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How many chickens per coop? is a question that disturbs every aspiring poultry man’s peace when he is just about to bring a new coop or chickens home. Even if you have several acres of land waiting for the chickens to explore, the number of chickens you can keep would always be dependent on the size of a chicken coop.
So, it is a valid question also because we must give our farm animals and domestic fowls a healthy lifestyle and the space they deserve. As we usually get the most confusing answers we have decided to clarify things.
How Many Chickens Per Coop?
Well, you would never be given a specific number if you keep asking the same question. All chicken coops are not made for the same number of chickens. Some chicken coops are made to confine 8 to 10 chickens per coop at a time whereas, the others have the capacity of confining 20 to 30 chickens.
In simpler words, the size of the coop determines how many chickens a coop can confine.
So, the most appropriate answer would be that all chicken coops can not confine the same number of chickens.
If it’s made to confine 10 chickens at a time it will confine 10 chickens if it’s constructed to keep 20, it can be used to keep 20 chickens at a time.
All chicken breeds have different space requirements, bantam needs around two square feet, leghorn three, whereas large-sized Plymouth rock requires four to five feet square feet.
On average, chickens need at least three to five square feet to live a balanced life if they get free-range garden time every single day. Frankly, there is no harm in arranging more squares for each chicken.
If the breed you have brought home is heavier, it would be better to add more squares for each chicken whereas for standard or small-sized chickens three to five square feet are fairly enough.
Read the Fact How Many Square Feet Per Chicken?
Calculate Chicken Per Coop
In the most widely purchased 32 square feet chicken coop, 10 to 11 averaged-sized chickens can live a healthy balanced life easily if they get free-range garden time.
The chickens that live most of their life confined to coops need more space than the chickens that get a good amount of free-range garden time.
So if the chickens do not get free-range garden time, the 32 square feet chicken coop can be used for 4 to 5 chickens.
A 40 to 80 square feet coop would be enough for 20 chickens if it’s okay for them to leave their territory and have a good garden day.
If for any reason, the chickens have to live their entire life indoors a luxurious 50 to 90 square feet little apartment would be needed.
A 90 to 100 above square feet would be enough for 30+ chickens’ little heaven.
How You Can Accurately Determine chickens per coop?
It’s super important for the chickens to have sufficient space. The accurate size can be determined by using a chicken coop size calculator.
The majority of the chicken coop size calculator requires you to submit important details like chicken breed, the number of chickens you are intending to raise, and how the chickens are going to spend most of their day.
There are several coop size calculators available online, all of them are breathtakingly accurate.
However, the answer would only not be accurate if the required information is incorrect. To find out a perfect size you need to know
- How much time your chickens would be spending outside?
- How many chickens are you deciding to raise?
- The breed you are planning to raise?
- What is a chicken coop?
If the chickens are spending most of the day outside, the chicken coop can be average-sized.
If more than half of the day would be spent indoors, the chicken coop must have enough space for the chickens to roam around.
You need to be clear how many chickens you are intending to raise as one chicken needs at least four to five square feet to live a healthy balanced life.
The chicken breed can be small, medium, or large-sized, the small-sized breed needs little space whereas the large-sized breed requires more space than the small and medium-sized chickens.
And more importantly, you need to know what exactly the chicken coop is? The chicken coop is a chicken’s little haven that is used to roost in the evening. It’s not a place where the chickens roam or run around but to roost only.
A little piece of advice
You need to know that the chicken coop can be bigger and wider than the suggested measurements. It’s better to build a bigger and wider chicken coop as chickens would have more space to roam around and you can bring more chickens to raise. Do not go shorter than the suggested length and width as it will only be an issue.
