I have a stupid question...because I'm a newbie :)

[rhaj]

Hi PamB!

Welcome, neighbor! I live VERY close to you!

 

[PamB]

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Hi! Where do you live?? I'm in Dayville. You wouldn't want any silkie roosters by chance would you???? Haha..still waiting to find out who are my girls and who are my boys.

 

[KenLamWV]

Just like PamB stated- 4 square feet per bird for the coop and 10 square feet per bird for run.

 

[PamB]

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See!!! I'm learning!

 

[rhaj]

nooope on the roos! lol

 

[billfields]

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I was just getting ready to post a new topic about this---still may---because I bought the new "Chicken Coops For Dummies Book" and it raises a question for me. I'm building my coop right now, from plans I came up with on my own but I am eager for more ideas. The book has several plans, the biggest being one they call "The Walk In" . It is 8x8 so 64 feet. They say " The Walk-In's 64 square feet can easily accommodate 30 chickens...." Well I am looking at a 8x12 coop with two rooms, a store room that is 4x8 and the coop space that is 8x8, the same 64 sq ft. I was looking at that for about 15-18 chickens. Isn't slightly over 2 sq ft per bird a little cramped? Can you really keep 30 chickens in that size coop?

I'll probably still pose this question under the coop section but wonder what y'all think.

 

[PamB]

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Yes, Brooklyn is very close! I honestly hope I don't have to give my roos away. All my babies are so sweet! It will be sad to part with any of them.

 

[Judy]

???? 8x8 or 64 sq ft at 4 sq ft per bird would be 16 birds. Maybe I misunderstood.
The 4 sq ft per bird in the coop and 10 in the run is really a minimum, and for adult birds. Our resident coop "expert" on BYC has about 10 sq ft per bird in the coop because she lives in Canada and they stay in all day part of the year, if my memory serves. Mine have more than the 4 sq ft and this is the south, their yard is well over 10 sq ft per bird, and I free range them as well, because they still picked the yard clean. Just for perspective, I have read that they need 87 sq ft per bird (no, not a typo, that much, really) if you want the grass and other plants to stay green and regenerate themselves.

I have more or less a 12x10 coop (sorry, don't remember, it's odd measurements) and 17 chickens, and have never wished for a separate storage area. Really, the chickens will appreciate the space. I store all my feed and supplies in the coop. A couple of metal garbage cans hold the feed, oyster shell, etc. A simple cabinet up high, too high for them to get on top of, would be nice, but I make do with the garbage cans. There is even a coop within a coop, a small area closed off with chicken wire for mamas and babies or whatever; it's maybe 3'x5'. (All was built with what was lying around so no measurements are exact.) The girls go in the coop in the heat of the day during the summer, unless they are in the woods. They also go in there during really hard rains, though will be out in the rain if it is a light one. I am really glad they have the space to be comfortable in there at will. No, they don't need that much room just to sleep or eat and drink.

I have also had about 50 in there, while they were young, til most of the roos went in the freezer. It was not too small at all for the young ones growing up.

 

[billfields]

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That's about what I was figuring. But the Coops for Dummies book is clearly saying that an 8x8 coop can accomodate up to 30 birds....that's the quote"The Walk-In's 64 square feet can easliy accomodate up to 30 birds" It seems the book is pretty consistantly suggesting 2 sq feet inside and about 4 sq ft outside per chicken. I'm still thinking 8x8 coop space with an outside run of about 150/60 sq feet is good for a dozen to eighteen chickens.

 

[Judy]

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That's about what I was figuring. But the Coops for Dummies book is clearly saying that an 8x8 coop can accomodate up to 30 birds....that's the quote"The Walk-In's 64 square feet can easliy accomodate up to 30 birds" It seems the book is pretty consistantly suggesting 2 sq feet inside and about 4 sq ft outside per chicken. I'm still thinking 8x8 coop space with an outside run of about 150/60 sq feet is good for a dozen to eighteen chickens.

Lots of people keep their birds in less than 4 sq ft/10 sq ft. I have seen coops advertised for 10 chickens that I wouldn't put over 3 in. The 4/10 really is a good minimum to go by, IMO. People who provide less will start posting about pecking problems, etc.

BYC is great because there isn't a real, believable textbook for this that covers it all, so the best thing to do is everyone share their experiences and learn from each other, right?

And I thought the "books for dummies" series was supposed to be good.........