Sq feet per bird & 'Purina' coop? Questions.

[Eklecktika]

I'm planning a coop for 8 girls. I have 8 now, and I will have to exercise restraint until such time as I either eat one (gasp!) or lose a neighbor or three. (I'd prefer the latter...

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I live in an area with huge (110+ degree) temp swings throughout the year-summers routinely hit 106F (in the location where the permanent coop will be) and winter will give us 2 week plus stretches of -10F with hideously high winds on occasion...humidity levels in the 80% area as a matter of course.

(So, obviously, the ventilation page has been printed, highlighted, noted and underlined.

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Initially, I was going to build the 'purina' coop. It appears to only provide about 1.5 sq feet per bird if you do stuff 8 full size girls (auracanas, australorps, and RIRs) in there-which seems awfully snug. So now I'm thinking an Aframe style with a drop down door on the enclosed end for increased airflow in summer would be more to the point, although a little less suited for my particular space.

Is the purina coop really big enough for 8 chooks?

Thanks!
Laurel

 

[GiddyMoon]

The going rate everyone will state is 3-4 feet per bird for the coop plus 10sf per bird for the run. Where are you? Are you high humidity or dry? We are in Tucson, so we are using as much wire and shade as possible with very little walls. You might want to check out "open air coops or open air poultry houses. I just put up a link to the free e-book..it has a lot of great info in it.

 

[patandchickens]

Is this going to be in an area that is fully shaded for much fo the day.

If not, you would be best served by simply constructing the largest roofed area you can manage; then you can enclose a bit of it around the roost and call it a desert henhouse.

Really, large area of SHADE is the biggie. Chickens don't tolerate heat all that well.

For whatever it's worth, I would not personally want to use EITHER the Purina design OR an A-frame for your climate.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat