Let's hear it..square ft per chicken coop/run.

[HB717]

How much in your opinion do they need for run and coop?

 

[The Lazy L]

How much in your opinion do they need for run and coop?

Coop, after dusk before dawn - 4 square feet per average sized bird.

Run - 10 square feet per average sized bird.

 

[DianaMallory]

At a minimum level 4-5 square feet per bird in the coop! And twice that amount for the completely enclosed run, if they are not free ranged! Which I don't free range. I have to many predators in my area to have to be worried about them all the time! To many birds confined in to small of an area causes aggression towards each other.

 

[CrazyTalk]

The whole rule of thumb thing is silly.

It ignores height - chickens are roosting birds, height matters - taller coops need less floor space.

It ignores that this is not linear at all - 2 birds in 8sqft are a whole lot more crowded than 20 birds in 80 sqft which are a lot more crowded than 200 birds in 800 sqft.

It ignores breed - active birds need more space. Bigger birds need more space.


There are situations where 4 sqft per bird is not nearly enough, and there are situations where it's much more than is needed.


What are you planning on keeping?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think it depends on so many different things that there is no magic number that covers everyone. Check out the link in my signature to get my thoughts about some of the things you should consider.

That 4 and 10 that people so love to quote is a reasonable starting point if you have a small flock of just a few hens all the same age in a small urban lot, though weather, breed, and the temperament of the individual chickens play a role in that. But if you start mixing sexes and ages, have broodies hatch or raise with the flock, or plan to integrate the space requirements change rapidly.