New hens not going into Eglu Go Up

[madchickenlady]

Does anyone know how much space each bantam hen is supposed to have as a minimum in their housing/run? Can't find the info any where

[chris_21]

hi there i'm not to sure about how much room in the coop they should have but i know if they are free rangeing i think chickens should have 1 sq meter but i stand to be corrected.

[chicken bark]

hi there i'm not to sure about how much room in the coop they should have but i know if they are free rangeing i think chickens should have 1 sq meter but i stand to be corrected.

I think it can be slightly less for bantams but I think 1 sqm is the minimum I'd go for. I think hens need about 8 inches of perch depends on size of breed of course.

[Roobaloo]

Strangely enough I started the exact same post this afternoon...

 

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=71497

 

Bantams obviously needs slightly less but I think it's still a good ratio to work with to make sure they have ample room!

[Chortle Chook]

Some books do give set space criteria per hen and Omlet itself does provide advice on how many birds can go in one of their runs / houses on the shop area. However I think that in reality it depends a lot on the size and nature of the hens in question. For instance an Orpington is a very large lady and a perch that can fit 4 Silkies would probably only fit 2 Orps.

 

As for the run space it will depend a lot on how much time the hens are going to spend free ranging outside it and what you have in there to entertain them when they are shut in. Don't forget that a run can be made to feel larger for your chooks by the addition of interesting things like a log or scratch tub, a branch or a stump of cabbage on a string.

 

What I have noticed is that manufacturers are rather over optimistic in their estimations. I have one of those runs with a raised house inside it at one end. It measures about 3ft by 2ft which the manufacturers say is fine for 3-5 birds. That seems to me to be very over-optimistic and I wouldn't want to leave my 4 little Silkies in there for more than half a day. I've also noticed that they like to have plenty of hight in their run and don't use the bit under their nesting area at all which is frankly wasted space.

[chris_21]

hi there i found out today the bantams only need 8 sq inch and large fowl only need to have 12 sq inch none of my chickens have little room i have 40 chickens now and they live in 3 sheds that are 25ftx10ft but they all free range on my farm i hardly see them all day as they have 400 acres to free range on.

[stripeybunny]

12 sq inches I think you would struggle to fit a chicken in that space!

[chris_21]

yep thats true 8 sq inches for bantams and 12 sq inches for large fowl i know it's shocking isn't it why do you think the happy hen company are getting away with what they are doing with there chickens.

[poachedegg]

From an article on BHWT website:

 

Notes: Organic flocks have a limit of 3,000 hens and the Soil Association has even stricter guidelines stipulating a maximum of 500 hens per flock. The birds are housed 6 per sq metre rather than the usual 9 per sq metre on free range.