting. The window you see is south facing, and the original plans had a nesting box there, but I figured it would get too hot for that. I am using hardware cloth for a screen and making my own window that I will be able to swing up for the summer, maybe even to just roof pitch down, and add shade - then shut for the winter and have warmth from the sun.

And here is another window, according to the plans, just above the chicken door. It faces east. This one again will have a hardware cloth screen, but the window I build will slide side to side. Above you see the soffit. I used a 2x4 on one side of the truss for stability and will put hardware cloth on the other. Same, kitty-corner on the other side of the roof. The plan calls for a rectangular vent above the window and nest boxes but I thought it might be cute with some round holes, using hardware cloth again. Is that all enough ventilation? Is this enough space?

I haven't connected these, just laying it out. The woodpile will be moved to the east wall. Also east of the coop is a planned ~10x10 patio with a fire pit. Also, that tarp shed behind the coop will become a real shed and will shade the coop's west side. The only reason I didn't consider the run right against the wall is because the city ordinance said the _coop_ had to be at least five feet from the property line. But it didn't talk about the run. We got a permit. We won't have the chicken police around unless there are complaints but still, not sure. Also lumber starts to become a consideration. It will be as tall as just under the roof. With the space under the coop, as laid out, it works to about 64 sq ft.

Letting them out is something I want to do, but I'll need to fence off this space north of the garden which is to the east of this picture's vantage point. None of the walls are shorter than about 5 ft. A problem is that I'm worried about hawks, and our ordinance says "with supervision," whatever that means.

Is this sufficient, am I missing something? Thank you all so much for your help!

 

[3KillerBs]

4x4 makes a nice coop for 4 chickens, but is too small for 6 unless you make a secure, covered run that will never be unavailable so that the coop-and-run functions together as a complete unit.

I had 5 in this coop for a year, but I live in a particularly mild climate where my chickens never lacked access to the outdoors because of weather (They even foraged in the run between rain bands of several tropical storms): https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-little-monitor-coop.76275/

It looks good and sturdy for your storms, but you need top-level ventilation right up at the roof peak.