[kestak]

Saw many plans. Made a chicken coop. It is 50"x 60" and 5 feet high. Elevated 18" from ground with 4x10 feet run all coverred. There are 4 nesting boxes. Wife wants to order 10 rhode islands. Is the coop big enough? When I did it, i thought she was buying six.

Now i think to maybe make second floor in l shape 1 feet wide inside the coop and add a few more horizontal round poles. What i read is not very specific. What about you guys with experience in chicken?

 

[Absolutely!]

don't get ten, is my experience.

I had six in a run that was 320 square feet, the coop itself was maybe 6' x 4' with two rows of roost and 2 nest boxes. I felt that was comfortable for the six and could have gone up to 10 or even a dozen. there was a dust bath in one corner of the run, the rest of it was barked and they seemed happy scratching under the bark and eating bugs.

Your coop, at 50"x60" - 5ft x 4ft ish, 5 feet high. Am I reading you right? with a 40ft covered run.
the coop seems okay, the run seems small. Like - very small.

what does everyone else think?

 

[kestak]

Yes, the run is 10 feet long by 4 feet wide by 8 feet high, covered. I also have a fenced area with a 4 feet fence of about 50x50 feet that we'll let them roam during the day.

The coop and run looks a lot like that one: http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-palace

Same nesting (but 4 boxes), same side door, more ventilation, same run, same entry door.

 

[Mr.Mayhem]

That is plenty for 10. You could possibly get more.

On the inside of the coop mount some perches about a foot off the ground.

I bought dowels from home depot and attatched them across. My experience is that the chickens dont stay in the nesting boxes, the like to perch on things and sleep/rest at night.

One or two would stay in the nesting boxes. But they would only go in the lay eggs and then leave. So I wouldnt even put bedding in there. Its pointless.

If youre using them for egg and food purposes they dont need luxury, theyre chickens after all.

Ours had a half acre of fenced in land to free range, along with a good quality pellet food inside the coop, and I would throw scraps out in the yard daily. I had about 15 in a coop a little bigger, and I got 15 eggs everyday.

People think chickens need a lot more than they really do. A happy chicken is full chicken. Keep them well fed and let them free range all day, only coop them up at night to protect from predators.

Any other questions let me know

 

[Mr.Mayhem]

Send a pm with email ill send pics of my set up

 

[dealfinder500]

Just an FYI: a coop like that will keep a cat or a small dog out, but I have my doubts about a larger dog or a raccoon. If you live in a town you're probably fine, but if you live out in the country you may want to think about that.

 

[Absolutely!]

That is plenty for 10. You could possibly get more.

On the inside of the coop mount some perches about a foot off the ground.

I bought dowels from home depot and attatched them across. My experience is that the chickens dont stay in the nesting boxes, the like to perch on things and sleep/rest at night.

One or two would stay in the nesting boxes. But they would only go in the lay eggs and then leave. So I wouldnt even put bedding in there. Its pointless.

If youre using them for egg and food purposes they dont need luxury, theyre chickens after all.

Ours had a half acre of fenced in land to free range, along with a good quality pellet food inside the coop, and I would throw scraps out in the yard daily. I had about 15 in a coop a little bigger, and I got 15 eggs everyday.

People think chickens need a lot more than they really do. A happy chicken is full chicken. Keep them well fed and let them free range all day, only coop them up at night to protect from predators.

Any other questions let me know

to the OP: your run around area outside the covered part makes for a perfectly ample chicken coop. I agree with this guy's idea about perches, they roost at night, keeps them safe from predators.

I strenuously disagree with the bolded bit however.

Use hay, not straw, keep it clean and refresh it now and again, you don't want mites making a home there, they can bite a chicken crazy. You definitely should have hay anyway - if you strew it around it will catch poos, they will scratch through it for seeds creating the most wonderful basis for compost known to man.

The same applies to what we call sawdust over here - a kind of wood shaving you get from the sawmill. six inches of dry sawdust in the coop makes life so much easier. Turn it over when it gets a bit smelly, and shovel out under the perches every few months & replace. My stars, you put that in a black polythene bag with a few holes in it in the sun and rain for a year and you have black gold.

Pure black gold.

keep their water fresh. It's a little known fact that chickens cannot drink warm water, so be sure to have it somewhere cool and keep it clean and fresh.

I hear tell that if you have a guinea pig in the run you will not get rats. it appears the rodents fight it out and the bigger one wins the territory. We had a hedgehog which I believe is not native in the US?

In closing the guy I quote is dead right about a happy chicken being a full chicken. I provide chicken feed. Chickens do not overeat, interesting but true. The only problem you might have with chicken food is other birds getting to it. I always feed at night, it gets them back in the coop.

 

[Mr.Mayhem]

to the OP: your run around area outside the covered part makes for a perfectly ample chicken coop. I agree with this guy's idea about perches, they roost at night, keeps them safe from predators.

I strenuously disagree with the bolded bit however.

Use hay, not straw, keep it clean and refresh it now and again, you don't want mites making a home there, they can bite a chicken crazy. You definitely should have hay anyway - if you strew it around it will catch poos, they will scratch through it for seeds creating the most wonderful basis for compost known to man.

The same applies to what we call sawdust over here - a kind of wood shaving you get from the sawmill. six inches of dry sawdust in the coop makes life so much easier. Turn it over when it gets a bit smelly, and shovel out under the perches every few months & replace. My stars, you put that in a black polythene bag with a few holes in it in the sun and rain for a year and you have black gold.

Pure black gold.

keep their water fresh. It's a little known fact that chickens cannot drink warm water, so be sure to have it somewhere cool and keep it clean and fresh.

I hear tell that if you have a guinea pig in the run you will not get rats. it appears the rodents fight it out and the bigger one wins the territory. We had a hedgehog which I believe is not native in the US?

In closing the guy I quote is dead right about a happy chicken being a full chicken. I provide chicken feed. Chickens do not overeat, interesting but true. The only problem you might have with chicken food is other birds getting to it. I always feed at night, it gets them back in the coop.

I use play sand (50lb bags from home depot) and have a thick layer on the ground of the coop. I rake it out and scoop poop and compost it. In the nesting boxes, mine are made of aluminium, I dont use a bedding of any kind because no chicken really uses it other than to lay eggs, every morning when I collect eggs theres some poop in the boxes. I use a scraper and throw it on the ground, I also scrape the roosting perches. Then rake the coop.

My coops are the cleanest ive seen compared to farms ive been to when buying chickens and such. Theres no hay strewn about, the sand is confined inside the coop and they eat bugs from the natural dirt outside the coop. Therea also plenty of bushes and trees in there ranging area they eat from.

Ive never had mites, except for one batch of hens I bought from auction. They were quarantined until mite free and then put with the rest of the flock.

 

[Mr.Mayhem]

ALSO I hang my feeder a few inches off the ground so it keeps the food clean, no poops or dirt in the feeder. Hang from a small chain from the roof of the coop.

I put the water container on a cinder block. Also to keep it clean. And have a hose running right to the coop so I dont need to carry the big water dispenser far to fill it/clean it.

Just some food for thought to make your chicken experience easier.

 

[Absolutely!]

The aluminium probably makes a difference. My boxes were wood, old wood. Not tanalysed.

I guess in a clayey environment sand might be a good thing because when you throw it in the garden it'll amend the soil. otherwise I'm not sure I'd use it. and I did find that before I put the bark down outside the chickens were tearing up the run, making dips and hollows, making little holes everywhere. Twas a pain in the proverbial. I think if I were to ever make another run I'd make a concrete one with a plughole in the middle, and fill it 1 ft deep with sawdust. They can get their bugs and worms when they free range.

 

[grandma]

According to backyardchickens.com, the recommended minimum is 4 square ft/per in the coop and 10 square ft/bird in the run. In my 4x8 ' coop, that would mean I could have 8 chickens; I usually have 4 in there and find that is a good amount. If the girls ever start to feel crowded , picking at each other may start and if it does, it is very hard to stop. Don't crowd them. As already stated, use hay (NOT straw) or wood shavings. I've tried both and much prefer the shavings. All the best.

 

[Ricardvs]

Have figured about 5' per bird.(running 10 ducks and 11 chickens )
My run yard is 18' by 12 and all my birds run together,
Would recommend a nesting box for each hen and a Rooster.
Also a shelter area for the birds.. Gathering during the winter sux when 'you' can't get out of the weather,
A light at night during the winter will also keep up your production .

 

[Tony_agr]

How many chickens

I'm very new to the chicken coop thing, we live in the foothills of CA and I enclosed 8 foot of a 25' x 6'6" chainlink dog run, my neighbor up the road lets his chickens out everyday and they seem to stay in the area of the coop
seems like a survival instinct because we have a grey fox which doesnt appear to be that afraid of people, we have coyotes, Raccoons, and the biggest opossum I've ever seen, along with dogs and cats, I was thinking about covering the exposed portion with chicken wire to keep the predators out.
My real question is, Is there a formula or chickens per sq foot rule ?
dont want to many or to few, these chickens are for the eggs, dont know if there is a difference in egg layers and meat chickens
Thanks for reading through my ramblings and any advise (except lay off the 5 hr energy drinks) is appreciated

 

[Joe Smo]

Here is something to consider making. Its called a chicken tractor. These A-frame ones I built and the other one someone else made I am thinking of building it next. Its a way to get your girls out of the main coop and eating bugs and grass in the yard. Since every thing under the sun loves to eat chicken it keeps them safe. Keep in mind if you leave them in one spot in yard more then one day they will create bare spots because they love to have dust baths. Maybe if you created a dust bath spot in the tractor they would stop creating bare spots.

 

[kev]

Saw many plans. Made a chicken coop. It is 50"x 60" and 5 feet high. Elevated 18" from ground with 4x10 feet run all coverred. There are 4 nesting boxes. Wife wants to order 10 rhode islands. Is the coop big enough? When I did it, i thought she was buying six.

No, the run is not large enough for 10 chickens.

Each chicken needs at the very least 10 square feet inside the run. And that is at the "very" least.

4X10 = 40 square feet

40 square feet divided by 10 chickens = 4 square feet per bird

40 square feet divided by 4 chickens = 10 square feet.

I would put 4 chickens in your coop/run, and that is it.

 

[Jean L]

This is my First Chicken Coop buy, I have attached the images. It is a Father's Day gift and he loved it. We ordered the raised garden bed and it was extremely easy to assemble. The quality is excellent and well designed. We have a little wildlife in our backyard and the wildlife cover gate is an excellent addition to protect our future harvest.

It looks beautiful and we love that it is made in the USA.

Thank you Roost & Root