please help with dimensions for coop/run

northerncaliforniachick

In the Brooder
10 Years
May 1, 2009
43
5
34
sonoma county
Hi Everyone! Thanks so much for this great forum- it has been such a help!

The area I have for my coop and run is 8 ft. x 14 ft. (112 square feet). I have 5 chickens (hope that all will be girls so that I can keep them). My coop will be elevated so that they will be able to have access under the coop, with the run attached. they will be able to free range my yard when I am out there (at least an hour a day except for the occassional day away).

How much of this should be the coop?

In case it matters, we live in Northern California with a very mild climate. Part of the space is in more shade than the other half- I was also wondering of the coop should be in the shady side (here there is more risk with heat than cold) or in the more sunny side where they will get more winter sunlight.

thank you so much!
 
The standard rule-of-thumb is a minimum of four square-feet of floor space per bird in the coop. So, at least 5x4, plus some more for nest boxes, feeder, waterer, etc. Since you have such great weather, they won't be cooped up in the winter, so you can get by with minimum internal space.

One five-foot long roosting bar would be great... You can make a board or pit below it to catch the droppings. The rest of the coop should stay pretty clean if they can get out to the run most of the time.

With five hens, I would suggest three nest boxes... The standard is one box per four-ish birds, but they might be crawling over each other if one is in the only box and another one-or-two need to get in there and lay eggs. Think of it like bathrooms in a house, and a family of five... You CAN get by with only one bathroom, but it usually causes tension.
 
My coop is 4 x 8 and my run is 8 x 16 x 6. I have 8 chickens and plan on maybe 2 more! They have plenty of room. General rule of thumb is 4 square feet inside the coop and 10 square feet outside in the run but the more the merrier!
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