Number or chickens for our 21 sq foot coop?

[vjbakke]

We have aprox 21 sq foot coop with a 12ft x 12ft run. We currently have 5 birds, 1 dom and 4 RSL. We had 6 but lost one a month ago. We would like to add a few more next fall. Do we have room for more? We can't easily make the coop larger but we could make the run larger? My plan is to add 2 easter eggers and some type of wyandotte.

 

[madamwlf]

The general rule is 4 sq ft per bird in the coop. With 5 birds, you are already at 20 sq ft.

 

[TDM]

The general rule throughout the world is two square feet per bird. Americans love their McMansions and SUVs.

 

[mstricer]

Quote:
I'm with you. 2 sq ft. You can have 8 to 9 birds.

 

[cupman]

Depends heavily on outside circumstances from what I understand. If the winters are mild you can get away with less than 4sqft/bird. If they free range or have a large run you can also get away with less than 4sqft/bird. It really all depends. I'm weird, I don't think they need 4sqft/bird in the coop but I firmly believe they need more than 10sqft/bird in the run(the rule of thumb for runs). I got a link for you from a guy who helped me out with this subject, he articulated his point well.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=608926 - Ridgerunner in post #4. When I last checked it only had 4 replies.. 3 pages now so I'm not sure what people decided on.

 

[darin367]

my birds have access to 2 coops.. 1 coop= 25 sq ft... the other one is 50 sq. ft........ 14 birds pack into the small coop every night.... i built the bigger coop because of what i had read.... they choose to pack in there every night, they are happy healthy birds... so evidently 2 sq ft per bird is plenty...

 

[vjbakke]

Thanks, We're in MN so our winters can be extreme at times. Our coop is fully insulated. Instead of getting more laying birds we are thinking we might get some birds that would be for meat. I don't want to get fast growing broiler breeds, but use duel purpose breeds.

 

[TDM]

Quote:
Absolutely!! My birds do the same thing, except my coops are nearly identical. One coop will be packed and the other won't. Even included a picture of my hens.