How many chickens should I keep

A lot of answers already given, so I'm just going to agree with those who said 5-6 LF chickens at most in that space, it's too small for more.

I’m in Virginia. It doesn’t get too hot
I didn't see if anybody addressed the temperature question. I'm in MA so a lot further north than Virginia, and by southern standards MA wouldn't be "too hot" either, but it's still really hot for chickens in the summer. Especially now that summers are getting hotter and hotter. We have sustained periods of 90-degree days that we didn't used to get at all. Coops heat up and retain heat well into the night, and the temperature inside can climb WAY above the max outside temperature. So you're going to need a lot of ventilation, and not to overstuff your coop. To illustrate my point - my coop is 5"x7" and in full shade during the day in the summer. My first summer with this coop, I had 5 chickens in there and 14 square feet of open ventilation (wraparound vents under the eaves and two windows). Outside temperature during the day was in the 80s, with the occasional 90-degree day, sometimes a stretch of several 90-degree days in a row. My chickens were panting at night so I put a thermometer in there and it read 110 degrees at midnight!!!! Long after sundown and after the ambient temperature outside had dropped significantly from the daytime high. So I removed the human access door and replaced it with a hardware cloth screen door, and added 2 fans. That helped a lot, but the coop still retains heat. I can imagine what this is like further south, and with several times as many chickens breathing in there all night.

Over the years, I've had periods where I put more chickens in there than the recommended 1 per 4 square feet. At one point I had 16 chickens in there. I regretted it every time. It got stuffy and smelly, it got dirty a lot faster, there were more conflicts, it sucked. The chickens are outside all day, but getting ready for bed and laying are high drama times of the chicken day, and having too many in there at those times is just not worth it. Not to mention that sooner or later there will be a day when they just don't want to go outside. Like if there's a storm. Rain storm, wind storm, etc. - even with a covered run, maybe they'll decide they don't like the high winds, and will want to stay inside. But if they are packed too tight, it's disaster waiting to happen (chickens are mean animals). So don't think of the coop as a place where they will *only* go to sleep at night, or to lay in an orderly fashion, patiently taking their turns. They need to have enough room in there to peacefully spend extended periods in the coop, if need be, because you never know.
 
And those measurements are the minimum humane standards. Of course, large poultry enterprises don't adhere to them - and it's the reason I decided to do my own eggs.

I hate those tiny coops that advertise it holds 20 chickens - but is actually only humane for about 4. They shouldn't be allowed to market them like that. We bought one for our broody and her babies off Amazon. It was for four chickens. I don't think it's big enough for one imo
 
Just checked and there isn’t a law on coup size where I’m at. I didn’t know that there were laws in general so I appreciate you sharing that with me.
It really depends on where you live, everywhere has different laws so its always a good idea to look up the animal ordinances where you live.

Where we lived when we first got chickens the city allowed them by exclusion. Meaning chickens were allowed by virtue of the fact that there was no law against them within city limits. That's how it works in most rural areas too, the county or township doesn't prohibit chickens so people who live out in the country are allowed to keep them as long as they aren't violating any welfare laws that may be in place.

Where I live now, we just got the city to change the animal ordinance from specifically prohibiting chickens to specifically allowing them with restrictions on coop size and location as well as number of birds and what can be done with them. The new ordinance specifies they are "for personal use" meaning technically we can't sell meat or eggs from our chickens (which is why anyone who pys us for eggs is making a donation to our feed fund, not buying eggs). Our law also specifies that the chickens can't be free ranged, they can only legally be out of the run/coop if the yard has a 4ft fence and they are being supervised.

When the city was considering the new ordinance they looked at a bunch of other cities chicken laws. Some required registration, licensing, or permits, some required neighbors give permission, etc.
 
Okay because right now we have 18, but the five buffs are going to my fiancés step mom. So in theory we’ll have 13 after all is said in done. Then we have a couple we are watching for gender. Could I maybe get away with getting 6 chicks from the feed store and still not have too many ?
Sounds ok, but like I said, 25 birds are the absolute most.
 

It’s obvious that most people are advocating for a much larger setup. 25 chickens in my coup wouldn’t even be possible. They would be cramped like sardines, even with the roosting bars… I couldn’t even imagine 25 chickens in this thing.

Even if 5 birds comfortably roosted on each bar that would leave 15 chickens squeezing into 21 sq feet on the floor. The thought of that sounds cruel.

I might consider rehoming some of the 13 birds if I can’t manage making the box any bigger, but I will for sure update the thread once they start growing.

For research purposes I think I’ll designate this thread to report any problems I start facing until the coop can be expanded. I suspect that many of you are right. I might infact have to clean it way more often than I should, deal with bullying, feather pulling behavior etc….

Which is stuff I don’t want to do for sure.

I appreciate everyone for the advice! I want to again mention that I do care about the wellbeing of these birds. I love chickens! They were a huge part of my childhood. Regardless of what I decide to do, I am so lucky that backyard chickens is a thing!! I’ve had to battle illness, surprise cockerels, expanding brooders with moving boxes, had a chick drown in a waterer that had rocks in it because a brooder plate broke and moving chickens almost 3 hours away in my car with two dogs in tow 😂(ended up being okay) every single thing I mentioned I came here for help and have been helped every time!!

I appreciate everyone here!!
My comments were not aimed at you - but the person who insists you can get 25 birds in your coop. I really hope you find a way to keep them. I know I would not want to part with any of mine
 
According to the calculator I need to build several more coops and a goat shed. 😆 🤣 😂
Ya, why the hell would I have 2 goats?
Screenshot_20240329-133701_Chrome.jpg
 
Hello!

I was wondering how many chickens I should cap out on?

My coup/ box is 5*5 with two roosting bars that extend all the way across. It’s going to have internal nesting boxes that will slide out.

My run is 14*5 (it includes the space under the coup)

That would make the coup 25 square feet and run space 70 square feet. So 95 square feet total.

They will be free ranged on days I’m home and can have my Pyrenese mix who has worked as a lgd in the past home. I don’t want her outside when I’m not home because she’ll run off in the case her collar isn’t working.

What do yall think?

Here’s a photo of my corgi: Artemis checking out the chickies !!


To find out how many chickens you'll actually cap out at go here: https://www.heritageacresmarket.com/chicken-math-calculator/
Take the quiz and you'll see what you'll wind up with.
 

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