how much space per chicken

[mike001]

It can matter how high the coop is, because you can add a second floor. Consider this. Take an 8x4 coop, 32 square feet, say 6 or 7 feet high. Now put a loft half way off the ground. Say 5x4. Put bedding down on the loft, put roosts above and below, make the loft accessible. You now have 52 sqft of floor space that they can walk on, roost above, etc. If you have a window, the loft can bisect the part that opens so both "floors" get light and air.

 

[aggiemae]

It seems to me that a 4x5 coop (not including the nesting box(es) is plenty big enough for 4-5 hens if you live in a climate where they can go outside everyday. Also I agree with whoever said that a small coop is pretty quick and easy to clean...and honestly cleaning a coop once a week doesn't seem like often enough but I clean out the cat litter box (at least) twice a day.

 

[bairo]

@Dav
I was getting ready to kid you about getting them going on sand when they are just getting down the shavings (your going to cause a riot)...but then the "nutrients instantly available" caught my eye. Now you have me going a bit.

 

[Davaroo]

Ive never gone in for elaborate chicken accommodations. I lean towards tractors and other mobile housing; this means I also use fences, sprays, traps and guns to keep predators away. As my friend Larry says, "Oh, yeah... if you have chickens in the country, you gonna shoot something,"
It does help that I live in a moderate climate and so I generally give chickens shelter, but little more. Think "fresh air housing" and you get the idea.

However, even in pretty severe northern climates the right birds can do well with just the basics.
(if you live in the arctic ice, well, you are in a special class altogether. For the rest of us, keep reading)

In the olden days, it was universally recommended that what we might call "hobby" chicken houses should be mounted on skids, and so mobile. You hauled them from section to section on a property so the birds could take advantage of the outdoor air and surrounding forage. Naturally this meant housing that was not elaborate, nor permanently situated. The idea of yarding, or paddock rearing also favors this sort of arrangement.

Too, the sort of bird you select matters. Back then there were only a few that were even considered, in contrast to today's range of 'yard confetti' breeds. For the North, Wyandottes, RIR's and some "exotics" like the feather-footed Frenchies or Chantaclere's were about it. Most literature of the period only recommended the first two and the Wy was preferred up north.

Certainly you can cram as many birds as you see fit, into whatever space you have. You can build a rigid coop with wired run and let everything turn funky with mud, chicken filth and disease. These things have been part of the experience for a long time and many, many people have viewed them as normal - so much so that they have become the standard.

Personally, it does me good to see so many people concerned about the right amount of space. The next step is to open up the available space and think outdoor living, as opposed to how many can be crammed into a coop. Get the right "pasture" set up first, whether it be suburban yard or farm field. Then resolve you predator issues, whatever they might be, without sympathy or regret. Finally, get the right number of the right birds for your climate and the actual housing situation can become less of a worry.

 

[mike001]

You can build a rigid coop with wired run and let everything turn funky with mud, chicken filth and disease.

I'm sure you have a lot of knowledge and wisdom to share with the community, but statements like this don't do wonders for credibility. Colorful, granted. Funny even.

Most people who keep backyard chickens have fixed coops and many have wired runs, and I seriously doubt any would describe their chicken housing as being funky with mud, chicken filth and disease.

 

[fiddlebanshee]

I'm sure you have a lot of knowledge and wisdom to share with the community, but statements like this don't do wonders for credibility. Colorful, granted. Funny even.

Most people who keep backyard chickens have fixed coops and many have wired runs, and I seriously doubt any would describe their chicken housing as being funky with mud, chicken filth and disease.

Well, that would depend on how many chickens they cram into that stationary coop. I have a shed with a large run which are both stationary. They are not funky, filthy or disease ridden. My chickens have 4 sq ft inside and 46 sq ft outside per bird. If I had a smaller space for the amount of birds that I have I don't doubt for one second that it would actually get funky and filthy pretty quickly, particularly inside but also outside.

 

[Davaroo]

...and meanwhile we see a vibrant stream of concern about controlling flies, stench, mud..... You name it. Applying lime is always a hot topic, too, along with a host of others surrounding cocci or afflictions directly attributable to overcrowding.
It remains apparent that for every NewAge 'chickeneer' that gets it, there is at least one other who doesn't. If only one person rethinks their methods, and avoids the modified zoo/industrial methods the hobby has adopted over the years, then thats good. If I risk whatever meager credibility I might have here with my statements, well, it'll be alright.
Thanks for your concern.

 

[Davaroo]

@mike001
Surely you've heard of the days when people thought the earth was flat? They believed you would fall off the edge and be eaten by monsters if you went too far out to sea.
Today we know this is wrong, but they didnt. Put flatly, they didnt have anything else to go on.
Its kind of the same with keeping chickens. Much of what we accept now is passed around like an old hat, but is rooted in the last 85 years. Its was during this period that the push to institutionalize poultry as a mass market business originated. We dont know this is the source of much of our "wisdom," of course.... Heck, even todays experts - the ones writing the books or running internet sites - don't realize it.

You really must look back in time, if you are to break this cycle.

 

[mike001]

Listen to what you're saying. The way almost everyone does it is terribly wrong and if we don't change...then...then...nothing will happen! People who are happy with chickens will continue to be so! Some chickens will continue to get sick! And chicken droppings will continue to attract flies! And the sun will continue to shine!

I belong to a lot of forums, and every one has all kinds of people reporting problems. Do you know why? Because people without problems don't report them. And one of the top reasons, if not the top reason, people go to a new forum is to get help with a problem.

You've never had all those problems arising from overcrowding? Guess what? Neither have most chicken keepers. How many people lurk or post on this forum? A thousand? Two thousand? Ten thousand? How many report the problems you describe? How many chicken keepers are there that don't post on this forum? Or any forum?

I don't think anyone is arguing the fact that if you fence in two acres of land and keep two chickens there, the grass will be unharmed (do chickens even like grass? mine prefer dirt), you will never smell anything and there will be no more flies than normal (unless you leave out a cup of orange juice, then god help you!). And so what? There is a perfect way to do everything. If you only drive 15 miles a day on the highway and change your oil every thousand miles and keep your car in a climate controlled garage it will last forever. Does that mean people who can't do that shouldn't have cars?

Most people can't do what you describe with chickens unless they only have one or two chickens. The birds will be lonely, you won't get many eggs and the whole thing will seem pointless. Are you saying people with small yards shouldn't have chickens at all?

 

[Davaroo]

@mike 001...
Do what you want. I have a divergent opinion, thats all.
Enjoy the New Chicken Math. Im not sure what I was thinking with my recent comments.

Peace.