new coop for a dozen, size questions..

[ericstac]

I'm hoping to have about a dozen or so layers ready in the next month and so the plans to start building the coop has begun. I keep reading I need 4sqft per hen but this really doesn't make sense. I am planning on a 4x10 coop 5 foot high so this is 40sqft, good for 10 hens. but if I make it 5x10 it will be 50sqft, good for 12.. why would adding a foot along the longside make it more roomy for 2 additional hens? Don't they just go in the lay eggs and roost? I really doubt they all hang out on the floor, right?

I guess I'm trying to justify my 4x10 for my hens

 

[midget_farms]

You need the extra space because in the winter when it snows the birds will refuse to leave the coop. Sometimes for weeks at a time. When this happens if they don't have enough space they start to fight & can really mess each other up. When too confined they don't have anyplace to run & can't get away from the meaner hens.

During warm months the space is not so important as they should be outside - but you have to plan for when they are confined.