size

[worms7]

If I build a coop 5 1/2ft x 3ft inside
With nest boxes on out side ( both ) sides
How many chickens can i have the
Advertisement says 15 bird
Cheers

 

[Ridgerunner]

If you have a really nice really big run that they also have access to 24/7, feed and water outside, and with your remote nest boxes it might possibly work. In other words if that is just used for weather protection when sleeping and any time they are awake they are not in there. Otherwise no, 15 is ridiculous. Fifteen chickens in that is industrial management techniques and chickens specially bred to withstand those conditions. We treat our chickens better than that. Very few of us even understand the complexity of what industry has to do to make that work. It’s not easy. I’m not even sure you could get enough roost space in there for fifteen chickens.

There are a whole lot of factors that influence how many chickens you could use that coop for. Size of chickens, individual personality of each bird, flock make-up including sex and ages, climate, how you manage them, and many others. If you want you can follow the link in my signature for some of my thoughts.

 

[bluema]

Ideally you should have less than 4, but probably can get away with up to 8, with plenty outside run space and the coop space used only for roosting at night. 15 is way too many, and if you're just beginning, get smaller number of chickens than you want initially, and add more every two years to keep up egg production.

 

[Folly's place]

I would guess three or four birds max in that 'coop'. Build bigger!!! Mary

 

[barneveldrerman]

Personally I would only put 4-5 chickens in there. the maximum I would put in is 8 chickens. If you do put more then 5 then I would make a big run with food and water there to. Whoever told you that you could put 15 chickens in that space obviously didn't know what he was talking about.

hope you have a good time with this and sorry I couldn't help anymore than this.

 

[junebuggena]

Wow! 15 birds in 16.5 sq ft. That wouldn't work, even if they were Seremas (a very tiny bantam breed). It's fit for maybe 4 Leghorn type breeds or 3 larger, dual-purpose breeds.

 

[worms7]

It was one of them pre made coops
That they sell in shops
Cheers

 

[BDutch]

I have 6 tiny Dutch bantams in about 1.5 times this space (partly coop/partly roofed run).

Much more small chickens do not fit in to my opinion even with the attached larger run. They stay in the coop/roofed run at night, to eat, lay eggs, take a break, have a dustbath and when the weather is nasty.

The chickens can choose to go to the larger more open run short after they get up. I made a automatic opener from the coop/roofed run tot the larger run to keep them save and sheltered at night.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might want to skim this thread about prefab coops. The vast majority of the time they are not really designed for chickens, are often poorly constructed, and practically never hold the number of chickens advertised. A lot of people do use them, often with some modifications, for a very limited number of chickens. You can pick up some of the features you might want to look at in this thread. They can be convenient and cute, but you are practically always better off building something yourself or getting a shed and converting it, especially if you plan on having more than a bare handful of chickens.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/852529/money-poorly-spent

I find the more I crowd them the more behavioral problems I have to deal with, the less flexibility I have to deal with issues that do come up, and the harder I have to work. There is no need to make your life harder if you can avoid it. Instead of looking at how many chickens can I shoehorn in here, think more along the lines of how many chickens you want first, then figure out how to provide proper facilities.

Your question is a good question, I’m glad you asked. It probably saved you from a disaster.