space per chicken

[Be-lee518]

Hello, I am getting 10 chickens; 6 Cochins, 2 Brown Leghorns, and 2 Ameraucanas(all standards). I've had many chickens before, but I've moved and my space is limited. I want to know how big my coop should be(I will put a picture of what my coop will be like). I was thinking it should be one square foot per chicken, but I've heard different.


Now how big should each part be? They will not be allowed to roam. They will be locked up in the inclosed part during the night(also when it is cold), and let out in the open-bottom part during the day. I am getting my chickens in early may so reply soon please! Thanks in advance to whoever post!

 

[azelgin]

Standard answer is 4 square feet in the coop and 10 in the run, per chicken. 1 square foot per chicken is not going to be big enough. You'll have pecking problems and injuries.
You can get by with less in warmer climates and with a bigger run.

 

[TwoCrows]

Welcome to BYC!

Yes, 1 square foot per chicken, and you will have them killing each other. I like to go 5 square foot per bird minimum in the coop and 10 square foot per bird minimum in the run. From the looks of your coop and run, you could house about 4 birds in there comfortably. Here is an article in our learning center on space needed for chickens...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

Good luck with all your poultry adventures and welcome to our flock!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! You've gotten some good advice and the link to a wonderful article above. X3 The general rule of thumb for standards is 1 foot roost space, 4 square feet coop space and 10 square feet run space, but bigger is usually better, especially in colder climates in the coop.

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

I agree with all the above advice - you may need to expand your coop plans if you are going to keep that many birds.

 

[gander007]

Welcome to BYC!

Yes, 1 square foot per chicken, and you will have them killing each other. I like to go 5 square foot per bird minimum in the coop and 10 square foot per bird minimum in the run. From the looks of your coop and run, you could house about 4 birds in there comfortably. Here is an article in our learning center on space needed for chickens...

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

Good luck with all your poultry adventures and welcome to our flock!

X2 on the minimum of 5 feet

 

[sourland]

Standard answer is 4 square feet in the coop and 10 in the run, per chicken. 1 square foot per chicken is not going to be big enough. You'll have pecking problems and injuries.
You can get by with less in warmer climates and with a bigger run.

In reality this is a bare minimum. Even under such circumstances severe boredom and pecking/cannibalism issues MAY be encountered.

 

[azelgin]

In reality this is a bare minimum. Even under such circumstances severe boredom and pecking/cannibalism issues MAY be encountered.

When I stated "You can get by with less in warmer climates and with a bigger run", I was referring to my own arrangements. I don't always have the ideal coop area available, but I have more than adequate run access available 24/7 and the chickens free range from dawn to dusk. Boredom is not an issue, as they are excited to get out into the pastures. I've yet to lose an adult chicken to pecking. I've lost chicks to the adult hens, but that has nothing to do with crowding. It has happened in the coop and free ranging.

 

[drumstick diva]

One sq. foot per bird in the coop would even be too small for bantam breeds. When chickens are crowded you get the '3 kids in the backseat of the car' syndrome.

You know the kid at one side is yelling that the kid at the other end is staring at him. That kid is mad it's too sunny by his window and the one in the middle pipes up that he can't see anything from there. Pretty soon tempers flare and poppa pulls off to the side of the road for "attitude adjustments." More than 50 years ago my father used to bang our heads together.

Picture crowded, crabby chickens with no one running the show and you get the idea.

 

[Be-lee518]

Thank you all for the comments. I will tell the builder of my coop(my brother-in-law) that we need to do some resizing. We were thinking about doing the enclosed part 5 by 4, and open-bottom 10 by 4(will that be big enough?). It breaks my heart that they cant run around free but that's what happens when you go from being a co-owner at a 10 acre farm in Florida to a city house in California! I do not want any pecking, I've seen those cases before, so thankyou again for the resizing help!