small coop

[confederatekid93]

Hi all i live in the city and i am really interested in getting chickens. I dont have much free range space and am wondering what the minimum size living quarters i should provide 3 to 5 hens with. I would like to put a small coop attatched to a small run in my side yard. Any advice on how i can keep the smell down and how i can provide my chickens with a good life woulld be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance i look forward to reading everyones input.

 

[sloallie10]

i know that for 4 chickens you should have a 4x4 coop, and at least a 4x10 ish run

 

[confederatekid93]

thanks any idea on how high the top of the run/coop should be (if this makes much difference)?

 

[TxCritter]

If you don't want to look like the hunchback of notre dame while cleaning it you should make the run about six foot high.

 

[snakecharmer]

I think that hight is probably more important to you than it is to the chickens. Mine is about 6' tall so that I can get in and walk around to feed and water, etc. but my father in laws run is probably less than 4' and the chickens are fine with it. The downside is crouching down to service feeders.

 

[sianara]

Quote:
Or even taller if YOU are 6' high

 

[annek]

I am using the deep litter method, have a pan under the roost for daily cleaning, and put Sweet PDZ down on the litter and in the enclosed run to keep the smell down. So far, so good....can't smell chicken at all!

 

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

Quote:
What is sweet PDZ?

Sorry, shouldn't piggy back on the topic, but I really want to know. thanks!

 

[LittleMamaBigPapa]

Quote:
We too have a small area we wanted to utilize for our first chickens. See my page and EVEYONE's SMALL and medium COOP pages!! Many of them have descriptions and explain why they chose the size and design. Our coop is 4x4 and our run was originally going to be 4x10 but we went 4x12. We started with 3 Buff Orps pullets (to be 7-8 pounds) and now we added 2 Plymouth Rock Bantams. We got 2 more (small) chickens because we are going to have to find a home for one BO who turned out to be a boy.

Anyways, I am new to chicken life but I asked this question too, and as stated above, the general rule is 4 square feet per bird (coop) and 10 sf per bird (run), but I believe that is for Standards, not necessarily Bantams.

Have fun......chickens and this DARN site are addicting....they warned me!!!!


Edited: As you will notice, my run is not tall enough to stand in. We didnt want it to go above our garage window......just our preference

 

[Judy]

You can go a little smaller for bantams, but bigger is always better.

First time you get a pecking problem, you will believe this. Chickens love to forage and scratch. Runs that provide 10 sq ft per bird turn into dirt/mud in a short time, so you wind up giving them things like pieces of sod to satisfy this, and hauling in gravel/sand/whatever. You can even skimp a bit on coop size unless you live in the far north, where they will stay in on coldest days, but run size is more important.

Any way you can fence your back yard for them?