New Coop Build- Calculations for run and chicken capacity

[Jimmy W]

Good Morning, the build I have is a coop with 30 sq ft of floor and 9 ft of roost. I am adding a run of 10 x 6 (plus under coop area of 30 sq ft) for 90 sq ft of run. I am looking to house 4-6 Barred Rock (2 to 3) and Buff Orpington (2 to 3). I know I can house 4, but what about 6? Thoughts and advice?

Below is shot of where I am at with the build.

 

[21hens-incharge]

At 30 square feet of coop I would say 6 is the maximum.

Cute coop! It's coming along nicely.

 

[rosemarythyme]

6 should be fine. Make sure you have enough ventilation in the coop to match the 6 birds.

 

[aart]

6 might work OK....except during nasty snow storms.
Will the run have a solid roof?
Where will you keep the feed and (heated)water?

Will you extend the coop roof to have overhang on the sides?
Looks like it is even with the wall, which could be trouble.

 

[Jimmy W]

6 might work OK....except during nasty snow storms.
Will the run have a solid roof?
Where will you keep the feed and (heated)water?

Will you extend the coop roof to have overhang on the sides?
Looks like it is even with the wall, which could be trouble.

Run Solid Roof- Absolutely
Has a 2-inch overhang on sides, not much but I thought sufficient, so I only use 2 panels on roof.
Not sure where I will keep the feed yet, and I do plan on heating the water in the colder months. Not sure on water heater type, but I do have a metal waterer.

I like your comments, they make me think, thank you.

 

[gtaus]

Not sure on water heater type, but I do have a metal waterer.

I live in northern Minnesota. I keep both my feeder and waterer inside the coop. But I have lots of room. I have the old fashioned metal poultry fount and use a base heater to keep the water from freezing. Just like this base heater option from Amazon.

I got my base heater from my local farm store. It has worked without any problems for 4 winters. Although my model states it only guarantees ice free water down to about 20F, I can tell you that, inside my coop, my waterer remains ice free down to -40F in the dead of winter. I think that is because the waterer and base heater are inside the coop and not exposed to the cold, blowing wind outside.

Because of where I live and the fact that our winters get so cold, I really like having both my feeder and waterer inside my elevated coop. I designed with that in mind. I can collect the eggs on one side of the coop, and the feeder and waterer are accessed on the back side by opening my main doors. I never have to enter the chicken coop in the winter for basic feeding and watering or egg collection.

The normal rule of thumb is to provide 4 square feet per full grown chicken in the coop. I designed my coop to have just over 7 square feet per bird because my chickens basically live inside the coop for almost 6 winter months out of the year.

I don't have a solid roof over the chicken run and my chickens won't go outside and walk on the white snow. If you have a solid roof over your chicken run, that will allow them to go outside and take off a lot of that pressure they might get living inside the coop only.

I think 6 chickens would be fine in your coop. If you have room for the feeder and waterer inside the coop, that would be a bonus where I live. But, with a solid roof overhead, maybe you can get by with the feeder and waterer outside.

I firmly believe that having fresh water is the most important thing for the health of your chickens. Without fresh water, it really does not matter if they have access to feed. Do whatever you can to have fresh water available to your flock and keep them healthy.

 

[aart]

Has a 2-inch overhang on sides, not much but I thought sufficient, so I only use 2 panels on roof.

Should be OK, hard to see.
I like large roof overhangs all around, really helps with cold climate ventilation.

 

[Jimmy W]

Thank you all for your help. Definitely gave me a new perspective.