My friend from the feed store told me my coop was way too crowded

I had 15 hens in a coop I built for 10, thinking they'd be fine since they free ranged all day. She pointed out they were pecking each other's feathers from stress, not boredom. I moved 5 birds to a second pen I made from an old shed, and the feather picking stopped in about a week. Anyone else have a 'lightbulb' moment about space that fixed a problem?

2 comments

2 Comments

hall.nora9h ago

Totally get that. I had the same thing happen with my first flock. I kept adding birds to my main coop because they had a huge run, but they started getting really nasty with each other. It took me forever to connect the dots that the indoor sleeping space was the real issue. Adding a couple more roosting bars and spreading them out made a world of difference. Sometimes the problem isn't the day space but where they're all packed in at night.

margaret_chen8h ago

You're right about the indoor space being the real issue. I felt pretty silly when I realized my girls were basically having a nightly bunk bed fight in there.