roost area vs floor space

[mener6896]

I have a delima in building my coop...is it better to have more floor space within the coop or more roost space. We are deciding between

12 linear feet of roost space with 60 square feet of floor space verses
30 linear feet of roost space with 40 square feet of floor.

We are planning on having about 28 laying hens to start, could add meat birds later.

FYI we are also going to have 12 nesting boxes.

Hopefully I get an answer quick!!! We are finishing up tomorrow!

 

[redoak]

With 28 hens your going to need a minimum of 24 feet of roost space. (General rule of thumb is 10 inches of roost space per chicken). Also if your birds are cooped up in the winter you'll want to have 4 sqft of space per chicken. If at all possible I'd try to make a larger coop.

 

[monathequeen]

Hey....(Name ?) Anyway, You will have only 5.1 inches of space per hen if you do a 12 foot roost. NOT enough spacing. You will have 12.8 inches of space per bird if you do a 30 ft. roost.
It is recommended to have atleast 12" of space per bird..........I would do the 30 foot roost if you have 28 birds now. and it sounds like you are planning on getting more. The flooring is not as important because the birds will only be in the coop to Roost at night....that is if you let them out in a run during the day. They will go in to lay but not all at once. They have different laying periods. You may re-consider having 12 nesting boxs and try only 8. Like I said, they dont all lay at the same time so to have more floor space, try only 8 boxs. I have 3 nesting box's and 15 hens.......works great.........Hope I'am not too late. Let me know what you decide please??Ray

 

[mener6896]

I decided on the 30 feet of roost space....I'm still a little unsure if there will be enough floor space. They will have lots of run/free range space....

Our coop will be 8x10...I would like some more advice on how to maximize space.

Thanks!!
mendy

 

[monathequeen]

I wouldn't worry too much about floor space right now. In bad wheather, the birds will go inside but they will most likely be on the roost snuggling. They like to snuggle next to eachother to stay warm. They probably wont be on the floor too much at any time...so..........

 

[gkeesling]

with an 8x10 coop 28 laying hens, and planning on adding meat birds later, your coop isn't going to be big enough. During the winter, when they are all cooped up together during bad weather, you may have some pecking problems, and for sure you are going to have a lot of chicken poop in a small area. You may consider a larger coop or less birds.

My coop is 8x10 and I have 19 hens and all is working well. I could probably add a few more, but don't want to push the space issue to much. I'm ok in the summer, but have concern about the winter.

 

[monathequeen]

I totally agree with adding more space.........(if you want birds with feathers.) If pecking starts, it is almost impossible to stop.......My birds peck and I only have 8 hens and 1 Roo. I have a 6x8 coop. When pecking starts, you have to seperate the injured bird or they could peck her to death. I learned the hard way!!! ....darn birds LOL...

 

[patandchickens]

Assuming this is a walk-in coop, there is no reason to HAVE to trade off between roost space and floor space. They can walk around underneath the roosts, so they should have the full 80 sq ft available to them. (Which they'll surely need, because it is not the most ample coop for 28 birds...)

If you were wanting to put a droppings pit under the roost, build it up on legs so they can still use the floorspace below it. Presto, problem solved.

For 28 hens you need a minimum of 15' roost length if they are Leghorn sized, more like 18' if they are normal sized chickens, or they simply will not geometrically all FIT onto the roosts.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[chickens3]

more roast that is what they need.

 

[sangel4you]

my coop is going to be three and a hlaf feet high...is 22 inches off the ground for the roosts ok? I plan to put a droppings board underneath about 2 inches so they can walk around underneath. I have leghorns- is 18 inches of height enough for under the roosts?