As a rule chickens and bantams need 2 square foot of floor space in the coop with 1 foot of perch per bird and at least twice as much in the run. Below: This coop and run combo will happily keep 6 large fowl or 8 bantams quite happy. If you are free ranging then you can get away with a smaller coop and if you need to confine birds in a Canadian style winter then you will need bigger.
The more space you have the more flexibility you have dealing with problems. It does not matter much if the space is in the coop, the coop and run, or if you choose to free range your chickens and let them roost in the trees. I could tell you that your chickens need 4 square foot of floor space and a foot of perch inside the coop and 8 square foot in the run but you could easily get away with 2 inside and 10 outside if that's what you wanted. Also remember vertical space is just as important, especially for bantams as they fly better.
For chicken coops, a good rule of thumb is 1. You can get by with 1 square foot per bird if you have a run and your coop has more cubic feet height. The run should be at least twice the size of the coop. Plus, you increase the risk of the disease spreading. Related — How often to change the bedding in your coop. I know how addictive it is keeping backyard chickens and that feeling that you always want just one more…. As I pointed out above, I think the best solution is to provide 3 square feet per chicken in a coop, and 10 square feet for their enclosed outdoor space.
You can get by with a little less, but I feel this is the optimal amount of space to keep your flock happy and healthy. There is some simple math to work out how much space you need per chicken as follows: The minimum space you need per chicken in a coop is 2 square feet per bird. Table of Contents. I have three Rhode Island reds in my backyard.
We have a coop suitable for 5 — 6 chickens and we built an extra run, that is probably 8 feet by 4 feet. Right now they are allowed to roam in the backyard during the day, but they are really tearing up the grass and of course they poop everywhere. What do you think? Hi Kati, I think this will always be a personal decision however I can offer some opinions.
Does the additional run move around your garden or is it fixed to the coop? This way when they tear up a section of the garden- you can move them onto the next patch so the other patch gets time to grow back… Hope this helps! You could build a chicken tractor to put them in. Google it or look it up on YouTube. There are different types. Many are fairly easy and inexpensive to build. Try are in the most of the day, and I let them into the wider garden for a couple of hours in the evening.
They will then wander back to roost fore night before dark. Since we are north we cannot always let them roam around the yard. Like we use a cabbage as a tether ball and we have extra perching areas and I am thinking of adding a swing this year. We also give them a flat of different sprouts to help with fresh greens.
Sprouts are easy to grow and very healthy for both us and the birds. Hi we just recently bought two chickens, a hen and a rooster and since we havent found a good place to put them at the moment since we live in Canada and its winter, is it ok if we put them in a small space approximately the size of a medium box. I have 6 Rhode Island Reds and 2 Buffs. They will be allowed out in the run during the day, and will use the coop obviously at night and to nest. Is this big enough?
Just make sure they have plenty of space to roam during the day. Even still our flock of 35 stays on the few acres directly around our house. It can be a risk but they are sooo much happier and healthier having limitless space to forage! I have a cochin that recently starting laying tan eggs instead of brown.
The best way to check if they have mites is to give them a physical inspection. Pick them up and really rummage through their feathers to spot any infestations. I have also sent you an email with a useful article! Will they eat my berries, or will they help them fertilizer and bugs? Hi Hank, If you have hawks in the area, to be on the safe side I would always recommend keeping them in a fenced area.
They will certainly help your garden and keep the pests away, but will also go after the blueberries! We have not got hens yet but I was thinking of getting leghorns to begin as we want eggs I was hoping to then expand to 10 hens and was wondering if 2 chicken coops would be OK as I am making the first chicken coop myself it is about 4ft by 4ft and the run will be roughly square feet and is two nesting boxes enough. Hi, I have 6 chickens and a fair amount of space.
I have a coop for night and they are allowed out on the paddock each day. I am planning to grow a herb garden just for them and am planting red clover and alfa alfa as ground cover. Would I also need to supplement them with feed or will they be able to forage enough food for themselves?? Thanks for your help and all the information you have provided! Hi Trish, It sounds like your hens are treated like royalty!
Have you considered making your own feed Trish? Too much trouble.. Easier to have Modesto Milling send you organic, non corn, non soy feed, even Amazon will send to your door! Then you can get specially formulated seed mix Of chicken forage plants from places like Natures seed, plant flats every couple weeks to give fresh, awesome greens! Me and my family are thinking about getting 2 rhode island reds. Would it be okay if I let our dogs and our kids out in the backyard to play with them?
I got baby chicks and kept them in my shower for several weeks. I put a piece of plywood across the opening and my labrador dog could put his head over the top. I took him with me each time I checked on them. When I got the 2nd dog my first one trained him and does not let any other dogs near them. We live in Montana where below temps are not uncommon for weeks at a time, never getting above zero. Do I need to insulate the coop and is there an optimal temperature to shoot for in the coop?
We are not as far north as you are but I did insulate all the walls of my coop except the southern wall. I had no trouble with the coop staying a good temperature and only had to add a lamp secured well to avoid fire when the temp dropped below zero.
I just got two large Sweeter Heaters, the overhead infrared ones 11 by 40 inches, watts, they work fantastically! Also, being insulated you can use as a brooder as well in the future. I am soon getting 12 chickens and i have a 8 by 11 sized coop. Any suggestions on how to train our Dog not to chase them once we start letting them out of cage during the day hours. When I first got my chickens, I took my dogs over on a lead up to the fence several times a day so they could get use to the chickens.
After a few days of this they seemed to settle down and not fuss with them! Just make sure to keep them occupied and active!
Hello, I have 6 chickens-1 welsummer, brown, bluebell, leghorn, light Sussex and a Norfolk grey. Their run is 4. They free range our garden every other evening for a few hours and at weekends if we are at home are out near enough all day, or at least part.
Their coop is 2. Is this also ok? Coop in middle. Coop not counting nest boxes is like 4 ft by 5 ft. I put a small container of food and water in it at night. And they have large containers for both out during day and are let out every day. They will not be big enough to lay eggs until November.
Writing this on July 24th. They hatched June 14th. They were in the coop inside from age 3 weeks w heat lamp. Carried them out and built fence 1 week ago.
My question is, as they get bigger, will the coop be big enough? Have 8 acres How far will they roam and will they return each night? Not diameter, circumference.
You can normally let them roam at around weeks and you will need to keep an eye on them during the first few times they roam to make sure they come back at night! Hi there! How much space would you recommend for them to have, both in a run and in a coop? We have an acre of land where they could free range, but my sister who is my next door neighbor and on the same property had some of her chickens attacked by dogs. Would it be best to keep them in a run? Hi Holly, If there is any risk of predators then yes, I would keep them in a run.
The smallest size you could have is 30 square foot, but the bigger the better for them! I have 25 chickens Rhode islands, black sex links and barred rocks. I am getting ready to fence in my field which is about ft by 90 ft.
If I use 5 ft fencing can I let them roam free without clipping their wings? Well i have 5 big girls, used to have 6 till poor penny died, but anyway, and i have two blue pekins the twins , and i will say they get on great together, the only prob i do have occasionally is when i put their porridge in, the big girls tend to try and keep the twins out of the way, so i just put in a seperate bowl for them and that has seemed to have cured the problem.
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