My coop and run (for now)

[tenderkat]

That is a very nice, BIG coop!! Can you tell us how many chickens are living in it?

 

[Omran]

that looks awesome, and your chickens look very happy inside that coop

 

[that_crazy_lady]

Quote:
Some of my birds roost some don't, as long as the place they sleep is dry and clean, I'm ok with that. You can get DE at pool shops, I forget what they use it for, but I doubt it's food grade.

I like it, simple and large

 

[Mahonri]

Nice!

 

[John8404]

Quote:
Their halve is only 4x8. I have 6 Buff Orpingtons. Do ya'all think it would be ok to add 4 more for a total of 10. What would be the safest/healthiest/humane limit? The run is 8x10.

Thanks in advance
John

 

[Sissy]

john,you have done a..... Beautiful job.
your flock will be happy campers.
dont get DE at a pool store its not food grade.
I use PDz its safe, or stall dry.
also Garden dust for mites and such.
also can be used for cats and dogs.and my flock
have been raised on I tablespn.of Apple cider vinegar (ACV)
to a 1/2 gal. of water. and have no worm.etc problems.
My coop is 4x8 and I have 15 standard chx. all doing great.
with attached run. same size as yours.

 

[John8404]

Quote:
Thanks a bunch, What is PDz? Can I just go to the feed store and ask for that? Also, if I get the same age and from the same hatch date/flock will I have to quarentine them. And by the way THANKS EVERYONE for all the advise and answering all my questions.

John

 

[kcsunshine]

Very nice John. My only suggestion would be to put a gutter on the roof (run side). The rain (especially if we get the kind we've had this year) will simply flood your run otherwise. Nice job - lucky chicks.

 

[pixie74943]

Quote:
Their halve is only 4x8. I have 6 Buff Orpingtons. Do ya'all think it would be ok to add 4 more for a total of 10. What would be the safest/healthiest/humane limit? The run is 8x10.

Thanks in advance
John

with a run of 8x10 the generally accepted formula is 10sq feet of run space each.. so 8..
Then again you should also have 4sq feet of coop

And I noticed earlier you said you had bought layer..? To my uneducated eye your birds look a litle young to be on layer yet.. How old are they?? guesstimating their age, they wont be hurt by it, but some people say the high levels of calcium can be bad for growing birds.

 

[tenderkat]

Quote:
Their halve is only 4x8. I have 6 Buff Orpingtons. Do ya'all think it would be ok to add 4 more for a total of 10. What would be the safest/healthiest/humane limit? The run is 8x10.

Thanks in advance
John

John.............I copied this from another post, as I can't figure out how to link to another post. I thought RIDGERUNNER did a very good job defining space. Here it is:

The rule of thumb is 4 square feet per chicken in the coop along with 10 square feet per chicken in the run. If you don't have the room in the run, then you need more room in the coop. This rule of thumb does not guarantee you will never have problems based on space if you follow it. It also does not guarantee that you will have problems if you violate it. The breed and personality of your chickens and your management practices factor in. But it is a guideline that usually works.

There are several things that make up the requirement for 4 square feet. First, it assumes you have a sufficient number of chickens for averages to mean something. If you only have 2 or 3 chickens, I'd give more room per bird.

It assumes you feed and water in the coop, not outside. 4 square feet should give your chickens room to get to the feeder and water. When you feed them, they all want to eat at the same time so they need access to cut down on the squabbling and to help assure one is not being kept away by a bully. And they need to be where the roosting birds do not poop in them. This takes space.

Chickens are basically ground dwelling birds, so nesting boxes do not count against the square footage if they are high enough so the chickens can get under them. If they are at ground level, though, they do reduce the available room.

The 4 square feet gives them some personal space if they are locked in the coop for extended periods of time. It cuts down on the squabbling and fighting if they are confined by weather or if you go through a spell you cannot let them out of the coop into the run. If they are locked in the coop and not allowed outside for several days in a row, 4 square feet per bird may not be enough. That depends a lot on the personality of your individual birds. More is always better.

The 4 square feet takes into account the poop load your coop can carry without poop becoming a big problem with standard management practices. They drop a lot of poop at night while on the roost. If you use a droppings board to help collect and remove the poop, this component becomes less important. In any case, your coop has to stay dry or poop wil be a problem.

If you are very sure they will never be locked in the coop for any significant length of time (which means you need to get up early enough every morning to let them out when the sun comes up) and you will never lock them in the coop early in the evening because you are leaving to go somewhere, if you feed and water outside, if they have lots of room to roam outside whenever they are awake, and if you take good care of the poop load, you can probably get by with less room.

In essence, if you are just using the coop as a roosting or roosting and egg laying area, you can get by with less, but I still believe the 4 square feet per bird is best. Few people really manage to do all this unless they are willing to take some chances with predators. It is real hard to not have times they are locked up some. I'm mentioning this to give you an idea of what goes into the rule of thumb and how your management practices can influence it.

By the rules of thumb, I can have 38 in my run and 24 in my coop. I currently have 10 and will reduce down to my permanent laying/breeding flock of 1 rooster and 7 hens shortly. That number will go back up into the 20's when I start hatching chicks next spring, but chicks take up less space per chick. I really do believe more room is better. I'm mentioning this to also alert you to the possibility of needing more room if you hatch chicks. You should plan for the maximum number of chickens you will have, not the minimum. I've seen your posts on here. I think you will want to hatch chicks. And I think you want to understand what is going on.

Good luck however you decide to go. I think you will do well.