What have we here? Breeds and sexes? - Help a noob out!

[Majd]

Don't worry if they only sleep in it... it's not a rule and that you cannot have chickens if not 4 sf .... it's OK if you have a couple mre hens.... if they stay out during the day thought.... their is no rules or anything.... just see what suits you and the hens.. if no fighting over space or anything they should be fine...

 

[donrae]

If your run is 72 square feet, you're going to have to get rid of some birds. 10 feet per bird is a good rule of thumb for a run space, and 36 feet for a dozen hens in the coop is getting pretty crowded. Personally, I'd pare the flock down to 7 or so birds and see how things go. The thing is, when you try to crowd birds, you get behavioral issues---pecking/feather picking, egg eating, up to cannibalism, and that's not a pretty picture.

 

[steveb1475]

Thanks again for the advice. I do worry about it being too tight in the coop, especially during the winter, but right now they are rarely all in there at the same time except at night and there is ample space for them all to roost. When I say that that they are in the yard, I mean our backyard so run space shouldn't be a big factor.

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

I think you have plenty of time to see how they handle each other before cutting your flock size down. 4sq ft in the coop and 10sq ft in the run is recommended but certainly not a rule. My 6 pullets have been amazing together. No chicken is the same but mine were kept in a way too small brooder for far too long and they had no issues.