Will a 4 by 6 building hold 25 8- 18 week olds chickens?

[BarredBuff]

Would it have to be bigger? I really in a dilema in what to put them in building wise we will probably build a chicken tractor but I need suggestions....PLEASE

 

[Manok-Tao]

2 sq feet inside per bird is great
8 sq feet outside (run) is great

 

[speckledhen]

For all adults, I think 4 sf interior measurements per bird is minimum, really. You can cram a few more in there, but the cleaning is much harder. Since you have some smaller/younger birds, you may be able to get away with less then 4 sf inside, but not for long.

 

[Manok-Tao]

Try getting in touch with "catdaddy66" he has a thread running now called "Anxious to start raising birds". I think it's in new introductions, I'll check.
He is building a tractor for 25 birds.
John

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Most on here will say 4 sq. ft. of floor space per bird. Yours is 24 sq. ft, so 6 birds.

Most also say 10 sq. ft. of run per bird.

Personally my coop is small for my birds (I'm enlarging this spring) but I do have a covered run area, which is ALWAYS opened to my fenced yard. We're fortunate to have virtually no predators here in the city, and my girls don't pick on each other at all.

I would go larger if possible unless this is just temporary housing or something.

 

[speckledhen]

As I've mentioned before, alot depends on how much time they must be shut inside. When it's rainy or snowy and they have to be inside for any length of time, you'll appreciate it not being crowded, smelly, hard to clean, etc, especially when you have to go in there and do things while they are locked inside with you.

Had 50 in 150 sf in the main coop and it all those things--damp and ammonia scented, etc. Now that I have only about 30 in that same coop, it's ever so much more pleasant and easy to clean and when they're locked in for a day or two, they don't fight and get so antsy.

 

[Manok-Tao]

PLEASE...disregard my post on this thread about 2' sq ft a bird inside requirements. My research, notes, beliefs were wrong...
4' squares a bird please.
Being a newbie and ingesting info leads to a quick response to post on topics I "think" I know the answer to... stupid stupid man.
I will refrain from making a fool of myself and more importantly refrain from potentially given unfounded info to those in need of fact.
My bad

 

[speckledhen]

You certainly didn't make a fool of yourself. The 4 sf per bird is a general suggestion that I found does actually do pretty well. If in a warm all year climate where they spend most of the time outside, you could do okay with a smidge less, but I've done 3 sf per bird and over 5 sf per bird and the 4 sf or larger per standard size bird is a very comfortable area for them to live in under many conditions. If you had an all or mostly bantam flock, you could certainly do the 2 sf per bird very nicely.

(((not to mention that rarely does anyone keep the same number of birds they start out with. I started with 10 pullets in an 8x8 space. Later added 12' in length to that coop as my numbers grew)))

 

[Manok-Tao]

You are very gracious and forgiving. I want the best for my new flock and luckily I'm in the stage that modifications are doable. I've been taking progressive pixs of my coop construction and will post them when all is done.
I'm so addicted to the whole chicken thang.

 

[catdaddy66]

jscnlc thanks for the props! My tractor is coming together as an 8 x 8 x 4" with a pitched roof front to back. Gives 64 sf total so 16 birds will fit at 4 sf/chook, 21 at 3 sf/bird and 32 at 2 sf/bird. Now my assumptions are these- lost chicks 2-3, floorspace and roost space maximized w/ poopboards and feed/H2O stations along the walls, 10 sf in run/chick. The question is, am I looking thru rose colored glasses or are these valid considerations? In short, will 25 chickens manage well in 8x8 diggs?