How many chickens can fit comfortable in a 5' by 5' coop?

[sunny & the 5 egg layers]

How many chickens can fit comfortable in a 5' by 5' coop?
Thanks in advance.

 

[LarryPQ]

6? I would round down to 5.

 

[ranchhand]

Depends on breed size, weather, etc. If you're in a really cold area in winter, they made have to be locked in for long stretches. In my climate, it's not a worry.

The "general" guideline is 4 sq. feet per bird.

 

[chriscos]

How big is the run or do they free range? If in a run is it secured and covered, or do they need to be locked in the coop at night? Do you have multiple days/weeks where the birds won't go out of the coop (heavy winters, etc.)? What kind of birds are they, heavy, bantams? How often will the coop be cleaned?

It depends on lots of things. Could be 5, 10, 12.

 

[teach1rusl]

If you get winters with snow, I'd say up to 6 birds. If you have a covered run, even better (most chickens do NOT like snow, and will avoid it if at all possible).
If you're in a year-round mild weather area, and either free range or have a large run, then I'd say up to double that number would do fine, because they would stictly be indoors from dark till early morning and to lay eggs - so as long as there's ample roost length, a tight space wouldn't matter nearly as much.
There are other factors too, but these are a few key ones.

 

[wava1vaughn]

Hi from Ga. For most breeds 6 will do. On 1 of my coops it's 8x8 with a 4x8 bump out. I have 11 Australian Sussex in it. And that's really pushing it. even though you could put 16 normal size chickens in it. We open it at 7am and close it about 8pm. So its not a problem. We also Have 4 pens that are 6x12 we keep up to 12 normal size birds in each one.

This is a view of the 4 pens connected with Turkeys on the end with a 20 ft. run for them. The others are let out on a different schedule.

 

[JohnCT]

I have 5 that seem to be happy in a 5x5 with a 16x9 attached run

 

[Nicole01]

6 would fit nicely.

 

[Gnsr58]

How big is the run or do they free range? If in a run is it secured and covered, or do they need to be locked in the coop at night? Do you have multiple days/weeks where the birds won't go out of the coop (heavy winters, etc.)? What kind of birds are they, heavy, bantams? How often will the coop be cleaned?

It depends on lots of things. Could be 5, 10, 12.

6 would fit nicely.

6’x5’ run and 35’x15’ fenced area around the coop .

 

[Krugerrand]

6’x5’ run and 35’x15’ fenced area around the coop .

Welcome to BYC! This thread is 11+ years old. They've likely solved their issues by now. If you are looking for advice, I'd suggest starting a new thread.