The phone rings, its my buddy from the other side of the county. "I have five RR hens I have to give away, can you take them?" "Sure, I'll take them"
Just like that, I now have 13 layers instead of 8. The sudden thought of over crowding hits, and I wonder what this is going to do to my cozy little flock.
I have a very large garage, (40 x 30) concrete floor throughout. Inside the garage is a small room that I built my 7 x 6 coop in. It seems to have worked quite well for the 8 hens. Well ventilated, well lit during the day, and going by the advice I read here, unheated. I cut a square hole to the outside, put in a sliding, up and down door to allow the hens into a 12 x 12 outside enclosure. The 8 hens appeared to be quite happy and content with the space allotted.
My question is... how much bigger am I going to have to make the coop and enclosure for 13 hens? I might add a few more hens this spring, totaling 15-16. Also, how soon does this need to be done?
Thanks -Mark
Just like that, I now have 13 layers instead of 8. The sudden thought of over crowding hits, and I wonder what this is going to do to my cozy little flock.
I have a very large garage, (40 x 30) concrete floor throughout. Inside the garage is a small room that I built my 7 x 6 coop in. It seems to have worked quite well for the 8 hens. Well ventilated, well lit during the day, and going by the advice I read here, unheated. I cut a square hole to the outside, put in a sliding, up and down door to allow the hens into a 12 x 12 outside enclosure. The 8 hens appeared to be quite happy and content with the space allotted.
My question is... how much bigger am I going to have to make the coop and enclosure for 13 hens? I might add a few more hens this spring, totaling 15-16. Also, how soon does this need to be done?
Thanks -Mark
