Space.... is there, or isnt there enough of it? im a wee bit stuck :(

[spaka74]

okie doke, ive recently upgraded my chicken run, (its so amazingly exciting in comparison to my old run)
and i realised i have lots of potential space for more chickens. or so i think...

(be prepared for lots of maths mess ups here )

the run is...
10ft by 22ft, (giving me an area of 220 square feet?)

within the run there is a bath which the runner ducks swim within and the chickens drink from (cleaned once a week), which is...
4ft by 2.5ft, (giving me an area of about 10 square feet?)

and a shed, which the chicken and ducks sleep and lay in at night its sort of got two tiers but not really... (cleaned here and there constantly, but properly once a week),
that is 5.5ft by 3.5ft, (giving me an area of about 19 square feet?)

ANYWAY,
(who'd have thought chicken keeping required so much math?)
taking the bath area and shed area away from the total area leaves me with...

190 square feet or so... i think.

i currently have...

two runner ducks (jillian and pedro)

two cockerels (which are heading towards there end tommorow, the lead cockerel over "services" the hens)

and... about five hens... i think. (i recently lost one unfortunately)

they are bantams, at least all but two hens, i think (though those large hens lay tiny bantam egss)

so i was wondering, how much space do they need?

some say 4ft, for big hens, and 2ft for bantams,

(but how much space do they need in which to sleep as well?)

i was considering giving considerably more space to hen in comparison to these statistics..., (seeing as im farming for fun, not on an industrial scale)

the run is soon to be entirely paved for their claws, and for the easy mess cleaning, aside from four or so tiles for dirt bathing.

anyway, how much space do i need? (also, if anyone can point out any major flaws with my run, it'd be helpful to know)

ive asked the commonly asked questions section, but its doesnt adress my own situation the same as it does the next person, so id like some tailor made advice... eh. any help would be wonderful. thanks

 

[Kittymomma]

Rule of thumb is 10sq' outside and 4sq' in the coop per large fowl and 1/2 of that for bantams. I'd go bigger with a mixed flock so the little guys can stay out of the larger chooks way when needed. I don't know what the norm is for ducks, but based on my two I'd give them at least as much as the large fowl and more would probably be better.

 

[spaka74]

'anks, your words sounds slightly more realistic in comparison to the stuff ive heard on other sites

 

[Kittymomma]

It does get confusing and is especially hard with mixed flocks. It's just a rule of thumb though, not an absolute. You know your birds best and will be able to tell if they're happy or are getting stressed and aggressive.

Another thing to keep in mind is your weather and daily routine. Areas that have large blocks of time with weather bad enough to keep birds confined to the coop really need to have more space in the coop or at the very least to cover the run. Otherwise the birds usable space is not sufficient and you have problems. On the other hand I "cheat" the coop space for my chooks because they free range all day and when the weather is crummy they have the whole barn and lean-to to hang out in so they don't do much besides sleep and lay in the coop itself.

 

[NellaBean]

Your limiting factor is your coop. Theoretically, you could fit up 19 chickens in your run, going by the 10 sq ft per chicken in run rule.

Howewer with your coop being only 3.5 x 5.5, That is just under 20 sq feet. Going by 4 square feet per chicken of coop space, you can have 5. You already have 5 bantam hens plus 2 ducks. You may have room for a couple more bantams or possibly standards......maybe, maybe not........I have a 4x6 shed in my garage. I used it to quarantine 4 standard cochins and it was a very tight fit, once you consider the nesting box food and water. I have also kept 4 bantam cochins in there and it was plenty of space for a coop only.....once you add ducks to your 5 existing bantams, I think you are full up. If you could expand your coop, you could add a few more.

 

[spaka74]

i wouldnt have thought the hutch was such an issue, but it seems most people think its so. i mean, my run is sheltered with a roof kinda like a bus shelter, so, theres places to go should they get cold, or if its raining, (also, im living in an area where we get snow maybe once every three years, and for a day at best) and if a chickens only going to sleep in there, and then leave, whats the issue? (im not trying to sound provocative, im just intrested why) because when i close them away at night, if find all my chickens clump together at nightleaving 7/8ths of the hutch bare...

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
As long as you're able to let them out first thing in the morning it's probably not much of an issue for you, or anybody else with a similer set up/weather pattern. Many people don't have covered runs or mild weather though and start to have huge problems when the weather gets bad and the chooks start feeling cramped. It's not much fun to try to expand the coop or cover the run in mid-winter so I always advise people to not skimp on coop space if the chooks will be restricted to it for any length of time.

 

[patandchickens]

It's just a matter of what works for YOU, in YOUR particular situation.

You've got two big advantages here - you are already a chicken owner so you know how your particular flock behaves in your individual climate, and it sounds like you live in a very mild always-pleasant climate except maybe for a bit of raininess.

IMO if you know, from observations, that your flock really doesn't use the coop except at night, and they have a pleasant dry run that they are happy to rattle around in all the rest of the time, more or less 365 days a year, then if you've got a lot of empty roost space you could try filling it up somewhat since that's what you want

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[alexysmommy]

Quote:
Yes, this def. i have noticed on here people tend to stick to the 4sq ft rule like it is set in stone, but honestly every situation is different and while you def dont want overcrowding, there are going to be times when birds are just fine with less than 4sq ft. How much the birds get out to free range, how big the run is, etc really does come in to play when trying to figure out space. You obviously do not need as big of a coop if the birds are only sleeping in there and that is it.

 

[spaka74]

oh, gosh, this is so pleasing to hear, i can start feeding my addiction and start buying more hens

(odd that, isnt it, some people take up smoking but here i am with feathered friends... i must be weird aha

)