Run Size and Free Ranging Question

[ChickenTownie]

Hey everyone! I am getting a coop and some chickens (hopefully this week) and I have been reading a lot but I had a little question about space. The coop is something a friend is building for me and it is a 4x4 coop with a 7x4 enclosed run attached. I have read that chickens need 3 ft of coop space and 10 ft of run space, but I plan on free ranging them as much as possible in the backyard but I want to be there to supervise (at least at the beginning) to ensure they are safe. My question is can I have four chickens in this setup? The coop should have the room, but the run is a a little small. How much free range time would they need to offset this? I want them to be happy and healthy and not miserable in too small of a space. I am getting only pullets and they are probably going to be 2 Cinnamon Queens, 1 Barred Rock, and 1 Black Australorp.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Chick Charm]

My answer is yes. Ultimately you have to decide. If you let the pullets range in the beginning they will want out every morning. The run is really not needed if you range em every day. You can still make it work having all of them in that space but they will be tight and that does lead to issues like pecking and other health issues. If they are young pullets that space will be fine for a while but they will outgrow it. But yes you could still do it especially if you have to.

Wish ya the best.

Free ranger for life.

 

[Farmer Viola]

Hey everyone! I am getting a coop and some chickens (hopefully this week) and I have been reading a lot but I had a little question about space. The coop is something a friend is building for me and it is a 4x4 coop with a 7x4 enclosed run attached. I have read that chickens need 3 ft of coop space and 10 ft of run space, but I plan on free ranging them as much as possible in the backyard but I want to be there to supervise (at least at the beginning) to ensure they are safe. My question is can I have four chickens in this setup? The coop should have the room, but the run is a a little small. How much free range time would they need to offset this? I want them to be happy and healthy and not miserable in too small of a space. I am getting only pullets and they are probably going to be 2 Cinnamon Queens, 1 Barred Rock, and 1 Black Australorp.

Thanks for the help!

hello and welcome!

the 'rule' is 4 square feet per chicken when they are enclosed in the coop permanently. when you let them out to free range, it really opens up your options, since they only use the coop to sleep. keep in mind you're committing to letting them out and putting them away every day.

so, locked in all day, minimum requirement is 4sq ft coop space, 10sq ft run space. that's perfect for your 4 hens, as long as you aren't overtaken by chicken math

I think it comes out to 4ft per bird inside, 7ft per bird in the run, so a little low on the run but doable.

 

[ChickenTownie]

hello and welcome!

the 'rule' is 4 square feet per chicken when they are enclosed in the coop permanently. when you let them out to free range, it really opens up your options, since they only use the coop to sleep. keep in mind you're committing to letting them out and putting them away every day.

so, locked in all day, minimum requirement is 4sq ft coop space, 10sq ft run space. that's perfect for your 4 hens, as long as you aren't overtaken by chicken math

I think it comes out to 4ft per bird inside, 7ft per bird in the run, so a little low on the run but doable.

Thanks for the help! Since the run is enclosed and attached to the coop, do I need to make sure they are in the coop at night or just corral them into the run and they will go inside on their own?

 

[Farmer Viola]

Thanks for the help! Since the run is enclosed and attached to the coop, do I need to make sure they are in the coop at night or just corral them into the run and they will go inside on their own?

I would keep them locked inside the run+coop for about 1 week before letting them out to free range. That should be enough time for them to learn where home is, where they sleep. after that, they will return to the coop/run every night when it starts getting dark, all on their own!

 

[lazy gardener]

Re: locking them in the coop at night vs. leaving the coop open to the run at night, it depends on how the run is enclosed and your risk tolerance. Chicken wire is in no way able to protect your flock against predators. Any predator who wants a chicken snack can get through it. 1/2" hardware cloth top, bottom and sides will be about as predator proof as you can get. But, hardware cloth over the ground will negate a lot of the benefits of allowing them to have a run. The next best option is to do 1/2" hdw. cloth top and sides, and run a skirt of the same hardware cloth out about 2' and buried below the sod, or dug down vertically all around the run to prevent digging predators. Electric fencing around your run is an other option.

Re: allowing them some free range time to make up for the lack of run space: Will you be around to supervise them? Do you have neighbors close by? Is your yard fenced in? And, most importantly: do you live in a temperate climate so they can get out to free range year round, or will snow and ice keep them coop/run bound for part of the year??

Finally, where do you intend to keep the feed and water? Your 4 x 4 space would be minimal for 4 chickens as long as the interior is not cluttered with feed, water, and nest boxes. If you can have the nest box/es hung on the outside of the coop, and if you can feed and water them in the run, your 4 x 4 space might work, but generally, the minimum space requirements is just that, minimal. Your chickens might do fine with it, or if you have a bully in your flock, your enjoyment of the hobby, and your chickens quality of life will be minimized compared to the outcome with more space available inside and out.

Finally, I wish you the best of luck with your new friends, they're a hoot, and I'm learning new things from my flock every day.

 

[ChickenTownie]

Re: locking them in the coop at night vs. leaving the coop open to the run at night, it depends on how the run is enclosed and your risk tolerance. Chicken wire is in no way able to protect your flock against predators. Any predator who wants a chicken snack can get through it. 1/2" hardware cloth top, bottom and sides will be about as predator proof as you can get. But, hardware cloth over the ground will negate a lot of the benefits of allowing them to have a run. The next best option is to do 1/2" hdw. cloth top and sides, and run a skirt of the same hardware cloth out about 2' and buried below the sod, or dug down vertically all around the run to prevent digging predators. Electric fencing around your run is an other option.

Re: allowing them some free range time to make up for the lack of run space: Will you be around to supervise them? Do you have neighbors close by? Is your yard fenced in? And, most importantly: do you live in a temperate climate so they can get out to free range year round, or will snow and ice keep them coop/run bound for part of the year??

Finally, where do you intend to keep the feed and water? Your 4 x 4 space would be minimal for 4 chickens as long as the interior is not cluttered with feed, water, and nest boxes. If you can have the nest box/es hung on the outside of the coop, and if you can feed and water them in the run, your 4 x 4 space might work, but generally, the minimum space requirements is just that, minimal. Your chickens might do fine with it, or if you have a bully in your flock, your enjoyment of the hobby, and your chickens quality of life will be minimized compared to the outcome with more space available inside and out.

Finally, I wish you the best of luck with your new friends, they're a hoot, and I'm learning new things from my flock every day.

For the run enclosure, I will have 1/2" hardware cloth on sides and tops as you described. I dont think I will have many digging predators because I live in the city and I also have two dogs (they might be the potential problems but I have an underground fence that will keep them clear). If I notice any digging then I will bury something, but I am trying to avoid that so that I can move the coop around to keep them from picking the spot clean.

For the run space, I do have a fenced in yard and I will be supervising them for the first few months at least to ensure that everything in safe and secure as can be. I like in Oklahoma so we do get some snow and ice. If I end up with a bully then I might send her to a farm or something to keep things calm. I work with 4 chicken farmers so I have plenty of people willing to take one off my hands. I wont try sacrifice quality of life for a few extra eggs.

I planned on hanging feeders and waterers inside but maybe I need to revisit that idea. The nesting boxes are not included in that 4x4 space, they are added on the outside. I could possibly do that with the feeder and waterer as well. I considered adding a little pipe with the water nipples and the reservoir on outside... and maybe something similar with the food

 

[sbhkma]

You would be surprised how many digging predators you have-even in a suburban setting. What I did was encircle the coop with electric wire at the bottom about 2" above the ground, using extension insulators that stick out about 2". I have a gate set up and I shut off the fence and open the coop door + electric gate (which opens to their run that does NOT have 1/2" hardware cloth) and also let them free range. At night I lock them in the coop, shut the electrified gate and turn on the fencer. It's a solar fencer and it moves when I move the coop. all I have to do is pull the ground rod and move IT too. Over the last year and a half, I've had two skunks try to get at the chickens and got themselves zapped instead. It stunk something awful in the backyard for a day while it dissipated, but it saved my chickens. Luckily, because the skunks were facing the coop, the coop itself didn't get sprayed!

I also wouldn't trust in-ground fencing systems to keep your dogs away from the chickens. If they get excited enough, they'll risk the quick zap to get out and after them. It's far better to train them to NOT think of the chickens and prey by educating them and then rely on your underground fence as added security, not the only security. Just my thoughts on the matter.

 

[ChickenTownie]

You would be surprised how many digging predators you have-even in a suburban setting. What I did was encircle the coop with electric wire at the bottom about 2" above the ground, using extension insulators that stick out about 2". I have a gate set up and I shut off the fence and open the coop door + electric gate (which opens to their run that does NOT have 1/2" hardware cloth) and also let them free range. At night I lock them in the coop, shut the electrified gate and turn on the fencer. It's a solar fencer and it moves when I move the coop. all I have to do is pull the ground rod and move IT too. Over the last year and a half, I've had two skunks try to get at the chickens and got themselves zapped instead. It stunk something awful in the backyard for a day while it dissipated, but it saved my chickens. Luckily, because the skunks were facing the coop, the coop itself didn't get sprayed!

I also wouldn't trust in-ground fencing systems to keep your dogs away from the chickens. If they get excited enough, they'll risk the quick zap to get out and after them. It's far better to train them to NOT think of the chickens and prey by educating them and then rely on your underground fence as added security, not the only security. Just my thoughts on the matter.

Hmm... thats definitely food for thought. Where did you get a solar powered fence?

And I am planning on working with my dogs with the chickens. They are pretty mild mannered... They don't bother our cats or any wild animals like squirrels, toads, and birds but I am not going to trust them alone for a while!

 

[sbhkma]

I bought it off Amazon and used 14 ga wire around it, with a spring for the gate. It's a solar fencer for 3 miles of fence. It covers 25 feet (my coop bottom level is 5 X 5). I don't have electric around the run itself, since it's just a covered 4 X 8 dog kennel and is meant to give them room yet keep them enclosed for things like bad weather or when I need to clean the paddock and don't need their "help".