Sq Ft

[salvationfarms]

I have heard different things about the sq ft of coops and runs ........... what is the sq ft for both max and min thanks

 

[ranchhand]

You're in MS? I'd go on the average of 4 sq. feet per chicken in the coop and 10 sq. feet each in the run.

 

[CatDaddyAlbert]

Hope this might help.

Coop wise, where the birds spend the night, I have always been told 2 Sq Ft of walking room and 16 inches of perch length per bird INSIDE when they have a run to go out in.

As for outside, I am just not sure. I happen to use 12X12 dog runs and only have 12 birds per fenced run.

I am sure others no more about this than I do and will chime in with better numbers.

Good Luck

CDA

 

[IRL]

The general rule is 4 sq feet in the coop and 10 sq feet in the run. I live in CT and find that my chickens spend very little time in the coop. Personally I think 2 or 3 sq feet in the coop and 20 sq feet in the run would be better.

 

[spotstealer]

Quote:
X2. My coop is 4X6, my run is 12X13 for six birds. I let them free range when I'm out in the yard (living in town with plenty dogs sniffing around).

 

[chriscos]

Everybody here mentions 4 sq. ft. per bird. However, if you are going to free range, and don't have to deal with winter, then I think you can get along with less than that. All my birds free range, and they are out of the coop first thing in the morning and don't return to it until sundown except to drink some water or lay an egg. When they come in at sundown they go up to their spots on the roost and go to sleep for the most part.

However, in the winter time, they rarely come out of the coop to play if there is more than a couple of inches of snow on the ground, which is why I try to stick to 4 sq. ft. per bird for my coops. If I didn't have to deal with winter or long periods of inclement weather, then I think they would be fine with less space in the coop, as they only seem to be sleeping in it when they weather is nice

 

[TDM]

Quote:
Two square feet per bird is the accepted norm throughout the world. Four square feet per bird is overkill. See the article linked below for more information.

https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/poultryoverview.html

 

[gale65]

My Raising Chickens for Dummies book says 2-3 sq feet per chicken. Our coop is 4 x 6 and we're planning to keep 8 chickens (was 6 but there are a couple more I can't bear to give up). I'm really hoping that dh will take mercy on me and either build onto our coop or make a bigger one so I can keep all 12. Our run is 10 x 24 (about).

 

[Judy]

Here's a good writeup about space. There really is no one answer, except maybe that more is better. I have 18 birds in an 11x17 coop and about a 70x70 fenced yard.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=6815985#p6815985