I am dreaming and planning about having my own chicken coop

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WOW!! You have all been so helpful about the coop size...you have all been so friendly and kind. Thank you!!

Here is the coop I was thinking of getting. They say it can hold 12 chickens:



Size is 143.3"x68.5"x66.9"


There are six nesting boxes and a 12-foot run. Here is the link where I would order it from with more pictures and details:
http://myurbanfarmers.myshopify.com...cken-coop-barn-red-dark-brown-and-clear-stain

Can you advise, please? How many chickens would this accomodate for the chickens to be happy?

Thank You!!
 
4. The actual coop is only 4x4. Nesting boxes are not part of the usable floor space. The run is also only 8' as the overall length is 12'. They are including the area under the coop as part of the run. Fudging. No ventilation either.
 
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Teila said:
G’Day from down under Henchanted  :frow  Welcome!

I like that username!

Just sharing something I researched on a quiet day at work which may be of assistance if you are looking at a kit/pre fab coop.

I picked what I believed was a well know manufacturer and did some calcs……..

Their 'Tavern’ is advertised as housing 3-5 chickens but if you go into the expanded details it mentions 4-6 large chickens.

Their 'Saloon' is advertised as housing 2-4 chickens.

So, for good measure, lets say the 'Saloon' houses 3 chickens and the 'Tavern' 4 chickens.

Using the measurements provided on site:
The 'Saloon' measures: 76″ long, 35″wide, 39″tall
The Tavern measures: 98″ long, 41″ wide, 61″tall

So, by that reckoning 1 large chicken only needs 22 inches long and 6 inches wide :rolleyes:

Their 'Ranch' is advertised as housing 10-15 chickens.

The ‘Ranch’ measures: 143” long, 68″ wide, 67″ tall.

That is pretty close to double the size of the Saloon which houses 2-4 chickens but the Ranch is advertised as housing 10-15 chickens?? I am not going to work out how many inches that gives each additional chicken on the Saloon v Ranch but suffice to say it ain't gunna be much.

Keeping it simple and focusing on the Ranch, lets be generous and for ease of math, say 10 chickens that means each chicken would have an area 14 inches long by 6.8 inches wide.

I hope that was helpful.  Good luck to you and your flock when they arrive .. very exciting!

I also hope you enjoy being a BYC member.  There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.  Unlike non chicken loving friends, family and colleagues, BYC’ers never tire of stories or pictures that feature our feathered and non feathered friends ;)
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what you are not taking into consideration is those measurements are the coop + the run. The coop portion is about 1/3 of that. They also erroneous include the nesting boxes as part of the overall measurements which really is dead space in a coop.
 
Percheron chick said:
what you are not taking into consideration is those measurements are the coop + the run. The coop portion is about 1/3 of that. They also erroneous include the nesting boxes as part of the overall measurements which really is dead space in a coop.
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Hey there Percheron chick I was taking into consideration that these were the overall measurements which just goes to prove even more that the kits are not suitable for the number of chickens they are advertised to house.
 
Greetings and a belated
welcome-byc.gif
! Great to have you aboard! Hope you find the coop you are looking for!
 
Thank you Teila and Percheron (how do you tag someone in your post?) for this info. So, how many chickens can fit in a coop this size? I do need to buy a perfab coop because I cannot build anything. How big would a coop have to be for 12 chickens? Twice this size? Three times?

I have soooo much to learn!!!
 
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Hey Kathleen

To ‘tag’ someone, select the ‘Quote’ option; if you scroll back you can see where Percheron chick quoted me.

To ‘tag’ multiple, select the ‘Multi’ option on each of the posts you wish to tag and on the last one select ‘Quote’ and you will have multiple quotes tagged.

The recommended minimum coop space per large chicken is 4 square foot and run space 10 square foot so you could probably squeeze 6 into that coop and run but you might have boredom and feather pecking issues.

As Percheron Chick has mentioned, I wouldn’t put more than 4 large chickens in there.

One problem with the design is that they say it is suitable for 12 chickens and add nest boxes to cover that. It is actually really only suitable for 4 chickens and you have nest box over-kill/wasted space.

The recommended roost space per chicken is 8 to 10 inches.

Personally, for 12 chickens I would want something at least 3 times as big.

Also, looking at the internal shot, the nest box dividers [which look pretty flimsy] are higher than the roosts. Chickens like to roost up high and you might find chickens trying to roost on the dividers or the trim on front of the nest boxes as opposed to the roosts which, besides the floor, are the lowest spots available.
 
Have you scoured CL looking for coops, sheds,playhouses, loafing sheds, dog runs, trampoline frames, chainlink panels...? You can sometimes find free or almost free supplies that someone with almost no building skills can assemble into a functional secure coop. An old dog house can work for the first few months if it has to. How old are your kids? Have you dug through the posts in the coop section? There are some well done simple coops with tons of pictures and directions.
 

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