Looking for advice on Coop + Run size for my situation (10-15 part-time free-range birds)

[plumpybum]

I am trying to decide between coop and run sizes. I live in New England and I have several acres of free ranging available to the birds, with a 2 acre field surrounded by woods on all sides. I typically let my birds out of their run 3-5 times a week, in the afternoons for a few hours, mostly supervised. This winter was not typical and we had snow coverage from November up until yesterday, so the birds never left their covered runs unfortunately. Snow is lava to them apparently.

I currently have 5 hens and a rooster, all mid sized birds with 1 hen being a bantam. And I plan to expand up to 10-12 birds this year, with the potential of having 15-16 birds tops, in the future.

I am debating between a walk-in 5x8' coop or a 5x12' coop, and run options are either 4x8, 4x10, 4x12 or 6x8, 6x10, 6x12, all runs are walk-in at 6.5' tall. All runs are covered with clear, sloped roofing, so birds will have protection from rain and snow, plus the coop itself is raised 2' for more run space below.

Here is a picture of the smallest option I am considering - 5x8' coop with 8x4' run - builder/seller says this is good for 10-15 birds:

The coop itself will have 2 roost bars running the full interior length, so either 16' or 24' of total roost space, and the brood boxes will be bump-outs. Plenty of ventilation up high along the full length of the ceiling, plus windows. Here is a picture of what the interiors will look like:

I will have an auto door set to open every day at 7am and close 1 hour after dark each night. The run will be fully secured with hardware cloth and skirts so really I could just leave the pop door open all of the time but I decided to get an auto door anyways, mostly just to seal up for cold winter nights.

I know the standard rules of 4sqf inside and 10sqf run per bird rule seems to apply mostly to folks that keep their birds confined but I feel like my situation should allow for a smaller coop and covered run. Anyone in a similar situation as I am that can provide their feedback? Right now I am leaning towards the 5x8' coop with either 4x10' run or 6x10' run. Again, planning on ~12 medium birds with a few being bantams, and a maximum of 15-16 birds.

 

[aart]

mostly just to seal up for cold winter nights.

They need good ventilation 24/7/365, even in winter.

I know the standard rules of 4sqf inside and 10sqf run per bird rule seems to apply mostly to folks that keep their birds confined but I feel like my situation should allow for a smaller coop and covered run.

Actually, in a cold climate they may need more space for those totally nasty winter storm days when they may need to be int he coop for several days in a row. Unless you have a weatherproofed run.

 

[rosemarythyme]

For the run I would only consider the 6' width. 4' wide is likely not enough to allow birds to safely pass each other if there's pecking order/bullying issues, and letting them out for a few hours daily will not compensate for the time they are in the run if there are disputes.

For that same reason I would also not scrimp on space in both coop and run. For 16 birds I'd aim for the bare minimum of 64 sq ft in coop, 160 in run - and more than that would be advisable since it sounds like you'll be integrating birds in over time to grow the flock, which is more difficult without more space to provide a buffer.

 

[chfriedmam]

It sounds like you have a lot of land/space, but in reality your chickens' access to it is very dependent on you letting them out and supervising them. And then the weather-and if you are in New England is that kind of snow coverage so rare? I think you should plan as if they lived in the coop/run complex and then just have them really happy when they get out more. So 5x8 would be skimping on the coop size for 12 chickens and so would 6x12 for the run. I would think you would want at least 10ft2 per bird in the run, and with so much space you can do that.

 

[jreardon1918]

We also live in New England. We have a 4'x8' coop with an 8'x12' secure run. That really limits our flock size. With woods behind us and hawks above. We allow our hens in a 20'x50' uncovered run. We have had some losses. Hawks & fox. When we spot the hawks we close off the big run. Hence the feeling of barely meeting the minimum.

So, for an expected flock size of 16, I would recommend a coop size of 8'x12'= 96 square feet. That would give you a little room for expansion. Run size 8'x 20' = 160 SF. YMMV

 

[mowin]

I'm in upstate NY. Like your chickens, mine will not touch snow. And as you mentioned, you couldn't let the chickens out all winter, So why would you want to add more without having the space for them?

I let mine out the other day off the first time in months. Both flocks were loving it. However for some reason they all went into one coop tnat night to roost, lol. Had to carry the one flock to there coop.

 

[3KillerBs]

know the standard rules of 4sqf inside and 10sqf run per bird rule seems to apply mostly to folks that keep their birds confined but I feel like my situation should allow for a smaller coop and covered run.

I typically let my birds out of their run 3-5 times a week, in the afternoons for a few hours, mostly supervised.

IF you ranged 100% of the time so that your chickens had free access to the outdoors every daylight hour every day of the year then you *might* get away with crowding.

But ranging for a few hours a couple times a week doesn't compensate for the rest of the day, the rest of the week, and the months when their range is covered with snow.

The recommendation for a flock of 15 is:

• 60 square feet in the coop. 8'x8' is easier to build than 6'x10'
• 15 feet of roost
• 150 square feet in the run. 10'x15', 12'x12' or 8'x20'
• 15 square feet of ventilation.
• 4 nest boxes.

This recommendation is a MINIMUM. Now, it's true that these are guidelines and that some flocks *can* tolerate closer confinement under some management systems but it's also true that in some situations that minimum will not be adequate.

A few of those situations include:

• Integration of new birds
• Living in a severe climate
• Having a rooster
• The characteristics of specific breeds -- in particular, breeds who are good foragers in free range tend not to cope well with confinement

All of which are going to be issues for you.

Here's a good article explaining chickens' space needs: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/how-much-room-do-chickens-need.66180/

Instead of buying a pre-made coop -- with all it's issues and limitations -- why not use the same money to build a much larger coop yourself?

 

[Auntiejessi3]

Here is a picture of the smallest option I am considering - 5x8' coop with 8x4' run - builder/seller says this is good for 10-15 birds

It looks like that 5x8 is accounting for the foot wide next boxes, since the run is the same width as the coop, so that coop is actually 4x8. (still way to small for 15 birds) It also has entirely to many nest boxes.

 

[3KillerBs]

It also has entirely to many nest boxes.

*nods*

Part of my "Rules of Thumb"

• If it looks like a dollhouse it's only suitable for toy chickens.
• If it's measured in inches instead of feet it's too small.
• If your walk-in closet is larger than the coop-run combo you're thinking of buying think carefully about whether you have an utterly awesome closet or are looking at a seriously undersized chicken coop.
• If it has more nestboxes than the number of chickens it can legitimately hold the designer knew nothing about chickens' actual needs and it probably has other design flaws too.

 

[plumpybum]

It looks like that 5x8 is accounting for the foot wide next boxes, since the run is the same width as the coop, so that coop is actually 4x8. (still way to small for 15 birds) It also has entirely to many nest boxes.

The nest boxes can be pulled out to allow for more floor space. I plan on pulling at least half of them.