How much room needed for a run?

[Flyboy718]

How many square feet are needed per bird in the run? And also, how high of a fence would I need...could I get away with 48" or is that too low?

 

[GA_in_GA]

I believe 10 sq ft per bird is recommended. Hopefully, someone with more expertise will correct me if I am incorrect.

 

[10 point]

10 square foot outside in the run and 2 inside the coop per bird. and 48" is high enough but you might have birds escaping from your run unless you cover it.

 

[ChickenSnake]

Dang thats a lot of room! Most of the runs I've seen online are smaller than that

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[cherylcohen]

Yes many runs are much smaller, however if you want healthy happy birds 10 sq feet is what I also recommend. You run the risk of pecking and disease in runs that are too small. I use 6 foot high sides and I also clip their wings. Some breeds really can fly!
Also inside your run put fun things for them, a dust bath, a few large logs, maybe some roosts.

 

[Flyboy718]

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2 square feet per bird inside the coop?

 

[Nicole01]

I currently have 110 square feet for 7 standard and 1 bantam. I feel that this isn't enough room either, so I free range 1-3 times daily supervised. My coop is 48 square feet.

The recommended coop space is 4 square feet per standard bird.

 

[cherylcohen]

I like 4 but really they are in the coop for such little time, really most important that they have 8-10" of roost space per bird and a goodly amount of nest boxes

 

[GA_in_GA]

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I thought it was a lot as well. But I want my girls to stay healthy and happy, so I went with the suggested 10 sq ft. I have an 8' x 16' run, you can see it on my BYC page. My coop is waaaay to small, so the run is covered and helps balance the mini coop. Currently have 2 hens, but plan to add a few more in the fall. (Chicken Math at work)


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I am glad you corrected the recommended coop square footage, Nicole.

 

[Flyboy718]

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I plan on doing this in my backyard, but I also have a small dog that poops a lot in the backyard...do you think there is any danger of the chickens eating the dog poop?