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My friend from the feed store told me my coop was way too crowded | Backyard Chicken Keepers - nhfree.com

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

I've had 12 hens in a 10x6 coop for two years and thought it was fine. He came over, looked inside, and said, 'You're asking for trouble with that many birds in this space, they need room to be chickens.' It hit different because he pointed out the dust and how they were all bunched up. Now I'm thinking maybe I should build an extension or rehome a few. What's the real minimum space you all give your flock?

3 comments

3 Comments

chen.fiona5mo ago

12 hens in a 10x6 coop, I can see why your feed store friend said something. I had a similar wake up call about two years back when I kept 8 birds in an 8x8 and thought I was being generous. The dust was so bad I could taste it, and they were always squabbling over the same corner even though they could go outside. I ended up just building a simple covered run attached to the side and that extra 4x6 space made the bickering stop almost completely. You don't have to go crazy with the extension, even a little bit more room can fix a lot of the crowding stress Wyatt is talking about.

nancy_butler6mo ago

Yeah, wyattc76 is spot on about the stress thing. I had to spread mine out too, just adding a cheap lean-to off the main coop made a world of difference with the dust and bickering.

wyattc766mo ago

Saw my neighbor go through something similar last year. He had about the same number in a 10x8 and swore it was fine until a bunch of them started pecking each other real bad. The vet told him it was straight up stress from being packed in, even with a big run. He ended up building a whole second coop to split them up and the difference was crazy, they chilled out almost overnight. Your feed store friend isn't wrong about the dust and crowding being a warning sign. I'd shoot for at least 4 square feet per bird inside, more if they can't free range much.