Overcrowding problem or not?

[Coop-de-coop]

I’ve a flock of 15 various hens and 2 roosters from merging two flocks. The first part of the flock started year ago August with eight female chicks. With adult supervision I built a coop with 62 square feet of floor space, 5 nesting boxes, 6 windows, and a total of 16 linear feet roosting space. The run is about 700 square feet

Just after the chicks arrived, a forest fire swept through the canyon, destroying 32 homes. One neighbor lost her house but not her coop and hens. She asked us to adopt her flock of six free ranging hens and 24 sq ft coop, which we moved via rented forklift a quarter mile down the road.

Over the fall the chicks were slowly introduced to the new hens but each flock chose to use their original coops. This spring a female and two roo chicks joined the fun.

Over the summer only three middle-aged hens remained in the small coop. The other three joined the party in the large coop. That means 4.43 square feet/bird. With our short summer nights that was fine, but in winter I’m not sure. During the day they do spread out by using the other coop.

How serious is this situation coming into a Montana winter where we get 300-400 inches of snow and overnight temperatures regularly fall below zero? Do I need to fence off the coops and separate the birds? While not impossible, a fence would make things more difficult.

 

[Aunt Angus]

First, let me say that I am sorry that folks lost their homes in the fire. I live in fire country, too, and the past few years have been horrendous.

As far as your chickens go, I think the biggest problem in winter is humidity. If your coops are well ventilated and the birds are protected from drafts, you should be ok.

 

[cavemanrich]

I think your hens and 2 roos, should be fine. The 4 square foot is a guideline, not LAW. I suggest you have some straw on hand, so you can shovel out parts of your run, and provide straw for chickens to walk on. When chickens have run time available,,, the coop time while longer during winter,, will be just longer sleeping while dark.
for accepting those neighbors" hens.
Like Above poster (Aunt Angus) mentioned,,, keep an eye on good ventilation and draft free conditions inside coop. If you smell ammonia inside coop, ventilation is insufficient. You can monitor humidity levels compared to outdoor humidity with a meter such as pix below.

Research details for yourself,,,, but according to what I read,,, the unit comes with 3 sending units. (details stated 3 outdoor units) You would keep one inside coop,, One somewhere outdoors to monitor ambient outdoor humidity, and third one wherever you wished. You would then compare coop humidity to outdoor humidity. If both values are close,,,,, then your ventilation is performing properly. Remember that you are not able to achieve lower humidity in your coop, than the outdoor one. Since you are supplying you coop with outdoor fresh air.

WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[JedJackson]

I agree with the above posters. A smaller space per bird will actually keep things a bit warmer due to combined body heat. You just have to be careful about ventilation and cleanliness. The big sign that they need more space is if they start fighting and picking at each other. If your birds seem happy and at peace with each other, then there shouldn't be any problem.

 

[aart]

Short answer is...... Yes, more than likely.
Crowding is never good, learned that the hard way my second winter.
ChickenCabinFever can be ugly!

 

[Sally PB]

You can monitor humidity levels compared to outdoor humidity with a meter such as pix below.

If you have this, does it work ok in very cold temps? Say, zero to -10 degrees F?

I got a cheap one, and at 35-40 degrees F, it flakes out, so it's no help at all.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Could you maybe provide a covered area for them to give them some space during the day, just in case? That's a lot of snow, so I'm not sure what options you have.

Maybe try it out before winter really let's you have it. Lock them in there for a day or two. If it's bad, then build a fence before the heavy snow hits. Lol

 

[cavemanrich]

If you have this, does it work ok in very cold temps? Say, zero to -10 degrees F?

I got a cheap one, and at 35-40 degrees F, it flakes out, so it's no help at all.

I do not,,, but in my searching, I put outdoor. The portion that is outdoors is the sensor, and works wireless.
I do have a few thermometers that work wireless. They work great for me,,,,,,,,but none of those have humidity sensors.

Here is a copy and paste of a review.

Base unit and outdoor unit read within 1 degree Centigrade of each other which is good for this type of product. Other reviewer's comments suggest they do not appreciate how costly accurate calibration is and to say the readings do not agree with their spirit thermometer I would ask if it was a certified one, and if not why do they think it is correct. They do not even specify whether they are referring to Centigrade or Fahrenheit readings. Battery life of the indoor unit so far exceeds 6 months and the rechargeable outdoor unit easily goes 10-12 weeks between charges. Overall a good quality product which I am very pleased with.
David A. · Review provided by ThermoPro

Here is a link to the site.
https://www.google.com/shopping/pro...&ved=0ahUKEwjek_adnJL0AhXSVs0KHaVYCmsQ9pwGCA4

Read more reviews and make your decision based upon your findings. I know there are always good and bad reviews about any product . This one gets an overall 4.7 with 105 five star from 122 reviews.

 

[Alaskan]

Yes.. you are likely to have issues.

The general guidelines are 4 square feet of coop and 10 square feet of run... per bird.


So the problem is if you have lots of snow and wind, that your outside space is now gone.

And the chickens are now ONLY in the 4.43 square feet per bird.... and nothing else.

So... the key is to either KEEP them going outside even when the weather is lousy... by putting up a roof over the run/runs and by putting up wind blocks to stop wind and snow.

OR, make the coop/coops way bigger so even if they refuse to (or can't) go outside they still have plenty of inside space.

 

[Coop-de-coop]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Lots of food for thought and ideas to pursue. Humidity control: check. RH inside/outside coop: check. Draft free ventilation: check. Boredom busters Inside and out: check.

Pondering peoples’ replies, it came to me to make a sturdy three sided wind block where run gets several hours of midday sun. We do after all have 300+ days of sun. A friend has a pile of old storm window sashes I can use for a steep pitched roof. Voila, a warming hut. Sweep snow loads off sashes, toss plenty of straw to keep feet off snow/ice/slush, and I think I have a viable solution.

Like many members, I like exercising my imagination to press into service anything lying around, swapping stuff with neighbors, or even stuff on side of the road, to meet my chickens’ health and infrastructure needs. So thanks again everyone for the inspirations!