What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Mollystar]

I know the omlet guidlines say 10 chickens but I had a big lecture off my FIL about over filling my cube & run I now have 7 hens & a cockeral in a cube with a standard plus a run extension.

This gets moved every two days to fresh grass as it is sited in a field. I can only free range at weekends if around but did'nt think this was an issue due to them getting moved around.

 

What do you think?

 

What is your ideal number?

[Olly]

I think the 10 chickens guideline is for the Cube itself, not the run.

 

I've got five in a run with 1 extension, it's ok but I don't think it is quite enough room, and I'm looking to get a walk-in run later this year. Mine don't free-range much, well not at this time of year, and the run is in a permanent position. I think if you are moving it every two days then that is a huge advantage as they probably don't get bored.

 

The numbers you describe might be a bit crowded, but on the other hand it's a lot more than battery chickens get, and at least they are outdoors and get wind and rain and things to look at.

[The Dogmother]

The number recommended by Omlet is base don them free-ranging for most of the day; the cube capacity is limited by the size of the run and how much time they get playing outside. If they are in the run a lot then I;d recommend using the 1metre squared per bird rule, but I think that even that is not very much room.

 

Crowded birds will get frustrated and start to peck at each other unless they have something to distract them.

[Janty]

Mine free range all day, nearly every day. If I have to leave them in for any reason, the most that I have in the cube and runs in six and I have the standard extensions plus two extensions. However, I am also aware that some of mine are big girls.

[SAB]

We have 10 hens and had them in cube with run and extension plus 2 extra extensions - we have given over the garden at one side of the house (bungalow with garden on each of 4 sides) to making a safe fenced in (weldmesh) area with roof (also weldmesh) so we could allow them out safely without fear of local foxes and our own horror cats. Our turkeys live in this wider area (before anyone says we Flubenvet every 6 weeks religiously to avoid Blackhead which is fatal to turkeys).

 

The turkeys and hens are now all great friends (the turkeys regularly visit the chickens in the Omlet run) but only a couple of the chickens ever came out of the Omlet run whilst 2 extra extensions on despite them being able to come and go freely. We recently decided to take away a couple of extensions (we kept original run on so that we can seperate the 2 species when Flubenvet being administered as different dosage for each) and suddenly all 10 hens were happily stutting about their big garden enclosure.

 

What I took from this is that the hens felt they had plenty of room in the Cube with 2 extensions but sought out further space when these were removed, leaving only the standard Cube plus one extension.

[chelsea]

Crowded birds will get frustrated and start to peck at each other unless they have something to distract them.

 

I agree.

 

The more space you can afford/give to your hens the better to be honest . I have a walk in run with 4 chickens (with 2 intro's due to be added) and for me I am comfortable watching them in there with plenty of room to scratch around and avoid squabbles.

 

The cube is fine for 10 hens roosting.

[Egluntyne]

All of mine scramble into the cube at night. I did have an Eglu in the walk in run too, but they just pooed all over it and roosted in the cube, so I shifted it.

 

I agree...the cube is fine for a good number of hens to sleep in. The most important factor though is the day time arrangements.