Open Air Run/Coop Space

[SJsChickies]

My husband is tired of watching me crouch down in my coop and run to clean and hang out with my girls. He wants to build me a new one that’s 7-8’ tall and a little wider than our current one. Since I’m getting all new, I’m leaning toward an open air coop/run since we live in southern AZ and we are only “cold” for about 6 weeks a year. My question is, do I still go by the 10-15sqft per bird size or because the run will also be the coop, do I need to thin down the flock? After some measurements this morning, the whole thing will be 150-155sqft and I will have 13 girls. I’ll attach a photo I found that we are using like a guide.

 

[ABQ chicken keeper]

My husband is tired of watching me crouch down in my coop and run to clean and hang out with my girls. He wants to build me a new one that’s 7-8’ tall and a little wider than our current one. Since I’m getting all new, I’m leaning toward an open air coop/run since we live in southern AZ and we are only “cold” for about 6 weeks a year. My question is, do I still go by the 10-15sqft per bird size or because the run will also be the coop, do I need to thin down the flock? After some measurements this morning, the whole thing will be 150-155sqft and I will have 13 girls. I’ll attach a photo I found that we are using like a guide.

Will your chickens get any yard time?
The sample picture shows what appears to be a fireworks stand which is fine but remember to use hardware cloth.
To include a run, I suggest a 10x20 coop&run for 13-15 birds max!
The dimensions make use of standardized material.

 

[SJsChickies]

Will your chickens get any yard time?
The sample picture shows what appears to be a fireworks stand which is fine but remember to use hardware cloth.
To include a run, I suggest a 10x20 coop&run for 13-15 birds max!
The dimensions make use of standardized material.

Due to the door of the dog run we have (this will butt up against it and we need to be able to open the dog run door still) we can only make it 6 feet deep but it’s going to be 30 feet long. The photo is just a REFERENCE. We are making ours much bigger. It will be a combined run/coop. Open air. We have hardware cloth on our current run and will use it on this structure too. The question was more for size. Since most runs have a coop with it which adds size, I wanted to know if 150-155 sqft total is big enough for 13 or if I should rehome 2-3 chickens.

ETA: yes, they get yard time but only about 1.5 hours when I get home from work and can supervise. I don’t have a rooster.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Coop space and run spaced are human concepts, not chicken concepts. Chickens really don't care about that, but some humans do. The chickens care about having enough room somewhere when they need room, they don't care where it comes from. You can see some of my thoughts on space by following the link in my signature below.

13 hens already integrated should not require as much room as hens that need to be integrated. I assume they are all mature. You said no rooster. One rooster would not raise the requirements but two or more could. I don't see anything where you should require extra space.

I think you will have enough space.