Oh crap, what have I done ...

[Garmmermibe001]

Lmao, I also caught chicken fever. Bought 20 chickens last year from Tractor supply.

Then, this year, I bought like 80 more chickens from cackle hatchery along with like 26 ducks. The ducklings are arriving on Monday (so excited to get them) and the chicks are arriving on May 6th. (Unless the virus stuff causes the mail system to collapse before then or something.)

I'm already looking at getting guineas and maybe turkeys next year. Gonna have a lot of coops and runs to build.

 

[AppleMomma65]

I would strongly recommend making this added run area walk-in height! 64 square feet is a lot of territory to police on your hands and knees or bent over


You will do fine! You have a plan for if your chosen chickens don’t fit, and you will enjoy the newness and learning process of raising your baby chicks.

This may be your first chicken coop, but I doubt it will be your last. I foresee it in several years making a great holding area for new birds or ones that need to be isolated for any reason. Chances are, as you live and learn with your first flock of chickens, you will form opinions on what you do and don’t like concerning their management. Then you will build or buy other different structures according to what you dream up.

Have fun with your new babies when they come! And welcome to

Thank you! Our slightly revised plan is: same birds, same coop but also a run that is not only connected to the coop but is now 10' long x 10' wide x 9' high with a door the non-coop side. This gives us/chickens a combined run total of 154 sq feet (there are 54 sq. feet underneath the coop are) - so unless I'm not thinking this through correctly, should be plenty of room. I've checked with so many chicken owners and all feel that because they will be free ranging most of the time that this is enough room for them to sustain for a day or two if not able to get out. I agree with you that it most likely will NOT be my first coop - we are having a lot of fun and the chicks haven't even arrived yet! I really enjoy this forum - such a helpful group!

 

[NatJ]

It looks to me as though there are two ways to view this coop.

Some people are treating the structure as coop on top, run underneath, and saying it's only enough space for a small number of birds.

Other people (including the manufacturer, and I think OP as well) are treating it all as coop--it has wire sides around the entire floor area, with the nestboxes and roosts elevated and more sheltered; the wire-sided part can be closed in with panels as needed for winter. The entire footprint is 6 feet by 9 feet, which is 54 square feet, which can provide 4 square feet each for.... yup, more than 10 birds. (Everyone agrees that additional run space would be great, and that more additional run space is always better.)

I think it is probably a fine size for the OP's planned amount of chickens.

I notice the upper part has literally nowhere for a chicken to sit except the roost bars and the nestboxes--it's not meant as living space up there, it's meant as sleeping and laying space. The living space is underneath.

(Minor rant: why do people think it's only a coop if it has solid walls, and then demand more ventilation? Wire walls are great for ventilation! But lots of folks seem to look at the wire and call that section a "run" instead of part of the "coop.")

 

[bmurphy349]

Oh dear.
I think I got a bad case of chicken fever and have gone slightly insane.
I'll be a first time chicken-owner soon and bought a decent sized coop (says will hold up to 10 standard birds) and when I called the coop place (Root and Roost) they said it is substantial and could really fit 12 - there are four nest boxes and we are building an add on for a bit more inside room. So guess what? I ordered 11. Well now I see that I get a free chick with my order, so that makes 12 birds: Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Black/Blue Splash Orpington, Lavender Orpington, Jersey Giant, Barnevelder, Cream Legbar, Austra White, Easter Egger, Olive Egger, Barred Rock and one unknown breed.

Should I call and take some off my order? Is this too big of a flock for someone just starting out?

We’ve had our birds for almost 2 years. Started with about 16 chickens and 4 Cornish game hens. The Cornish game hens are gone - lost 2 to the Ga heat and my daughters family ate 2. They ate a couple of hens. . We’ve lost one hen to the neighbors dog. Took the 3 grand babies shopping for one each and came back with 6. I currently have 18 and I want to take the grands back to Tractor Supply for 1 more each. Lol. So no, I don’t think that’s too much. Just make sure their house has enough room for them.

 

[aart]

(Minor rant: why do people think it's only a coop if it has solid walls, and then demand more ventilation? Wire walls are great for ventilation! But lots of folks seem to look at the wire and call that section a "run" instead of part of the "coop.")

If a run is weather and predator proof it's be fine to consider it as 24/7 living space.
Yes, the 'numbers' are not carved in stone, other variables have to be taken into consideration.
But the OP here lives in a harsh winter climate, so that can make a difference.
Where in the USA do you live @NatJ ?

 

[meganj]

Oh dear.
I think I got a bad case of chicken fever and have gone slightly insane.
I'll be a first time chicken-owner soon and bought a decent sized coop (says will hold up to 10 standard birds) and when I called the coop place (Root and Roost) they said it is substantial and could really fit 12 - there are four nest boxes and we are building an add on for a bit more inside room. So guess what? I ordered 11. Well now I see that I get a free chick with my order, so that makes 12 birds: Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Black/Blue Splash Orpington, Lavender Orpington, Jersey Giant, Barnevelder, Cream Legbar, Austra White, Easter Egger, Olive Egger, Barred Rock and one unknown breed.

Should I call and take some off my order? Is this too big of a flock for someone just starting out?

Where did you order the chicks from? We wanted several breeds as well but the places I’ve seen don’t let you pick 1 of each type...

 

[izzyduck]

Oh dear.
I think I got a bad case of chicken fever and have gone slightly insane.
I'll be a first time chicken-owner soon and bought a decent sized coop (says will hold up to 10 standard birds) and when I called the coop place (Root and Roost) they said it is substantial and could really fit 12 - there are four nest boxes and we are building an add on for a bit more inside room. So guess what? I ordered 11. Well now I see that I get a free chick with my order, so that makes 12 birds: Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Black/Blue Splash Orpington, Lavender Orpington, Jersey Giant, Barnevelder, Cream Legbar, Austra White, Easter Egger, Olive Egger, Barred Rock and one unknown breed.

Should I call and take some off my order? Is this too big of a flock for someone just starting out?

Yes! those are all pretty big birds

 

[izzyduck]

Where did you order the chicks from? We wanted several breeds as well but the places I’ve seen don’t let you pick 1 of each type...

you can get them at The Chic Depot

 

[NatJ]

If a run is weather and predator proof it's be fine to consider it as 24/7 living space.

I assumed the hardware cloth was for predator proofing, and plexiglass panels (mentioned in post #8) are for weather proofing in winter. The roof is there all year. So yes, that space is 24/7 living space.

Yes, the 'numbers' are not carved in stone, other variables have to be taken into consideration.
But the OP here lives in a harsh winter climate, so that can make a difference.
Where in the USA do you live @NatJ ?

I grew up in Alaska, with chickens. I've also had chickens in Virginia. The ones in Alaska typically had 4 square feet of space per chicken all winter, and access to a run only in the summer. They apparently did fine--laid eggs, did not kill each other, and so forth.

If the concern is the cold weather: the bottom part of that coop (with plexiglass panels added) should be just as good as the top part. Either it will all work, or it's all inadequate. This original post asked about space, not warmth or weatherproofing, and the space appears adequate according to the most commonly quoted guidelines.

 

[nao57]

Oh dear.
I think I got a bad case of chicken fever and have gone slightly insane.
I'll be a first time chicken-owner soon and bought a decent sized coop (says will hold up to 10 standard birds) and when I called the coop place (Root and Roost) they said it is substantial and could really fit 12 - there are four nest boxes and we are building an add on for a bit more inside room. So guess what? I ordered 11. Well now I see that I get a free chick with my order, so that makes 12 birds: Rhode Island Red, Buff Orpington, Black/Blue Splash Orpington, Lavender Orpington, Jersey Giant, Barnevelder, Cream Legbar, Austra White, Easter Egger, Olive Egger, Barred Rock and one unknown breed.

Should I call and take some off my order? Is this too big of a flock for someone just starting out?

Well, I suppose I'll ask the most interesting question to me at least;

'Are your neighbors aware of it? How much noise is there? Have they said anything?'

If nobody notices I don't think there's anything wrong. But a rooster, I'm pretty sure people are going to notice. The vast number of city regulations that I've read on, all say no roosters so far.

But I know for a fact that my neighbor has like 11 dogs, and nobody goes after him for some reason. That's a pain too. Why is it some people get away with it and some people don't?

I'd like to know how to have more chickens and ducks in the city without having the city coming down on you for being over the limits.

It seems like now is also a good time for having too many because come this fall I guarantee you there's going to be trouble in the grocery stores. The food supply is going to be disrupted for MONTHS. China still hasn't gone back to normal yet, and they've had it like 4 and a half months now. So...if here is like over there, we could be dealing with this until fall.

So that being said, maybe you can trim your roosters, and expand your feed storage, and make it a point to donate eggs and meat to help people that are needy or older. That might also reduce tension for if you worried about if people are upset with your hobbies. (That's how beekeepers do it also. Honey = bribes.)