Moral dilemma about selling a chicken coop (sqft per bird)

[redoak]

In general most peeps on BYC use a 4 sqft per chicken rule of thumb to determine how many chickens will fit in a chicken coop. I know there is some slack in this "rule" if they are only in the coop at night and have an extra large run space. So say you made a 4 ft by 4 ft coop and put it up for sale and stated it would house 4 standard size chickens. While other places have similar 4 ft by 4 ft coops up for sale and they state the coop will house 8 to 12 chickens. Now you could say your coop would house 8 to 12 chickens but you know the chickens would be overcrowded. If you don't peeps would think a 4 ft by 4 ft coop that will house 8 to 12 chickens is a better deal then the coop that is 4 ft by 4 ft and will only house 4 chickens. Wondering what everyone's thoughts on this are, except Buster he should be out building his coop.

 

[Run-A-Muck Ranch]

This is just me...And I am CHEAP.....But I would consider the one holding more birds--more bang for buck type of thing...
BUT I WOULD GO WITH THE ONE THAT HOUSED FEWER BIRDS....because I care about my birds and would hate to see them over crowded or becoming sick because of not having enough room.

 

[The Chicken Lady]

RedOak, you could probably say 4 standard-size chickens OR 8 to 12 bantam sized chickens (depending on the breed).

I think it's better to be honest, but that's just me. What if your customers came here to BYC to learn about raising their chickens, and learned they had been deceived after they found out the real information? Maybe they wouldn't know your username here, but they would know you in real life.

 

[SewingDiva]

Well, you can't control what people do once they buy the coop put the chickens in, so you can't do anything other than saying at the point of sale that it is intended for only 3-4. If that advice is clearly stated to the buyer, and the buyer does something contrary to that advice; then they can't really acuse you of being negligent.

Phyllis

 

[texas_chick]

I would put it in the ad clarifying the calculations like:

'this coop will comfortably house up to 4 chickens, allowing a full blabla square inches/ft per chicken!'

That way people start comparing that feature/measurement to your competitor's measurements rather than just look at the max bird numbers.
Maybe even add something about the benefits of providing each chicken with adequate space (more hygienic, less stress, less problem behavior, etc.)​

 

[redoak]

No I wouldn't and haven't stated a 4 ft by 4 ft coop would house more than 4 chickens. On the other hand someone else has unfair competition by saying their coop will hold 2 to 3 times as many chickens when it's the same size. I'm set in stone, I was looking more for a general opinion on this subject.

 

[HeartLunger]

Quote:
That way people start comparing that feature/measurement to your competitor's measurements rather than just look at the max bird numbers.
Maybe even add something about the benefits of providing each chicken with adequate space (more hygienic, less stress, less problem behavior, etc.)

Good post.

I was going to recommend saying something along the lines of:

"My competitors claim the same size coop will house 8-12 chickens, however, if you want HAPPY chickens, this coop is perfect for 4 heavy breed chickens."

I would also have an option for a coop that is for 8-12 chickens that you could direct customers to if they wanted more chickens