Official BYC Poll - How Many Square Feet Per Chicken?

[Silkie Chick]

3 sq. ft. per bird inside the coop, but they are completely free range during the day. Most of ours are bantams or still very young.

 

[snooptwomey]

My coop is currently 2.5-3sq ft per bird inside, and the run they have around 13-14 sq ft each, then they free range in the yard during most days and that 500sq ft a piece or so. In work on building the new coop right now since I just moved and need a new bigger coop for more chickens. This one will provide around 3.5 sq ft each inside the coop, and the run will be 2500sq ft for roughly 10 birds or 250sq ft each.

 

[jeepguy982001]

24sq ft in the coup
84sq ft for the run
3 standard chickens

 

[PaulKisling]

My 10 chickens have a little more than 24 spare feet per bird... Oh almost forgot. 750 square feet per bird of fenced off yard and orchard to roam in.

 

[thegreypony]

We have 15 standards of various breeds & 5 Seramas with a 9' x 7' house - there are 4 roosts strategically placed so as to afford everyone plenty of personal space.

Our chicken yard is oddly shaped but averages 13 ft. x 30 ft.

We recently ended up with a beautifully stupid Brown Leghorn rooster in one of our medicinal hatches (Buff Orp perpetually broody)...he spends an excessive amount of time on top of the house and 8 ft. tall fencing. Despite this, he has managed to shift the girls' feelings about personal space.... in other words, he may have to go...

We're hoping to finally get on board with some electrified net fencing so they can roam safely when I'm home - this will greatly increase the sq. ft. per bird.

 

[Reyvaughn]

My main layer coop has 6sqft per bird, my Cochin grow out pen/Silkie pen only has about 1sqft (they are young) in the pen and about 2 in the run. My LF bachelor pen has about 66sqft per bird. My Cochin bachelor pen has 3sqft per bird. My Cochin Condos has 12 and 8sqft per bird. My Ameraucana pen has 13sqft per bird. Only one over crowded right now is my grow out pen. I am hoping to rehome or cull these 3 LF boys so I can take the young Cochin boys out and put them in the LF Bachelor pen. I am turning a pool table frame into a coop and that will be 8x3 foot and only hold 5 bantams on each side. That will be about 2.5sqft per bantam.

 

[Jungleexplorer]

My 30 chickens are penned in a large pen with an 8X12 coop. My pen is 120 feet long by 60 feet wide and is divided into two pens, with each being 60X60. My coop is located in the middle with closable doors to each pen so I can switch the flock from side to side. I grow grains like wheat, oats and milo in one pen (that is not in use at the time) and let the flock in to forage on it when it is grown enough. So my flock has 120sq.ft per bird most of the time, but has 240sq.ft per bird when I open up both pens.

 

[Theda's Mom]

My girls have so much room, they could throw a state dinner and hire a full orchestra! lol Right now, I have four hens and a silkie rooster in a former stallion stall (15x14') with an attached run of probably 60 feet (plus) by 30 feet (plus). Needless to say, they rattle around a bit. Of course, this also means that I have plenty of space for expansion!!!!

 

[Nslangton]

3.5 feet in coop, 12 feet in an attached, covered run. Converting a stall in the barn for another 20 plus square feet per bird for use when the weather stinks. Portable run with 10 square feet per bird that can be moved daily for foraging.

 

[audrey02026]

I have about 3 square feet per bird and an attched run not sure what the sq feet of that is off the top of my head. They free range all day though and only use coop to lay/roost. I do have another smaller coop that I use to brooder chciks right now it has a silkie sitting on some LF eggs.