space per chicken?

[chickenlover237]

I have never had chickens before and I am planning to get some in the next year. I do not know how much space your supposed to have per chicken in the coop and the run. can annyone help? if it helps to know this I live in florida so it will get to around 100 on the hottest days in the summer and can get as low as 30's in teh winter. I am planning to get 3 barred rock hens, 1 barred rock rooster, 2 silkie hens and one silkie rooster. I want to have a seperate coop for the silkies and a seperate for the barred rocks.

 

[jeepguy982001]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=2132 maybe this will help.

 

[teach1rusl]

You'll get varying opinions. Most agree that in the run, you should allow a minimum of 10 sq. ft. per bird if they are contained most or all of the time. The housing is a bit more dependent on your area. I live in an area that gets winters, so I use the 4 sq. ft. min. suggestion per bird (although my coops have far more than that). In year-round mild areas, I could see suggesting as little as 2 sq. ft. as a minimum (for the housing), since the birds would practically never be indoors except to roost and to lay an egg.

And welcome to the forum!

 

[jeepguy982001]

i forgot also i think the space/run requirements are different if you have bantams or full size chickens

 

[chickenlover237]

it freezes sometimes in the winter.

 

[ChickenDavid123]

We have 11 hens with 4X6 foot coop + 3 laying boxes with a total of 2X4 feet, and a enclosed run of 8X12 feet. We free range an average of 5 days a week. Flock shows no sign of stress.

 

[chickenlover237]

thanks chickendavid123 that helps a lot, I do have another question though. what do you do if you own a dog and the neborhood is filled with dogs that are let loose and cats that are ether let loose or are wild? they are all over the place. I like you coop

 

[jeepguy982001]

i would make a strong run for the chickens to stay in. IDK how many times i've ran off neighborhood cats but my run is made of 2x4s and the sides are 1/2 in wire mesh and double layer of chicken wire on top so the cats can't get to them.

 

[ChickenDavid123]

chickenlover237 I think that about the only thing you can do is build a strong run, and keep them inside all the time. My run is made of pressure treated 2X4’s and ½ inch hardware cloth (galvanized welded wire fencing) with 2X4 inch wire fencing on the bottom to keep anything big from digging in from the bottom, so its enclosed on all sides. We have two dogs, with no problem. Wild cats can be a big problem, live trap them and move them somewhere else. I have no other idea for all the dogs. Unless you are willing to lose some birds I don’t see any other way.

 

[Nonny]

The others have answered your space question, but I noticed your hen to rooster ratio seems a bit low... it might cause some problems for your girls.