Overall coop height for 40ish hens

[edteneyck1]

Good morning
I am fairly new to chicken raising and we have 16 hens currently and are raising another 25 chicks. I am ready to build a bigger coop and I was hoping to build a saltbox coop with these dimensions. 8x16x5.5 feet. Is this tall enough for the birds. We live in NYS and have very hard winters so I'm trying to minimize the dead air space.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

I worked off the train of thought that I want to be comfortable standing up anywhere in the coop. My wife is nearly 6' tall, so I made the coop tall enough to accommodate her when she cares for the birds. The chickens will make do with what you provide them.

 

[mowin]

Welcome to BYC fellow NY'er.
I don't think hight is the issue for the birds as much as for you. I'd rather have a higher coop to be able to walk in without stooping.
That's a big coop to clean, and I'd want it to be easy and comfortable.

Your going to need 4 sq foot of open floor space per bird, minimum. Our winter's can be brutal at times. Chickens cooped up for days at a time need space to live peacefully.

 

[AllenK RGV]

I worked off the train of thought that I want to be comfortable standing up anywhere in the coop. My wife is nearly 6' tall, so I made the coop tall enough to accommodate her when she cares for the birds. The chickens will make do with what you provide them.

Good morning
I am fairly new to chicken raising and we have 16 hens currently and are raising another 25 chicks. I am ready to build a bigger coop and I was hoping to build a saltbox coop with these dimensions. 8x16x5.5 feet. Is this tall enough for the birds. We live in NYS and have very hard winters so I'm trying to minimize the dead air space.

Any thoughts appreciated.

I agree with @pintail_drake2004 I am in the process of building a coop for my slkies that are currently in the bator. On day 7 I candled and found only one clear. Back to the point build a coop you can get around in. My sumatra coop was too annoying as they liked laying in the hay at the back corner where I had 4 foot of head space. Additionally since you are in NYS you need plenty of ventilation as the chicken give off plenyy of moisture that will condense on the ceiling. Besides they can huddle and cuddle on the roosts and have their own down jackets!

 

[ZoomuKeeper]

My hen house is 8 x 10 with 8 foot ceiling. I have 3 hens a roo and 4- 6 week old chicks inside. I split it in half. I live in Florida so really all they do is sleep inside otherwise they are always in their yards. It is a lot to clean. I clean and disinfect it weekly. The flies get bad here

 

[AllenK RGV]

My hen house is 8 x 10 with 8 foot ceiling. I have 3 hens a roo and 4- 6 week old chicks inside. I split it in half. I live in Florida so really all they do is sleep inside otherwise they are always in their yards. It is a lot to clean. I clean and disinfect it weekly. The flies get bad here

The pen I am building will not be set on either wood or concrete hoping to see it self compost on the ground, and same here in a very mild climate as well at 26 degrees north. Regardless adequate ventilation is a requirement for us in the southern part of the country as it is for the northern parts @Texas Kiki have any pointers or links to share I'm still undercaffineted.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I think you need to go bigger.
My 8x14 coop with a saltbox roof is only big enough for 24 birds. For 40 you need nearly double that.

Mine is a little over 8' tall.

Ventilation is going to be critical especially with 40 birds.

Mine is modeled after this one largely.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/debby10s-roost.47812/

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC from yet another NYer.
I am going to buck the rest of the advice on square footage and say that the proposed area of your coop will work fine IF YOU HAVE A COMPLETELY SECURE ATTACHED RUN THAT YOU CAN WINTERIZE AND YOU NEVER CLOSE YOUR POP DOOR. That is my key to success.
My current coop is sized at 2.9 sq feet/bird. We just had a pretty darn cold winter.
I had exactly zero behavioral issues. That is because my run is as secure as the coop and the pop door always remains open. When the birds come off the roost, they head right out into the run and hang out there. So their effective square footage is 208 sq ft for 11 birds. I covered the sides of the run exposed to the prevailing winter winds with a tarp and they did great this winter. I open the door from their run into their pen but if there is snow on the ground, they never come out for long and do spend the majority of their time in the run.
Back to your coop height, trust me and everyone else on this and add another foot onto the height. You DO NOT want to have to stoop to enter and work in your coop. If you are going with a salt box shape, leave the gable peaks and your soffit areas open for ventilation and cover them with 1/2" hardware cloth. I am currently renovating my salt box style shed into my new coop and that is what I have done in addition to a ridge vent.
Good luck with you build.

 

[mowin]

Hello and welcome to BYC from yet another NYer.
I am going to buck the rest of the advice on square footage and say that the proposed area of your coop will work fine IF YOU HAVE A COMPLETELY SECURE ATTACHED RUN THAT YOU CAN WINTERIZE AND YOU NEVER CLOSE YOUR POP DOOR.
View attachment 1732993

Your not really bucking everyone's advise on SQ footage. IF there's a secure, covered, protected from weather run, less space per bird in the coop is ok. If not then more is needed.

We don't know if the OP has, or will have that type of set up or not.

 

[ZoomuKeeper]

Hello and welcome to BYC from yet another NYer.
I am going to buck the rest of the advice on square footage and say that the proposed area of your coop will work fine IF YOU HAVE A COMPLETELY SECURE ATTACHED RUN THAT YOU CAN WINTERIZE AND YOU NEVER CLOSE YOUR POP DOOR. That is my key to success.
My current coop is sized at 2.9 sq feet/bird. We just had a pretty darn cold winter.
I had exactly zero behavioral issues. That is because my run is as secure as the coop and the pop door always remains open. When the birds come off the roost, they head right out into the run and hang out there. So their effective square footage is 208 sq ft for 11 birds. I covered the sides of the run exposed to the prevailing winter winds with a tarp and they did great this winter. I open the door from their run into their pen but if there is snow on the ground, they never come out for long and do spend the majority of their time in the run.
Back to your coop height, trust me and everyone else on this and add another foot onto the height. You DO NOT want to have to stoop to enter and work in your coop. If you are going with a salt box shape, leave the gable peaks and your soffit areas open for ventilation and cover them with 1/2" hardware cloth. I am currently renovating my salt box style shed into my new coop and that is what I have done in addition to a ridge vent.
Good luck with you build.
View attachment 1732993

This is nice and airy and bright. I love it