Quick coop and run size question!

[RachelFromTheBlackLagoon]

Hello!

The coop that I'm building is 4' x 4'. The run will either be 4' x 10' or 4' x 12', depending on how cheap and in what lengths I can find hardware cloth. If it only ends up being 4' x 10', should I not exceed 4 chickens? If it's 4' x 12' will that even be sufficient for 5 chickens? I'm not positive what kind of chickens I'll get yet. I will probably have standards and bantams. Any help is much appreciated!! Thanks!

 

[gkeesling]

when I stared with chickens I got a lot of feedback that the coop should allow for 4 sq. ft. /chicken and the run should allow for 10 sq. ft./chicken. That's what I went by when I built my coop and run. It has worked out very well for me. I've not had any pecking problems outside of establishing pecking order. I've read where some people here use less space/chicken, but I didn't want to push it much. My suggestion, based on your measurements, is not to go past 5 standard size chickens. I know with bantams, though, they don't need as much space as regular size chickens.

 

[RachelFromTheBlackLagoon]

So if my run ends up being 4 x 10, you still think 5 is ok? That's, what...only 8 square feet per chicken? I don't want them to be uncomfortable. I guess if I ended up with a few standards and a few banties it would be more than sufficient, no?

 

[gkeesling]

the dimensions I gave were for standard chickens. If you have some banties thrown into the mix then those dimensions should be plenty for 5 chickens.

 

[Judy]

OTOH, more is always better.