Where does the “4’ per hen in the coop” rule really come from?

[jimmywalt]

Where does the “4’ per hen in the coop” rule really come from.

We are just getting started with chickens as of 10 days ago. We have 4 chicks – 3 ISA Browns & 1 Bantam. We purchased this coop (I haven’t constructed it yet) and it says good for 2 to 4 chickens. Every website on the net has this coop (or a very close version) and they all say 2 to 4 hens.

But in the past 10 days I’ve read on this website that each hen needs 4’ of space in the coop. So where does that rule really come from? Is it true, or has everyone just said and read it so many times that everyone believes it’s law?
We live in a small subdivision and can’t have a large coop. Our neighbors on the sides and back aren’t that far away. We only have ½ acre of property.

I hope the coop we have will work, but would really like to know where the 4’ rule came from.




Thank you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might be interested in my post (#5) in this thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/761977/six-chickens-coop-is-3x3x3-what-problems-might-arise

I have no idea where it came from. Like a whole lot of things on this forum it’s a rule-of-thumb or guideline that gives people with no experience a starting point. We keep them in so many different conditions there cannot be any one right answer for this question or really many things about chickens. It’s always going to depend.

 

[Ga Boy]

May have to do with body heat for winter months.

 

[countrygirl74]

My in-laws have that same coop. They used to have 4 chickens in it, now just 3. Once they grow, that coop is a little tight on space. The nesting boxes and roosting area is sufficient. They don't really need a LOT of space to lay or sleep - it's the "run" area that seems to be the issue.
f you live in an area where weather is bad a lot, then it's not really a lot of room in there for the chickens to have to stay day after day. If you can't ever let them out of there to do some supervised free-ranging, etc., there are a couple things I would suggest.

1. Move the coop around the yard a lot. It's such a small area of ground space that it would be nice if they have some fresh greens or ground to mess with often.
2. Clean it often!
3. Make sure some shade is provided as just the little big created by the house itself is not enough for 4 chickens.

Hope that helps!!

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Interesting question. I searched to see if I could find any mention of square footage per chicken somewhere other than a chicken forum or personal blog.

The following is a link to the University of Missouri Extension Office article regarding raising chickens. There's a chart on page 5 regarding square footage needs per chicken.
http://extension.missouri.edu/webst...ckenHousing-BobSchultheis-(ScreenVersion).pdf

The following is a link to McMurray Hatchery blog regarding how much space each bird needs. Figure chickens are their business so they should have some insight.
http://blog.mcmurrayhatchery.com/2011/08/02/how-much-space-do-my-chickens-need/

Both reference 4 sq. ft. of coop space per large bird and also include square footage figures for the run.

 

[missnu01]

I think people say 4 feet per chicken because commercial operations say the space needed is 2 ft per chicken...so I guess we all figure we should be able to double that. Perhaps...I don't know for sure, but if you look at a big chicken like a Buff Orpington they are about a foot wide, and if they are flapping their wings it's about 3 ft...chickens flap to stretch, so perhaps 4 ft is the space needed for chickens to stretch without wing whacking their closest coop mates. Really chickens should have as much space in their coop as you can manage. If you can only have a small coop then you can only have a few chickens. Necessity is the mother of invention and that is especially true with chickens. Just ask anyone whose chicks outgrew their brooder too early lol. It is cheaper to build a coop, and if you know what you are doing you can build an awesome one that many people would be proud to have in their neighborhood. Also garden sheds can be bought pretty cheap and turned into coops pretty easy as well. A lot of prefab chicken coops are just too small to be super useful, at least when I think about keeping chickens. I think of a flock as 50 as opposed to 5, but thy is obviously not right for everyone. It's always better to have too much space than too little. Like if you had 2 chickens then a coop for 2-4 would be fine. But usually the whatever number to whatever number is large fowl to bantams...you can have 2 standard sized chickens, or 4 banties. Crowded chickens have way more issues than chickens with lots of space. Pecking, fighting, cannibalism, and various diseases are all more likely in cramped conditions...so keep that in mind and do what you can

 

[VelvettFog]

Bottom line --

You need enough total space (run and coop) to keep the number of birds you have stress free enough that they don't start picking on each other. If your climate is such that your birds will never spend a week or two confined to the coop due to snow/bad weather, then you can most likely get by just fine with less than 4' per bird. If the only place your birds can go is the coop (you have no run at all) then you'd obviously want more than 4' per bird in the coop. If you ever let your birds free range you can get by with less space in the run.

It really comes down to the temperament of the flock and their total environment not just the size of the coop.

 

[Ga Boy]

This is way they say 4sqft per bird, and if you put your birds in a coop to stay with no run but the fact is most have to plan to do that so you can push the 4sqft rule. As far as the pic I eat chicken from chicken house like this all the time. So I don't hate on them. Now if you live in the north where cold weather will keep them in the coop. More chickens equal more work on your part if you do not give the room to each bird.

 

[jimmywalt]

I decided to forget the pre-fab coop I purchased and instead build one that's 4'x4'x4'.

It will be 20 inches off the ground which will give them 16 sq ft feet of run under it, plus I am going to modify my 8' long x 30" wide x 3' tall run to be 8' long x 4' wide by 3' tall. This will give an additional 32 sq ft of run. That will be a total of 48 sq ft. of run for 4 hens outside.

That's more than enough and is going to HAVE TO BE. You agree????

 

[Ga Boy]

Sounds good here is a 4'X4'X3' Pallet Coop I'm working on for my mom. That's free, but it looks good. So good luck post some pics would love to see the out come.