Space? They mailed us too many!!

Maybe parroting talking points is a better descriptive than dreamed up. However, there are far too many factor in play to repeat minimum standards. There are tons of birds that never leave a 2x2 cage. So to shame someone into these standards isn't fair. Most take this position from a place of moral superiority and know nothing about the whole picture. It can be, and is, done on far less and the birds are happy and healthy. 💚
 
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This is far less than 10 sq ft per bird. I agree that this is disgusting, and I can smell this pic through my phone, but these people produce as much as possible in their $400,000 chicken house. Is it "best"? For production it is but not for the food I want to eat. I'm just pointing out that there's other ways to make them "happy and healthy" with limited space.
Don't forget to account for the air movement generated by those huge fans. Passive ventilation is far different.
 
I do think the ventilation requirement varies a lot by climate. It’s so dry where we are in Colorado that I think folks can get away with less than minimum ventilation pretty easily.
 
I do think the ventilation requirement varies a lot by climate. It’s so dry where we are in Colorado that I think folks can get away with less than minimum ventilation pretty easily.
Ventilation is not just for heat reduction,
it's actually more about allowing ammonia to exit the coop and that needs to happen all year around no matter what the climate.
 
The run is fine for the number of chickens but how large is the coop? How much roost space do you have? How much ventilation?

For 7 chickens the recommended minimum would be 28 sq ft in the coop w/ 7 ft of roost and 7 sq ft of ventilation.
The coup was made from a 5x7x7 shed frame. There is approximately 6 ft of roosting space
 
Not really "dreamed up" but a starting point for new keepers to help avoid issues that come from to little space.

If they have to stay inside in inclement weather that "extra" space becomes priceless in preventing bullying, feather picking, stress related loss of egg production and cannibalism.

The more birds in the space the more ventilation is needed to prevent ammonia and moisture build up to keep their lungs healthy and prevent frostbite.
The tighter they are crammed the more maintenance is needed to keep the poop load in the coop down too.

Space per bird is actually pretty important in keeping healthy productive birds.
I have noticed that my girls never bicker… I’m thinking that is because they have enough space?
 
I want them to have more than they need.
An excellent attitude. I personally do not rigidly adhere to those magic numbers so often quoted on here. I consider them general guidelines that should work for most people in most circumstances but they are more room than the minimum for many and are too tight for others. Each chicken has its own personality, each flock has its own dynamics and make-up. We have different climates and different management techniques. Different numbers are going to work for different people.

What do you think of how many chickens can be very happy in a 10x12 netted area.
Blindly using square feet numbers with no regard to anything else 7 chickens should do fine in there. What does it look like? Can they have access to all of it every day of the year or will weather or climate restrict them to a smaller area? Do you know the sex of them? That will probably work well if you have one or zero roosters but if you have two or more boys that may not be enough room.

You received two free chicks. Some hatcheries include extra chicks (called shipping peanuts) with small orders so they provide heat during shipping if weather is expected to be cold or rough. It is not because they expect their chicks to die, they don't. It is to keep the chicks healthy. Shipping peanuts are often excess males. You might contact the hatchery and ask about that so you are prepared if you wind up with extra boys. Or you can just wait and see.

For right now, relax. You have more room for seven chickens than many people on this forum have. If you wind up with a few boys you may need to make some adjustments in the future but if they turn out to be 6 or 7 girls you should be golden.

Many people on this forum that use those magic numbers would recommend a coop that is 4' x 7' plus a run that is 7' x 10'. And they would think that is a lot. You have more room than that.
 

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