What size coop do I need for 15 chickens???

[coolchange]

I started out with 4 pullets and now have 4 pullets and 11 chicks. The coop I have is just right for the 4 but I need to build a larger coop. What size do I need to accomadate 15 chickens? They already have an outside run that is about 10 x 20. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!

 

[speckledhen]

Your run is fine, almost the exact size of the one I originally had. An 8x8 would be adequate, but if you get any more birds in the future, you'd be better building it slightly larger, if you can swing it. An 8x8 makes better use of a sheet of plywood, however, with less waste and cutting. Here's a picture of the original coop and run, pre-chickens, of course. I had 10 hens and 1 rooster in it, but at one time, also had four guineas in there.

 

[MTchick]

Don't forget (which I always do) that the farthest-out piece of wood needs to be the biggest. So if you have 3/4 inch plywood, the length of the walls can be 8 foot on the outside but it should be built with 2x4s that are 7 ft 10.5 inches long. You'll have to scale down again by the width of the siding if you wish to make 8ft long pieces of siding work on your coop.

I failed to do this and built a structure that was 4ft by 4ft of 2x4s. Then I went to put my 4 ft wide, 3/4 in thick, plywood on it and naturally, the edges were 3/4 too short to properly overlap. You might need to make a drawing to see what I mean, but trust me, it is very annoying.

Oh, and usually you budget 4 sq ft of henhouse per hen. That is 60 sq ft for 15 birds, or 64 if you build it 8x8.

-MTchick