New LF and bantam fowl coops

[Wyatt0224]

Hello everyone! I have a total of 15 chickens all in one coop and run. I have six Rhode Island reds, 1 rooster and five hens, six silkies and three black australorps with one rooster and two hens. I want to keep them all and I feel like the roosters will eventually fight as they are already showing signs and I don't know if there will be enough space for them all to be comfortable in their current coop.

My idea right now is to keep my current coop and run for the Rhode Island reds and then build another coop for the ba and silkies.

Can anyone give some coop measurements I could use please?

 

[teach1rusl]

What size is your housing and run currently???

So there will be nine total chickens in the new coop? For that number, in Maryland, I would want a housing of at least 36 ft. But using standard lumber measurements, you could probably get by with a 4x8 coop.

The run should be at least 90 sq. feet, although more is better. So a 10x10 run would work...or an 8x12 run.

Depending on the size of your current housing/run, you might house the larger group in the current coop and build smaller for the group of 6??? Or rehome one rooster???

 

[Wyatt0224]

What size is your housing and run currently???

So there will be nine total chickens in the new coop?  For that number, in Maryland, I would want a housing of at least 36 ft.  But using standard lumber measurements, you could probably get by with a 4x8 coop.  

The run should be at least 90 sq. feet, although more is better.  So a 10x10 run would work...or an 8x12 run.  

Depending on the size of your current housing/run, you might house the larger group in the current coop and build smaller for the group of 6???  Or rehome one rooster???

No there won't be 9 chickens in one coop. I wanted to have one coop for the silkies and then another for the australorps. I've thought about rejoining the all of my black australorps to a good friend of mine but my mom doesn't want to do that so I thought maybe my grandfather and I could build a couple of new coops.

 

[teach1rusl]

Ohhh...so RIRs would live in the orginal coop, the three australorps would have their own coop, and the six silkies in another coop??? So three coops total?

If that's the case then a little 4x4 housing would work for the australorps, since there are only three of them. That would be a quick and easy build. A 4x8 run would be the MINIMUM I'd go.

I would go with a 6x4 coop for the silkies. Some might say that they could get by with a 4x4, but come a Maryland winter I think that would be close quarters. 6x8 would be the MINIMUM I'd go for a run. In general this breed is fairly sedate, so could probably get by with 8 sq. ft of run space each.

Keep in mind that more space is always better - healthier for the birds, easier to manage, and less pecking/behavioral issues. One big run divided into sections would be more cost effective than all individual runs.

 

[Wyatt0224]

Ohhh...so RIRs would live in the orginal coop, the three australorps would have their own coop, and the six silkies in another coop???  So three coops total?

If that's the case then a little 4x4 housing would work for the australorps, since there are only three of them.  That would be a quick and easy build.  A 4x8 run would be the MINIMUM I'd go.

I would go with a 6x4 coop for the silkies.  Some might say that they could get by with a 4x4, but come a Maryland winter I think that would be close quarters.  6x8 would be the MINIMUM I'd go for a run.  In general this breed is fairly sedate, so could probably get by with 8 sq. ft of run space each.

Keep in mind that more space is always better - healthier for the birds, easier to manage, and less pecking/behavioral issues. One big run divided into sections would be more cost effective than all individual runs.

That last part about one big run being divided might be what I end up doing! Thank you for the idea! And yes a Maryland winter can get pretty tough, especially after this blizzard this past winter. However I do free range my chickens a lot and I would be able to rotate them out if I were to have different coops. My main reasoning behind this is so that way I can keep all of my roosters and stop any fighting. If I don't separate them I feel like I'll have to get rid of the australorps.

 

[teach1rusl]

If you just got rid of one rooster, just combine the hens (unless you're just wanting to keep everyone "pure". Are any of the silkies roosters???

 

[Wyatt0224]

If you just got rid of one rooster, just combine the hens (unless you're just wanting to keep everyone "pure".  Are any of the silkies roosters???  

Well I come bearing some different news about the silkies. I already had 1 Silkie roo and was leaning back and forth about 2 others. Well one of the ones I was teetering about was crowing his head off this morning! It was his first crow. And the other possible Silkie roo is very big and has HUGE feet so I'm thinking it is also a roo. So as of now I have 2 Silkie Roos and 4 hens. However, I think that will change to 3 Roos and 3 hens.

After all that I don't know what I'll end up doing now because I am not going to keep 4 or 5 Roos in one coop and run.

 

[eHuman]

After all that I don't know what I'll end up doing now because I am not going to keep 4 or 5 Roos in one coop and run.

Silkies are meat birds in some countries...

 

[Wyatt0224]

Silkies are meat birds in some countries...

Haha well my mom would definitely not approve and I've been trying to talk my dad into adding onto our existing run and then dividing that up but idk if he'll ever go for it.

 

[teach1rusl]

Oh yeah...then you're just going to have to get rid of some roos then...that's just too many roosters to be kept penned. Silkies are milder mannered than many breeds, but three roosters with three hens in ONE pen is going to turn ugly pretty quickly most likely - when those hormones start kicking in there are going to be some battles, plus your hens will pay the price in being overbred.