What size should my coop be?

Pretty Big

 

First of all from Oregon!

Standard sized hens need 4 sq. feet each in the hen house and 10 sq. feet in the run. Bantams can get by with about half that in the hen house and 8 sq. feet each in the run but more is always better. If the hen house is only for sleeping you can get by with 3 sq. feet per standard hen. It's a good idea to have 10-12 inches of roost space per hen. I prefer 12 inches in case its a warm night so they can spread out.

So 15 x 4 = 60 sq. feet inside and 150 sq. feet in the run.

 

Quote:X2

8X8 coop works nice. All the lumber is already cut to 8 feet and plywood in 4X8.

 

Bigger than you're planning now......in case you decide you want more chickens.

 

As big as you can bring yourself to make it.

For two reasons. One, as mentioned, you may want more chickens in future

But more importantly, two, chickens really do better with more space than the conventional "3-4 sq ft apiece indoors plus 8-10 sq ft apiece in the run" rule of thumb that is popularly quoted on this forum. What that is a ballpark number for is "reasonable likelihood of avoiding cannibalism and pecking problems". They behave differently and IMO more relaxed/happier at larger space allotments... so the more you can give 'em the better. It also makes management easier and minimizes sanitation issues.

A linear foot of roost per chicken is plenty, and you can go less if you have to as long as it's a reasonably congenial flock (down to 8" or so for normal sized chickens, less for banties)

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

My first coop has 10 hens & one roo its 8x10 coop. With 10 x 15 run. I personally think it should be bigger. The second coop that is almost complete is gonna keep 25 hens only will be three sided, 18'x 10' with 10 ' x 15' run. Total coop & run being 330'. Remember bigger is always better.

 

ddawn, I could be wrong but I am pretty sure that Pat is a man.

I agree with having a gigantic coop. You will love having the extra room. 8x8 will work but, go as big as you can above that. It is pretty inexpensive to make a coop bigger when first building it. Even just going from 8x8 to 10x10 adds 36sf of floor space! That's almost 10 chickens! even if you never add an extra chicken to your flock it is still worth it IMHO.

The #1 piece of advice given on this forum is "Make it bigger!" I have never heard anyone complain that they went too big.