New to backyard chickens and have coop question :)

[hennypenny806]

Morning,

We have (3) two day old Buff Orps and will let them free range a few hours a day. Because of their size (eventually) what size coop and run should I be looking for? Should the coop be for 4-6 chickens or is 2-4 size chickens ok? Thanks a ton.

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have you joining the BYC flock

BYC has a very useful learning center

5 squire feet per chicken is the minimum you need but the
actual size is up to you and the amount of fencing and building
material you can come up with

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! Congratulations on your new chicks! Generally bigger is better so far as coop size goes, especially if they are going to be spending time locked in in the winter. You can avoid a lot of bad habits with extra space. Also, take into account Chicken Math, you may decide you want a couple more chickens and it is nice to have the extra coop space for them. If you are getting a prefab coop, they do tend to really overestimate the number of chickens that can be comfortably kept in them... this is a nice article from the Learning Center on figuring out what space you need https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

 

[hennypenny806]

Thank you!

 

[hennypenny806]

Thanks a ton!

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

Congrats on your new Buffs! You will want to give them as much room as you can. These birds grow big. Imagine a 5 gallon over turned bucket and that is the size each bird will take in the coop. So go as big as you can. Generally 4 to 5 square foot per bird in the coop. But if they are going to be spending a lot of time outside, you can get away with slightly smaller spaces.

Good luck with your new flock and welcome to our flock!

 

[drumstick diva]