Coop size

[hellfire]

I know this has been posted before but I'm all confused

. Ive had chickens years in dif coops. Ive got 10chooks at the mo and am currently raising chicks which will be out next month. I'll have 15 when they finally are big enough to go in one flock. I'm on a farm and have a large dedicated chicken field. What size coop will I need to upgrade too? I'm looking at flyte so fancy maggi 24 coop. Ive been reading chickens ideally need 4sq ft per bird in the coop!! That seems crazy as id need a monster coop. Any suggestions please on good large coops? There only in over night and free range all day. The fields meshed off the whole way round with fox skirts netting and electric fence. They have a small woods and river along with a orchard so plenty to occupy them. Oh and my old piggery which they turned into a indoor dust bath! The holes about a ft deep now! Thanks

 

[Toddrick]

It's not four feet squared, it's four square feet. So a 2'x2' box is 4sqft, and a 4'x4' box is 16sqft.

 

[hellfire]

Ahh thanks for clearing that up ha ha.

 

[aart]

This coop? http://www.flytesofancy.co.uk/chickenhouses/Maggies_24_Hen_House.html

Says internal house is 4' x 5'....that's only enough room for about 4-5 hens.

 

[hellfire]

Yeah that's the one I had looked at. What I thought that was more like 8ft! How can they say 24hens. My current coop houses 10 and is 4ft square. They don't seem squashed in. It was sold as a 15 but id think that 10s max. Bantams maybe.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

Multiply length by width... My coop is 12 x 8 which is 96 sq. ft. Divide 96 by 4 and you get 24 which is the number of birds you can have in that coop. Your run is supposed to be 10 square I think, but I don't remember for sure, because that was not an issue for us. I let mine range a fenced in area supervised. Then when I found they did well, I would let them range the unfenced yard with supervision and if they were fenced I would check on them now and then. Now, my oldest birds are 4 years old. I let the whole flock free-range both yards without my supervision. My rooster is a great protector and keeps them on our property or my dad's property. You can have a smaller coop if you birds free-range most days or if you have smaller breeds, but I would NOT recommend it. The more room they have, the better they will get along.

 

[aart]

Yeah that's the one I had looked at. What I thought that was more like 8ft! How can they say 24hens. My current coop houses 10 and is 4ft square. They don't seem squashed in. It was sold as a 15 but id think that 10s max. Bantams maybe.

Says right in the not so fine print:

"Max. ext. dimensions in mm:- 2060 wide x 1470 deep x 1850 high (approx 7' x 5' x 6').
Internal house:- 1530 x 1250 x 1500 (approx 5' x 4' x 5')"

 

[Mutt Farm]

For 15 big hens, the coop should be about 8X8 footprint. I think they could do with less since they have a fabulous chicken yard, unless you'll need to winter them.

 

[Alaskan]

Your weather plays a large part in how large the coop must be. If you will have snow, or heavy rainy days, on those days the chickens will most likely want to stay cowered in the coop.

When that happens, it is ever so much nicer to have a LARGER coop than you need, so that there is space for the girls to move about and not go crazy and start eating each other (which they will do, if they feel crowded).

Also, it is nice to have a roomy coop, so that if you go away on holiday, a chicken sitter can easily check in on them once a day, not twice to let them in and out.

 

[hellfire]

Rarely we get snow and if we do a week max light sprinkle. Used to have more. Wet weather yes. But it can be chucking it down and they don't go in the coop. The only time they go in there is to sleep and lay. Some lay in my piggery. I have a nest box in there too. Most are out like drowned rats in the rain. I watch them stunned as to why?? Some spend time in the piggery. That's a massive 3room outbuilding dry with a dust and stone floor. I leave food and water in there too in the end room. So from what's been said I don't think I need a massive coop as literally only for sleeping. I get no pecking in the coop and when I check in there all fine. I'm on a farm and seldom go on hol. I have a auto door. When I do go away for my 1 wkend a year my family ate about anyway on the farm so no issues there.