Size...two or three dimensional???

[pellepeterson]

So, here we are again, the Coop De Gras is moving ahead slowly, we had company up from NY for the holiday and with help from my brother and my nephews, we added a floor and some walls. The roof I have locked in as far as a plan, however I am still deeply concerned.

I have read over and over again that chickens need 4 square feet per bird. I was in good shape before I upgraded the number of chickens to 14, now I have true concerns and I need your help. The coop is huge *IMHO* 4X4X8 feet. Floor space alone however is only 32 Sq Feet...enough for 8 chickens (from my research). Now....is that only counting floor space? If I add another floor, literally...does that count?

I want my chickens to be happy, I have plenty of land for them to range on, predators will not last long...Between Thor and my Annie Oakley daughter I think we have that covered. They will free range while we are out with them, and have a large open run when we are not, I do however worry that they will be overcrowded, and yet cannot imagine why.

I would love to hear some opinions, ideas, and your thoughts on the whole ordeal. I actually want more birds besides our leghorns and Black Stars...I was thinking some Cornish Rocks or Crosses. Is that all feasible?

HELP!!!! LOL!

Thank you all in advance, BYC folks are all amazing and I love that there is a whole group from Maine! Summah is coming!!!!

Thank you thank you thank you!

 

[Judy]

Yes, adding another floor counts. The 4 sq ft is the amount of space they can walk on, though, so it doesn't count nest boxes or any other areas where they can't walk.

Space is not really a formula, though. Actually, I would not give them that little space if I lived where there is snow on the ground for days at a time, unless their run was fully protected from snow as well, because they will tend to stay inside some days. Where I live, they actually need less that 4 sq ft, because they will be outdoors except to sleep or during a heavy rainstorm, as long as there is shade. (although I have an oversized coop, 11x17 for 11 hens, which I love.) I'll give you a link to a couple of good writeups on here about this. Note that patandchickens lives in Canada.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/winter-coop-temperatures

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/700308/coop-and-run-size/0_20#post_9504811

 

[pellepeterson]

Thank you for your reply. I did do some research following your leads..I guess I have some modifications to do....GULP...thank you so much