Number of Birds for size of coop

[Shabz]

Hi all,

I am building a coop which will be 10ft by 10ft. The run my ladies will have will be 27ft by 10ft. How many birds would this accommodate. I will mention 10ft by 10ft excluding nesting boxes.

I will post as the build starts. Pretty excited in get things going. Having chosen a suitable plot it's a matter of building it now. As you can see from the photos theirs is a path that runs across the garden (stabbed) and their is also a stabbed path in front of the garage. The run timbers and frame will meet the slabs flush. Behind the old greenhouse I'm building a shed so concrete base and the back will be slabbed. That protection from foxes digging.

 

[Rickovo]

That would be 17 maximum counting the coop and run. That should be fairly comfortable though -
Its all about them having an area each where (if they were evenly spread out which, of course, never happens) they can be anonymous in the flock if they need to be. Although they have very good eyesight (remarkable in fact) they are myopic and so the 'pecking order' is only effective over a short distance. If they can get far enough apart when they need to then they can avoid conflict.
Its about 4.5 x 4.5 foot each to achieve this.
But the bigger the space then the more bendable this rule becomes (because they are never going to be exactly spaced out across the area!)

Interestingly - the size of the birds doesn’t effect this formula as it depends on eyesight. Some breeds, however, tend to follow each other around in groups a lot and so might get away with a little less.

I just realised a potential misunderstanding - if the coop is inside the run then its 12 birds. If its coop area plus run area then its 17.

A point that is also made very well is how well a breed handles confinement. Game birds (OEG etc.) need lots and lots of space. My common hybrids (for the most part) are fine with the above and very occasionally come out for a wander around the wider garden.
If kept in a confined area anywhere near capacity then all will require regular poop picking.