Size of sleeping space for each chicken

[Crowfeet77]

Hi. I just built my first coop. Very excited! But it's small. During the day they will have a very large space but at night the enclosure is small. How much space do we need per chicken to sleep? We'll probably only have two or three but i want them to be comfortable. Thank you!

 

[HuskerHens18]

We use ladders, then there's plenty of space for each chicken to roost. I lean the ladder at a pretty far angle so they don't poop on each other. If you only want two or three chickens, a homemade ladder would work perfect, then it won't take up your whole coop like a storebought ladder would.

 

[Spartan22]

If your asking for Roost bar size to sleep? At least a foot per chicken. If your asking for floor space? At least 5 sq foot per chicken but with anything the bigger space the better to eliminate future problems or more room in case you want more chicken.

 

[blackdog043]

1 ft of roost space per chicken is recommended.
How small is your coop itself?
What is your ventilation like?
Can you post pictures of your coop?
Please add your general location to your profile, this will help us help you better, because we will have an idea of what your weather is like.

 

[jthornton]

The 1' of roost rule is based on them having to fly up to the roost, if yours only have to hop up they will fit in much less space. I've seen 9 pullets on 4' of roost and I have 11' of roost for them. Now they spread out a bit more and usually only have 5 on the 4' roost. My roosts are 8" above the floor and 12" from the wall.

JT

 

[RNPAULIE69]

I have 3 girls who share 3ft of roost space..they snuggle up on less than half of that. I am lucky however, they seem to get along really well!

 

[aart]

I have 3 girls who share 3ft of roost space..they snuggle up on less than half of that. I am lucky however, they seem to get along really well!

Yes, they will sleep on less than a foot of roost length each, but depending on roost setup they often need that 'extra' space to fly up(think wing span)and get shuffled(RoostTimeRumble) and then settled.