size of coop - number of chickens

[maurerwerks]

Hi - We live in snowy (finally) NH and we're getting chickens in the early summer. We started building a 10x12 walk-in coop in the fall - see attached photo - and in the spring we'll move it to its final location (a tree has to come down first during the winter) and put on the walls/insulation and finish the interior. My question is, considering the size of the coop and the cold winters here, how many chickens is optimal to keep each other warm (I don't plan on auxillary heat) and have enough room to stretch their little chicken legs? They will also have an outdoor run and be let into the goat pen under supervision as well (we have 3 angora goats who don't understand yet what a chicken is when I try to explain it to them).
Sue

http://s627.photobucket.com/albums/tt360/smaurer51/Chicken Coop/

 

[okiegirl]

Quote:
not sure about your answer, I just wanted to say that is going to be a SWEET setup!!!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

3 sq feet per bird...some say four some say 2 so I go with three. ALthough I have more then that now 12 chickens in an 8x8 coop.

 

[Flowers of Abba]

we live at 6,800 elevation and the snow gets deep. I have only turned on red light during one below -4 storm. they really do make the coop warm. we have a 6x6 coop elevated off the run floor (2 ft), insulated, and fully roofed. There were 11 in there and they kept the room at about 55-45!as long as when the sun goes down you close them in tight, then open up first thing in the morning to vent the air.

BUT, we adopted 5 new hens and that seemed to push it over the limit... bare buts... The run is 14 x 6. So I am going to have to open that up and see if they stop picking with more outside space.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How much space you need per chicken is actually a very complicated question because there are a lot of variables that go into it. The standard reply on here is 4 square feet minimum per chicken in the coop with 10 square feet minimum per chicken in the run. With certain mannagment practices you can often get by with less but sometimes you need more. Below is something I wrote up in response to another post about this that addresses my opinion on some of the factors. Different people will have different opinions. The university and extension websites often give smaller numbers but these are generally for commercial operations where the management practices are different from our normal practices.

Good luck!!

As long as you have enough height for the roosts to be noticeably higher than the nest boxes, height does not matter to chickens. They are basically ground dwelling birds, so the ground area is all that really matters space wise. I said it does not matter to the chickens. It does matter to me if I have to work in there. It matters quite a bit.

If the nest boxes are high enough off the ground that the chickens can easily get under them, then nest boxes do not take away from the space available. The tops of the nesting boxes does not add to the living space either although they may occasionally be up there. Ground level is what counts.

Some of the things that make up the space requirement are, in my opinion:

1. Personal space for the birds. They have different personalities and different individual requirements. Some are very possessive of personal space and some can share.

2. Access to feeder and waterer. More than one at a time needs to get to the feeder especially, but access to the waterer is also important. Part of this is that they seem to like to all eat at once but part of it is that a dominant bird may keep others from eating or drinking, especially with limited access.

3. Being able to put the feeder and waterer where they will not poop in it when they roost.

4. Poop load. The larger area they have the less often you have to actively manage the poop. They poop a lot while on the roost so you may have to give that area special consideration, but mucking out the entire coop can be backbreaking work plus you have to have some place to put all that bedding and poop. In my opinion, totally cleaning out the coop is something that needs to happen as seldom as possible.

5. How often are they able to get out of the coop. The more they are confined to the coop, the larger the personal space needs to be. The normal recommendation on this forum is 4 square feet per full sized chicken with a minimum of 10 square feet of run per bird. This additional requirement outside is sometimes not mentioned. How often they are allowed out of the coop may depend on a lot more than just weather. Your work schedule, when you are able to turn them loose, what time of day you open the pop door to let them out or lock them up at night, all this and more enters into the equation. The 4 square feet recommendation assumes they will spend extended time in the coop and not be able to get in the run. What that extended time can safely be depends on a lot of different factor so there is no one correct length of time for everyone.

6. Do you feed and water in the coop or outside. The more they are outside, the less pressure on the size of the coop.

7. The size of the chicken. Bantams require less room than full sized chickens. This has to be tempered by breed and the individual personalities. Some bantams can be more protective of personal space than others, but this is also true of full sized breeds.

8. The breed of the chicken. Some handle confinement better than others.

9. The number of chickens. The greater the number of chickens, the more personal space they can have if the square foot per chicken stays constant. Let me explain. Assume each chicken occupies 1 square foot of space. If you have two chickens and 4 square feet per chicken, the two chickens occupy 2 square feet, which leaves 6 square feet for them to explore. If you have ten chickens with 4 square feet per chicken, each chicken has 30 unoccupied square feet to explore. A greater number also can give more space to position the feeders and waterers properly in relation to the roosts and provide access. I’m not encouraging you to crowd your birds if you have a large number of them. I’m trying to say you are more likely to get in trouble with 4 square feet per chicken if you have very few chickens.

10. What is your flock make-up. A flock with more than one rooster may be more peaceful if it has more space. I don't want to start the argument about number or roosters here as I know more than one rooster can often peacefully coexist with a flock, but I firmly believe more space helps.

11. What is the maximum number of chickens you will have. Consider hatching chicks or bringing in replacements. Look down the road a bit.

I'm sure I am missing several components, but the point I'm trying to make is that we all have different conditions. There is no magic number that suits us all. The 4 square feet in a coop with 10 square feet in the run is a good rule of thumb for a minimum that, most of the time, will keep us out of trouble, but not always. I do believe that more is better both in the coop and in they run.

 

[blueseal]

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i have a 10x12 coop its a gambrel shed. highside 6ft walls, had it built last january from a shed company here in maine $1500, best price around. built on 6x6 skids 2x10 planking for floor, 2x4 frameing, t1-11 siding, 1 screened window, built on my property. i have had up to 26 standard chickens in mine i could fit 40 pretty easy right now i have 17 layers and 1 rooster.

 

[maurerwerks]

Hi again - I'm more concerned, not with the top number of chickens I can fit in, but the bottom number that can keep themselves warm in that space (10X12 with 6 foot walls, and about 10 feet high at the ridgeline). Thanks folks!
Sue

 

[Oakville Shooter]

Quote:
I recently had a similar thread. https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=296845

As on of the posts mentioned, if needed, you can partition off part of the coop with bales of straw or hay so that you have a smaller space to keep warm.

 

[teach1rusl]

Quote:
LOL...GOOD!!! Because when that question is asked I want to sarcastically reply "Well...if you use a good plunger you could probably cram..."
In a cold and snowy area where they may get shut up for periods of time in the winter, I'd go with MORE space rather than less. You said you are insulating. You can always add a huddle box inside your henhouse if you're concerned about conserving heat or avoiding heat loss. You can add bedding too. We added a temporary drop down panel (with insulation stapled into it) to reduce space and heat loss this winter. I'll send you pics if interested. There are lots of ways to reduce space temporarily; there aren't many ways to increase space. By doing those kinds of things, you could have as few amount of birds as you want really, and they could enjoy having space to walk around when cooped up...
ETA: because there's no such thing as a huggle box...lol Although a huggle box sounds nice...lol Lots of hugs going on there, which would be warm.

 

[maurerwerks]

thanks for those answers folks - a false ceiling sounds like a good idea. Do chickens like warm water in the winter? My goats try and mow me down when I come out with warm buckets in the winter!