Building Chicken Coops – Space Requirements

Building Chicken Coops – How Much Space Do Chickens Need?

Many beginning chicken raisers think they need lots of room to raise chickens. However, it doesn’t take much backyard space to produce your own eggs or meat. When you think about building chicken coops their size will depend on how many birds you’ll be raising, the type of bird, and the housing system you choose. Since the average backyard grower will usually keep less than a dozen hens the amount of space required will be minimal.

There are two types of housing that you can provide for your flock and each requires a different amount of backyard space. Using the cage system, which is generally what commercial producers use, requires less space than floor housing. However, most backyard growers who only want to raise a few birds should not attempt the cage system.

To explain it in simple terms the cage system is really just a bunch of small cages all lined up horizontally and on top of each other with each cage containing one bird or sometimes two. This system requires the least amount of space, but if you plan on keeping your chickens longer than one laying season you will most likely encounter more health disorders using this system.

Most home chicken raisers will want to give their flock a little extra room and therefore will be using floor housing. Floor housing allows the flock access to all parts of the chicken coop; the nests, feeder area, watering area, and even the outdoor area where they can hunt and peck for some of their own food. Raising a few pullets in your own backyard is a lot more satisfying when you allow the birds a little extra elbow room.

Various age groups and breeds have different space requirements. Bantam chickens (miniature birds) will typically require less space. You may think that the large meat breeds would require more space than the small egg laying breeds, but that’s not always true. However, no matter what type of birds you’ll be raising, having enough floor space is vital. Too little floor space can lead to cannibalism, poor growth, lowered egg production, and death.

Chicks up to 10 weeks of age will need less than 1 square foot of floor space and thereafter about 1.5 to 2.0 square feet. Layers of brown eggs will generally need more floor space than white egg layers, ranging from 2.0 to 2.5 square feet. White egg layers will require 1.5 to 2.0 square feet. Laying chickens that are meat-type breeders require more area, about 2.5 to 3.0 square feet.

If your purpose for raising chickens is to grow your own organic eggs you will need about 18 to 30 square feet of space for a dozen birds depending on which type of eggs you’ll be growing. That translates into a 5-foot by 6-foot chicken coop to house a dozen brown egg layers. Sure, it will look a little crowded, but it isn’t necessary to provide a lot of room for just a few birds.

Broilers are generally butchered by 8 weeks of age so they never get too large. They generally need only 1 square foot per bird. You would think that raising large roasters would take much more space, but this is not necessarily true. They need about 1 square foot until they are 8 weeks of age, the same as broilers. Up to 12 weeks they will require 2.0 square feet which is about the same as a white egg layer. And from 12 weeks to 20 weeks they will require 2.0 up to 3.0 square feet. This is the same space requirements as a layer of meat-type breeders.

Raising your own meat and eggs doesn’t require a lot of space. Sure, you can give them more if you want, but it’s not necessary. However, there is one thing to keep in mind. The more space you give them, the less likelihood of cannibalism and disease.