how much space per chicken

[Davaroo]

Personally I have parts of my property which would be perfectly fine for chicken to create bare earth on because they are not the middle of my lawn and it's mean less yard to mow. They are also areas with great drainage so the chickens won't be standing in mud when it rains. So I'm with you mike001! I don't plan to be raising 100 or 200 chickens any time, ever.

Much depends on your tolerance. Here again, the trap is laid...we are accepting bare and sere earth as part of the experience. It is deemed part and parcel. We have no end of rationale whereby to live with it. In fact, it fascinates me most, that with ten acres at your disposal, you do even seem to welcome it.

What I've come to learn is that, not only do I dislike "cleaning" behind chickens, but I don't have to. There are ways to practically eliminate it, in fact. It can be done in much less space than you think.

Anyway, Ive said my piece. It's in ya'lls hands now. You are on the right track. I have faith in you.

 

[mike001]

It's really a matter of money, Dave. I built a 15x15 + 8x4 (under coop) run because it was quite expensive when you factor in lumber and hardware cloth and it took me a long time and a lot of sweat and blood (hardware cloth is nasty stuff) to build it. I plan to let them free range when I'm home and out and about, but when I'm not around I want them to be safe from predators, flying and walking ones and still be able to go outside and play. I live in the Catskills, a very remote and heavily forested area. We have everything from bears and coyotes to wild boars and bald eagles.

I have 11 normal chickens and I recently bought 4 silkie bantam chicks. I had planned to build a separate coop and run for them but everyone local I talk to looks at me like I have three heads when I tell them 11 chickens and 4 bantams is too much for an 8x4 coop and a 15x15+8x4 run. So I'm going to try tossing them in and seeing what happens.

 

[MrsSerfesME]

Davaroo, I am totally with you, if I could get around having to clean up after my animals that would be ideal, but I am willing to do it if I have to. I have never raised an animal that I did not have to clean up after. I also raise animals for the enjoyment of raising animals and even though I will be very grateful for the eggs my chickens will provide, they will also be my pets and will have names and I will spend time with them. They will also provide some education for my children to learn what raising your own food is like and be responsible for yourself and your animals, which is an education I don't think a lot of kids get these day.

Also, as Mike stated, it is a matter of money. I do not have the money to buy enough land to raise my chickens so that they have a new plot of land every 3 or 4 months and don't sit on the same piece of land twice in one year, nor to I have the money to build them a house as big as the one I live in. I do have the patience and time and money to give the adequate space to live in, let them out to run around my yard each day and to clean up after them. I also, as Mike said, need to make sure that the enclosure my chickens live in is sturdy enough to keep them safe from predators. While I do not have wild boars, and at least in my area I don't think there are any bears and coyotes, though they do live a short distance away, I do have raccoon, skunk, cats, dogs, foxes, hawks, owls, eagles. So I need to make sure they are secure and safe when I am not around to keep predators away.

Let me know how it goes with the Bantams Mike.

 

[mike001]

Let me know how it goes with the Bantams Mike.

I've been putting them in the run for a few hours a day. At first all the bigger chickens want to do is peck at their black worm looking feet, but then they leave them alone except to chase them around a bit. The only problem is the silkies stay among themselves and when one gets separated he distress peeps and tries to make his way to his buddies while avoiding any of the large chickens. So while they can peacefully coexist in the run, I'm concerned the larger birds will not fully accept the little buggers.

 

[MrsSerfesME]

Maybe as time goes on they will get a little more use to them? At least the big ones aren't beating the little ones up too much. Thanks for letting me know how it's going. I am trying to learn everything I can on here about raising chickens before I get mine.

I had to the go to the farm supply store that we buy our wild bird seed at and also horseback riding supplies for my girls now and again and they had baby chicks and ducks, I wanted to just scoop them all up and take them home with me. I cannot wait to get chickens!

 

[liliesllamas]

Another newbie here - so new I don't have chickens yet - and I can't help but wonder about volume from the standpoint of the chickens' body heat warming the coop. I live in Wisconsin and our winters can be quite cold. I have a 4wx8lx5h wooden playhouse that would make a lovely coop and by the 4sqft rule, it would work for the 6-8 birds I would like to have, but is that enough birds to generate the heat needed to keep the coop comfortable for them during Wisconsin winters (assuming proper ventilation)? I know I could add heat to the coop but I've found, with caring for other animals, that the less I have to "input" the happier the animals are.
Also, would there be any reason not to have them in a movable tractor during the growing season, and then put them in a permanent structure over the winter months? That sounds like the best of both worlds, since tractors are notoriously small but offer great grazing, and a permanent coops offer better protection from the cold and more space when they have to be cooped up more anyway.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[bruceha2000]

Another newbie here - so new I don't have chickens yet - and I can't help but wonder about volume from the standpoint of the chickens' body heat warming the coop. I live in Wisconsin and our winters can be quite cold. I have a 4wx8lx5h wooden playhouse that would make a lovely coop and by the 4sqft rule, it would work for the 6-8 birds I would like to have, but is that enough birds to generate the heat needed to keep the coop comfortable for them during Wisconsin winters (assuming proper ventilation)? I know I could add heat to the coop but I've found, with caring for other animals, that the less I have to "input" the happier the animals are.

Good question and why I came to read this thread. I'm converting a horse stall in a big old barn to a coop. 12 x 9.5 x 7' high. The chicken door will be left of the installed people door. Not sure yet what I'm putting above that, could be just more hardware cloth.



No other animals at this time. As you can see, there is a lot of open space "volume. Well over the "4 sq ft per bird" rule on the floor for our 12 almost 3 week old and outgrowing the bathtub birds. Only the back wall is solid wood (it is a bit 'gappy' - remember it is a big old barn). I plan to run the roosts parallel to that wall. The left side of the stall looks like the right side. Basically a little over half of the vertical space is solid, the other half covered with hardware cloth. There is hardware cloth attached to the bottom of the floor joists above as well but air can come in from the ends over the front wall.

Thus, lots of air which is good for the summer but I don't think any number of chickens could heat the place. How much ventilation do they need in the winter? I could cover some amount of the open spaces with plexiglass (ow, my wallet!) so I don't lose the light to retain some heat. I figure I'm going to need the heat lamp from the brooder in the coop during the winter, maybe make a 'warm room' within. Of course that won't get them up on the roosts which is where one would expect them to spend their nights sleeping. I guess I could have a "winter" enclosure on the top and sides of the roosts and put the lamp there.

Bruce

 

[mike001]

Update time!

My chicken are now full grown and set in their ways. I let them out to free range almost every day. I have to clean the coop every couple of weeks, but because it is a small coop it's not hard. All they do in the coop is sleep and lay eggs.

This is what I have learned:

1. When it comes to cleaning, coop size is almost irrelevant. What matters is how much time your chickens spend there. 10 chickens in a 100x100 coop will create the same amount of crap as 10 chickens in a 4x4 coop, and they will do it in the same place (under their roosting poles).

2. If you have your chickens in the coop during the day then you need a big coop or they will drown in their own crap in days. If your chickens either have a huge run or free range, then you can get away with a tiny coop, as long as each chicken has enough roost space and room to move around on the roosts (they like to shift positions).

3. Anything less than Dave's suggested 100-200 sq ft of run space per chicken means they will turn it into a desert and there will be crap everywhere.

4. The 4 square feet per chicken rule is ridiculous and needs to go. If they are out during the day they don't need that much, and if they are in all the time they need a LOT more than that. 2-3 square feet per chicken is enough for chickens that only sleep and lay eggs in their coop (not including nest boxes). I have no idea how much you need for chickens that live in the coop all the time, but it's a hell of alot more than 4 sq ft per bird.

Hope this helps.

 

[bruceha2000]

Sounds like a reasonable set of 'rules'. I know some people that have 25 chickens in an old backyard shed converted to a coop. I don't know exactly how big it is but I would guess about 4x8. Not even big enough for half that many chickens. They have a small run, maybe 8x20, again way too small. Now that it is getting cold, the community garden they live beside will be shutting down so they will be allowed to go in there. I have to believe the overcrowding is the main reason they get few eggs. The birds have to be stressed.

Bruce

 

[JulyBlizzard]

Why is this? If you have two 50 square foot coops and you put one on top of the other and make a doorway to connect them, do they suddently become one 50 sqft coop instead of a 100 sqft coop or two 50s?

I have heard that this practice invites nasty pests and diseases. Always try to include light. How can you get the sun to get in the coop because that will keep anaerobic bacteria away. I understand that many diseases are caused by anaerobic climates. It makes sense. The science says yes. So it helps keep mold, mildew and bad fungus away. As for pests you can do a two story if you can design in such a way as to be capable of cleaning it. I am going to use the deep litter method for the coop. I believe a balance of microbes benefits the chickens.

For me the challenge so far has been getting good light inside the coop. I want good light and I don't want strong drafts coming in during winter like now. But I still need to maintain flexibility because the summer will come. So while building a coop I am thinking flexibility. When I bring in new chicks I want to be able to show them to the older birds as well. So I will be able to split my coop in half or smaller if I need. I can split part of the run as well. I am working towards having two runs so as to be able to rotate. The rotation will also allow me to make plantings. The plantings will help to feed the chickens, diffuse the waste and build soil. I would prefer to build a mobile chicken unit and utilize my acreage. But if I didn't have as much land I would definitely do a rotational runs. If you can't keep as many birds that is fine. When I lived in the burbs I had five chickens free range a large back yard. They were regular sized. My yard then had 29 trees to give you and idea of its size. The coop and its run were not very big at all.

But for what they brought to our lives and the eggs it was plenty. What I am to now is make money doing something I enjoy.