How much space?

[SC_Hugh]

Quote:
Sounds like enough room as long as they are getting along fine. 4' per bird is a minimum recommedation.

Can they go in and out of the coop during the day?

 

[pattyjean73]

I will be keeping my birds in the coop locked down at night. During the day they'll have access to their run from sunup to sundown. Also, when I'm outside working which is quite a bit March - November I'll open the coop door and let them free range while I'm outside. However, here is my question. I want them locked back into their coop/run when I leave the house to run errands and such. How do I get them to return to their coop if it's not their bedtime yet? I suppose they'd come running for feed right? Like my goats do?

 

[Bookworm chick]

Pattyjean73, I'm interested in finding out an answer too. I've thought about letting mine free range while I'm in the yard, but haven't done it yet because I worry about not being able to get them back in the coop if I had to leave during the day. I think they'd probably head to the coop on their own near dusk. They're bantams and good fliers so I don't know if they'd decide they liked to roost in our tall shade tree instead of the roost or not. Three (the barred rocks) are tame but the other three are pretty wild. I'd also thought about letting them out maybe an hour before dusk. At least until I know how they're going to act. They do love certain treats so I suppose I could try luring them in with that. One of the barred rocks is a rooster and he has good "control" over them in the run, meaning when he makes certain noises they come running to him. So if I lure him into the coop, they should follow?
I also have a garden and blackberry, blueberry, raspberry and strawberry plants (not fenced in) and worry about them destroying them. I don't know if they'd stick to the grass and weeds or make a beeline to my fruit. I know what I'd do if I were a chicken and had the choice. That's probably my biggest concern. If the chickens destroyed the fruit, my husband would destroy them.
My run is 8 x 6 and the coop is 10 x 10. This sounds like enough room for 6 bantams. See, I've already talked myself out of free ranging. LOL

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Quote:
Sounds like enough room as long as they are getting along fine. 4' per bird is a minimum recommedation.

Can they go in and out of the coop during the day?

Yes, their pop door is always open for them.

 

[ging3rhoffman]

Quote:
As far as getting them to come back in...when mine were a week old i started taking them treats and saying treat treat, treat treat. so now everytime i say treat treat they come running. Some of them run up to the side of the run and cant get in so my husband will walk behind them until they get to the front of the run where there is a big door for them to come through. Works great.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
My opinion is one you won't hear much and probably won't welcome; I also suggest it is right and offers the numbers you are after.

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Interior coop space is good @ 3-5 sq ft/bird. They should not be in there except to sleep and nest, anyway. If you live in a northern climate, then go with the larger number. Then, cull your flock when winter approaches and keep only the best layers and cock.

For exterior space, the absolute minimum is 87.12 sq ft/ per bird.
87.12 sq ft/per bird is equal to 500 birds per acre. That was the number considered maximum by the men who range reared chickens back before our intense methods arrived. Did you catch that? These men reared their birds on range, i.e., grass and dirt.

The confusing array of numbers you hear today originate with the dreaded confinement/commercial business and assume waste management as part of the cycle. But, if you break from that path and allow the "magic 87.12 sq ft" (or more), you'll find the earth itself absorbs the effects of chickens and nearly eliminates the need for waste management. Anything less and you become a waste management specialist, to one degree or another.

Don't have that much space? Reduce numbers until you approach it. Harsh I know, but there it is.

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What this means is that most of the numbers you hear are essentially white elephants... and wrong. Yes, I said it – wrong.

A chicken is an active creature, 5-8 lbs of talon and beak with a burning desire to shred all grass, flowers or garden space within view. 70% of what it eats is returned out the rear as wet manure. That’s 3-4 ounces of the stuff per day. 10 chickens mean 1.875-2.5 pounds of it, deposited every day on the shredded ground… 365 days per year. Confine them tightly in a small space and, well… you do the math.

There are as many ways to keep chickens as there are people, and you can keep chickens in 1 sq. ft., if you want to. But that doesn’t mean it's the best way.

Flatly put, there are a few immutable principles which you shouldn’t tempt. One of them is this:

When it comes to chickens and their living space, only one word describes what you want: MORE.

 

[gotpoodle]

Quote:
Okay, we have an acre of land. I'm telling my husband you said I could have 500 birds!

Seriously, great advice. Just the numbers I was looking for to plan a pen so they can 'free range' but not be totally free to get into trouble.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Okay, we have an acre of land. I'm telling my husband you said I could have 500 birds!

Seriously, great advice. Just the numbers I was looking for to plan a pen so they can 'free range' but not be totally free to get into trouble.

Now you have the idea. Think 'paddock,' as opposed to confined chicken run, and you are heade in the right direction.

"Free range" is a gross misnomer. Chickens, like other livestock, are always best when they are managed.