Number of Chicken Coop to Run Ratio

shayes224

Chirping
Sep 15, 2022
22
52
56
Sierra Nevada Foothills, CA
Hi all! I’ve searched this page but can’t seem to find the answer I’m looking for. I’m aware of the 4:10 ratio for the coop/run but I’ve also read (correct me if I’m wrong) that if you have a large run that is able to be used all day/year round that you can reduce the amount of space needed in the coop. Is that accurate? I’m trying to figure out the maximum amount of chickens we will be able to comfortably have in our situation. I will eventually have over 1000 sq ft of run space and 95sq ft of coop space. We are starting with 19 egg layers. We hope to one day in the future raise some meat birds.

Since I have a larger run that will be used year round can we comfortably have more than the 23 birds with the recommended coop space of 4ft per bird?
 
The reduction in the minimum square footage recommendation in relation to the run is applicable only if the run is as predator proof as the coop. This means solid roof, predator apron, no openings into the run greater than 1/2". Then you can get away with less.
You will also want 1 linear foot of roosting space per LF bird.
 
The reduction in the minimum square footage recommendation in relation to the run is applicable only if the run is as predator proof as the coop. This means solid roof, predator apron, no openings into the run greater than 1/2". Then you can get away with less.
You will also want 1 linear foot of roosting space per LF bird.
Thanks for the reply! But do you know how much “less” is? We won’t have a solid roof but we will have hardware cloth on the roof and everywhere else along with the other predator proofing things you mentioned.
 
Thanks for the reply! But do you know how much “less” is? We won’t have a solid roof but we will have hardware cloth on the roof and everywhere else along with the other predator proofing things you mentioned.
It depends on the birds, the climate, etc.
Bare in mind that half of the point of the solid roof on the run is that the birds can go out as soon as they are off the roost regardless if it's pouring down rain or snowing. Without that, you should adhere to the commonly recommended minimums. You can stuff more in the coop and see what happens but all too often this results in very bad behaviors developing.
 
It depends on the birds, the climate, etc.
Bare in mind that half of the point of the solid roof on the run is that the birds can go out as soon as they are off the roost regardless if it's pouring down rain or snowing. Without that, you should adhere to the commonly recommended minimums. You can stuff more in the coop and see what happens but all too often this results in very bad behaviors developing.
That makes sense. Rain/snow are unfortunately rare where we live in CA. We only get light sprinkles of snow a couple times a year at most that doesn’t stick to the ground. And rain happens of course but is minimal.
I guess it’s just a trial and error type thing. Add on slowly and see what happens…
 
In CA and other climates without real “winter conditions” we can often get away with less as they don’t need the extra space to stay out of the elements like they do where that weird white stuff falls from the sky.

I’m in Northern CA and my chickens often don’t even sleep in the coop in the middle of winter, they just stay in the attached run that’s secure. Could likely have gotten away with an open air coop with a simple wind break to hide behind when they want it. I also have an uncovered external run they have access to and in the middle of our “winter” I’ll see the chickens out happily foraging in 30-40 deg weather while it’s raining, but they also have a dry area in the main coop structure to retreat to if they want

In general though you’ll want to give them as much room as possible, just imagine being penned up in crowded coop and not being able to get away from bullying.
 

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