Question about coop height

[gudrin]

Okay, this may seem like a silly question, but I'd really like to know. If I would like to put roosts in my coop, how tall does it really need to be? I hope that makes sense. I know about floor space (I've done mucho research here on BYC!) but I've never really figured out how tall a coop needs to be.

 

[ibpboo]

Mine is tall enough for me to stand up in, and the roosts are about 3-4 ft high. I have nest boxes at ground level, 2 foot level, and 3 foot. That way they choose. Mostly they lay in the same box, but every once in awhile they choose a different one to lay in for awhile. I have one hen that likes to sleep in the rafters in the stall, that is 12ft high.
Hope this helps!

 

[patandchickens]

A typical large-breed chicken stretching up tall is like 24", more for the taller breeds. So for no roost, or a roost that hovers just inches over the bedding, that is all you technically need. (But see below re: ventilation)

If you want them to have room to walk around under the roost, you need a *minimum* of 16" under and 16" over (ballpark) meaning at least a 2'9" to 3' high coop. Be sure to account for the effect of sloped roofs, too.

However... if you live somewhere that it gets cold, it can be real hard to manage ventilation in a small low coop. Because there is nowhere to put the vents that won't be blowing cold air right at the chickens. In this case, a taller coop may be helpful, or a longer one (so you can have all the winter ventilation towards one end), or something else thought out in advance.

Really, if you are somewhere that gets cold e.g. Minnesota, you are WAY WAY better off with a fullsized walk-in coop. The height of which should be whatever it takes so you won't be cracking your skull on the rafters.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[digitS']

Let's say that you want to have 10 chickens. You've done your research and found that 4 square feet of floor space is about minimum for a comfortable, adult bird. So, 40 square feet is needed for your 10 chickens.

The rule of thumb is 3 cubic feet per pound of live chickens, permanent indoor confinement (Virginia Polytechnic). This can be thought of as an "industrial model" but, hopefully, your birds will have outdoor time most every day.

10 chickens weighing only 5 pounds each or 50 pounds of birds would "require" 150 cubic feet.

If your 40 square foot coop is only 3 foot high, you have only 120 cubic feet. If your birds are larger than Leghorns or bantams, you don't have anywhere near even the "industrial model" for room.

I have a coop with 2 rooms, 1 is fully open to the outdoors. The other room is fully closed and insulated for the Winter. The hens will stay in that closed room every night and many of the Winter days.

It has only about 150 cubic feet of air space but I've never had more than 30 pounds (

) of chickens in there. Their roost is 18" above the floor but there's open air above them.

Steve
edited to provide a reference

 

[patandchickens]

I'm not clear on the relevance of *cubic* feet unless you a) are going to keep them in low cages, and stack them, like in a battery farm; and/or b) have so many chickens so crammed in there that you need to calculate air changes with cubic-feet data.

Chickens are basically 2-dimensional creatures, ground dwellers, that use elevated roosts to sleep and occasionally to pop up onto during the day. Only 2-dimensional floor space is really relevant to them in terms of a coop's chicken capacity, IMHO.

Pat

 

[2txmedics]

I have a 10x10 dog kennel as a run, and then we built a coop to attach to the end of that...we made it so that I can stand in it, Im 4'11" and I have alot of extra room to stand without bending my head, infact...over me are my roost that I added to be even with the ventilation area where they roost.

I can walk in mine also incase I need to clean it out or change the light that hangs...this is mine and its comfortable...big enough, but not too big.

Hope this helps, I also added a picture before we added the deep litter of the inside of the coop and the nest boxes.
they have room also under the coop.

DH made the coop but Im like you when it comes to sizing I believe my coop is 4' deep and 10' across to fit the run, and height...like I said Im 4'11" so I will say maybe 5=6' in front and the back the very back of the coop 4'

 

[digitS']

Quote:
Well Pat, an actual 2-dimensional chicken would fit in a manila envelope.

Tudy, the 2 dimensional BYChicken
Steve's digits