Too big, too small or just right?

[NJbirdlover]

I know this question has been asked A LOT and I know the sq. footage per bird but how many standard chickens can I have for this size? We are still in the process of building but I am about to place my order for chicks and dont want to over order.

We would like 8-10 hens.

8x6 hen house 14x8 attached run..too afraid of predators to let them free range.
thank you!!!

~Lisa

 

[bigmike&nan]

How TALL is your hen house to be ?? There was a great thread here yesterday discussing just such a thing. A taller hen house with prudent use of layering could give you more room... The sq. footage is just right for 8 birds if you ask me. I don't know Jersey that well, but if Salem County is pretty nice country. Best to start a little small on the flocksize and then bump up as you get an idea how much they need to be in the hen house AND you meet new folks here and find you can't live without a new variety of hen... LOL

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=151092

 

[NJbirdlover]

bigmike&nan :

How TALL is your hen house to be ?? There was a great thread here yesterday discussing just such a thing. A taller hen house with prudent use of layering could give you more room... The sq. footage is just right for 8 birds if you ask me. I don't know Jersey that well, but if Salem County is pretty nice country. Best to start a little small on the flocksize and then bump up as you get an idea how much they need to be in the hen house AND you meet new folks here and find you can't live without a new variety of hen... LOL

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=151092

we are in Southern NJ near the bottom of the state. Winters can be cold but not horrible. We dont get below 20 very often(at night)

the house will be 6 1/2 feet tall​

 

[SoJoChickens]

You should not have any problem with 8 - 10 birds in your coop and run.

 

[all-cracked-up]

I have a 4x8- 2 story coop and it held 16 chickens in the winter and we didn't always let them out because of unusual cold and ice. There was no pecking, etc. and I feel that we could have had more as the upper area was not that well used.
I would, however, change from a solid 2nd story to maybe 2 half sized (2ftx4ft) levels at angles to each other and slightly different heights (chickens aren't very tall). It was actually very difficult to teach the full grown hens we got to go upstairs through the opening that is about 1 1/2ft x 1 1/2ft sq with ramp, which takes up some room.

 

[patandchickens]

Adding height really doesn't improve your chicken capacity much at all. I definitely would not rely on it to alleviate any sort of crowding problem.

8x6 is a perfectly reasonable size for 10 hens though -- it gives them almost 5 sq ft per hen. Most people on BYC would say "and you have room for several more at least"

Your run is a reasonable size as well. So unless you want to get a lot more than 10 hens I wouldn't worry about size.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Quote:
Agreed, but 8-10 should be the maximum for the coop & run you have planned.