New Hen Introduction

[THE_ScottyJ]

Unfortunately, manufacturers are notorious for wildly exaggerating the number of birds that can be housed in their coops, often using the legal maximums for commercially-kept chickens (which are managed with intensive methods not suited for backyard chicken keepers).

The generally-accepted guidelines for backyard chickens are as follows:

4 square feet of space in the coop per adult, standard-sized chicken.

10 square feet of space in the run per adult, standard-sized chicken.

1 linear foot of roost per adult, standard-sized chicken.

1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per adult, standard-sized chicken.

Because chickens can't read those are guidelines rather than hard-and-fast rules. Some chickens might tolerate tighter quarters. Some might need more space.

The higher the stocking density the more likely you are to have behavioral and/or health problems.

great feedback...thanks so much for the time and input!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The generally-accepted guidelines for backyard chickens are as follows:

4 square feet of space in the coop per adult, standard-sized chicken.

10 square feet of space in the run per adult, standard-sized chicken.

1 linear foot of roost per adult, standard-sized chicken.

1 square foot of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation per adult, standard-sized chicken.

Because chickens can't read those are guidelines rather than hard-and-fast rules. Some chickens might tolerate tighter quarters. Some might need more space.

The higher the stocking density the more likely you are to have behavioral and/or health problems.

Also wanted to add, the above numbers are the recommended minimum for an integrated flock. The integration process usually takes more space than stated above. So even if your set up meets the above numbers, you may struggle to integrate because birds just can't get far enough from each other, or there's not extra space to add another feeder, more clutter, etc.