Planning to keep some chickens for eggs or for the meat? Whatever the reason may be, you would be concerned about how much space to allot, and how big should the chicken coup be. The amount of space that your chickens require depends on some key points. For starters, do you want free range chickens or would you limit them in their coop? And if it’s the latter, then how many hours would they be in the coop? It cannot be the whole day, by the way. You would need to take them out for some time. Lastly, how many chickens would there be in all? Let’s evaluate all these points in detail.
How much space do you require?
Not lots of it, we can tell you that for sure. The answer directly depends on the number of chickens you plan to have. If you are just starting out, and you’re absolutely new in the poultry domain, then you would probably start with around 6 at the most. So, let us use this figure for our example. We are going to keep the chickens in the coop at night, and let them roam about during the day. For 6 chickens, we need a coop with an area of about 18 square feet, whereas the run should be spread over at least 90 square feet. Totalling the figures, we need around 110 square foot.
What if you are going to have more or fewer chickens? Do some calculations and you would get the answer.
How big should the coop be?
What exactly is the chicken coop? It’s the house where chickens roost when the sun sets down. And no, this isn’t the same as the space where they roam about; it has to be a clean and sheltered space. Cover the floor with straw and saw dust, and set up a perching area.
The coop should be around 3 square feet for every chicken that you have. So, if you have 6 chickens, your coop should cover at least 18 square feet. What if you can set up a coop bigger than this? Not really a smart idea because if the coop is too big, the chickens may not be able to generate enough heat to keep it warm. And if the coop is too small, then the chickens won’t live comfortably.
How big should the nesting box be?
Generally, the nesting box is kept at the side or the back of the chicken coop. You can either have a large, single nesting box or separate smaller boxes. For six chickens, this should be 6 by 6 feet with a depth of 1 foot.
What if you want free range chickens?
Free range is a term used for a chicken which has constant outdoor access with plenty of sunshine, vegetation and space to move about. You should have around 25 square feet of outside space without any run that limits them within this area. But, do come up with ways to keep foxes and other predators away.
