I need your insight on how many chickens to put in my coop!

[talkinboutchickens]

Okay. So here's my plans, please tell me if they won't/will work.

I am getting 2 chicks very soon at my local hatchery, one maran and a silver laced wyandotte.
Well, I also want 2 cochin bantam chicks (they are my dream chicken.)

I have a big coop and a small coop. The big coop is 23 ft long, including the coop, the width is 8 ft and it is 8-9 ft tall. The run by itself is 18 ft long and the coop is 5 ft long.
The small coop is 13 ft long, about 7 ft tall and 9 ft wide. The coop is raised so they can go underneath it as well.

Only the big coop is being occupied currently by 13 chickens. The small one is completely empty, but the girls like to go in there during the day to lay their eggs.

Our original plans were to keep our current chickens in the coop that they are in now and put our 2 new ones in the small coop. And if (and I emphasize IF) I get a cochin bantam or 2, do you think I could add them in with the maran and the SLW in the small coop? Will the big girls bully the little ones? Is there enough room in there you think? I mean, I don't want to cram mine in there, I want them to have enough room. I saw online that you can "comfortably" fit 16 free-range chickens in a 4 by 8 coop, but I want them to have enough room and not be wing-to-wing all the time.

But I get really cold winters where I live so for 2 straight months they will be living in the coop, whereas people in hot climates when they can always free-range. So my point is, I can't cram a bunch of chickens in a small coop and when the winter comes, they are crammed in there and get all stressed out.
In theory, cochin bantams are really small, so they really shouldn't take up much room anyway, right?

Thanks so much if you've read this far! I will be attaching pictures of my coops in a post below this.
(And a question for bantam owners: how much do they actually eat and how often do they go through a bag of feed? I am hoping that they won't really make that much of a dent in the food cost. We already go through a 50 lb bag every 1 and a half - 2 weeks as it is )

 

[talkinboutchickens]

this is the big coop's run

That's their coop. Please ignore the mess

This is the small chicken tractor. Also ignore the pool from my duck that's filled with rain water.

Here's their coop.

Here's the inside of the coop, there are 2 roosting bars and 4 nesting boxes.

 

[Mantisquailman]

The small chicken tractor is the small coop right? If so you have enough room for 6 or 8 bantams!

 

[talkinboutchickens]

The small chicken tractor is the small coop right? If so you have enough room for 6 or 8 bantams!

Oh wow! But do you think I could put 2 standard sized chickens and 2 bantams in there?? Does one standard sized count as like 2 bantams?

 

[Mantisquailman]

I wouldn't risk it I have watched a lot of videos on that and their are a lot of mixed reviews. You could just mix the standards with the main flock.

 

[aart]

I don't think you have room for adding any more birds.
Looks like you are measuring the runs, including the enclosed coops.
They need to be measured separately, especially due to the fact that the runs are not weather proof. Has your flock, and you, been thru a winter yet?

I get really cold winters where I live

Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Has your flock, and you, been thru a winter yet?

Yes...Several. They handle it well, although they have gotten frostbite several times (mostly my roos.) Their coops are insulated and stay a few degrees warmer than outside. We do a deep litter method in the winter so that the extra bedding keeps the coop warmer. They are all cold hardy breeds.
I live in the Midwest as well.

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Here's an old pic of my entire run of the big coop.