number of chickens in a 8x8 coop

[mad1son]

I have seen some ads selling 8x8 coops for up to 30 chickens. What is the rule of thumb for square feet per chicken?

 

[willowtreecreek]

I think the most important part is where they spen their day. You can fit a lot more birds in a smaller space if you are only confining them at night. I currently have 30 in an 8x10 coop - part of which is storage and a brooder and they have pleanty of room. They free range during the day so I have found this to be MORE than sufficiant!

 

[mad1son]

I was planning on building a 8x8 coop 2 feet off the ground in the corner of a 16x16 run.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

3 sq ft per large standard, smaller for smaller birds. That seems to be pushing it a bit. Maybe the mean 30 bantams....

The more space each bird has the healthier it will be. That's 64 sq ft...personally I would only put maybe 20 in there, but everyone is different.

 

[Mahonri]

16 hens... run should be twice that big.

18-20 would be doable, but it would be crowded.

 

[mad1son]

I have 8 hens(3 rir, 3 comets, 2 cuckoo marans) and 1 rir roo now and i want to add 9 more hens and 1 roo. How many square feet per chicken in the run?

 

[Cindiloohoo]

Quote:
About double what you have in the coop. Mine actually have triple the run space, but I have plenty of space...some folks don't.

 

[Chipper]

16 tops and a few less would make life good for you and the chickens.

 

[Illia]

Quote:
Whaaat. . .

I wouldn't dare stuff even my 20 girls in that small of a place. . . Especially if it was too low for me to walk through, but I like to walk into the coop. I hear it is about 3 sq ft per bird, but it could also depend on the owner's preference.

 

[mad1son]

Right now my 9 chickens stay in a 5x6 coop that sits above a 5x12 run but they are free ranging right now. When i finish my new coop i would like to use this smaller coop as a breeding pen or for broody hens.