How much space does 7 pullets and a cockerell need?

[angeldoxie1]

how big of a space should 7 hens and a rooster have? i have a light brahma cockerell and some 7 hens of different breeds, their actually pullets. we keep them in this little pen thing but as they grow bigger i think they might need more space especially seeing how big our cockerell is gonna get. in the flock theres this pullet whos the meanest and pecks the others around food. and we have these uhh...i dont know what to call them but the chickens fly on them and rest and in the mornings my brahma crows there. sometimes when one of the pullets jump off of it they land close to another one and then they start to peck at eachother or they do this stare off thing. im a noob when it comes to chickens so can anybody tell me what type of behavior they are displaying? and also is it because there isnt enough space for them???

also if we have 7 hens how many roosts do we need? im guessing 7 but before one of them layed eggs and another pullet pecked at one of the eggs and ate it. is there a way to fix that? my mom likes eggs but she doesnt want another hen to eat them before she does.

 

[cterbizan]

each chicken needs 4 sq. ft. in the coop and 10 sq ft in the run. They will peck at each other on the roost but when it is time to roost at night they will not care mine do the same thing. You only need one kind of long roost. I am not sure how to break a chicken from eating an egg but someone here should be able to. Good luck!!!

 

[teach1rusl]

Eight chickens should have a housing part of the coop of at least 32 sq. feet. A 4 x 8 shelter would work, but that's an odd size, so maybe a 6 x 8 or a 6 x 6... The run (the outside fenced area where the chickens spend most of their time during the day) should be around 80 sq. ft minimum (maybe an 8 x 10 size). Are you asking about nest boxes?? If so, then three nest boxes should be fine, as hens will normally share nest boxes...they generally lay at different times. But if you're asking about roosts (the perch board that chickens sleep on at night, and sometimes hang out on if you have one in the run, then you would need about 8 ft. of roost.
Check your nest box frequently (listen for the egg song) to avoid egg eaters. Are they laying in the nest box or on the floor???

 

[sianara]

The 4 sq ft and 10 sq ft are minimum suggested areas. Personally, I like to do double that amount for my minimums whenever possible and then tons more yard space. I've learned from experience the more space the better.

Also, if you want to minimize waste of materials going with a 4' x8' is ideal (assuming you will be building it with 4' x 8' plywood sheets). By using 3 sheets for the walls, 1 sheet for the floor and 1-2 sheets for the roof (assuming that's what you're using for your roof that is) you'll maximize the use and minimize the waste

eta: All my coops have the minimum suggested space per chicken but I have at least double that space for the attached predator resistant runs which they have access to 24/7. In the mornings I let them out of the coop/runs and into the "big" yards and at night I lock them into the coop/runs. Eight years and counting...and I've yet to lose one to a predator (hope I didn't just jinx myself or THEM

)

 

[cafarmgirl]

I too doubled the square footage per bird, mine have a little over 8 square feet of coop floor space per bird and I would not want it any smaller. My run I made quite large just because I had the space available, it's 13x23 and they could get by with less but my birds only free range in my pasture a couple hours a day so I decided to make it bigger.