superjules Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Don't tell OH (I'm hoping he won't notice!) but I have today bought the wood to build a run which is 2.4m square (8 foot to those of you who still operate in "real money"!). Just wondering if there's any kind of formula to follow when trying to work out how many hens would be happy in a particular size run? I was thinking along the lines of 1m sq each, based on the eglu run. Would that be about right based on your experiences? Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 does this help? http://www.poultryclub.org/ACHousing.htm I read somewhere it should be 2 sq foot but this says 1 and they should know I suppose, being the poultry club and all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 just realised you said run not house, i'll see what else i can find Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 can't find anything from a quick google but ours, which I'd consider to be nicely adequate for 4 chickens is about 7 foot by 3 foot, that's just the outside larger run-paving slabs are 2 foot wide so I worked it out from that, it might be a bit bigger, actually it might be 7 foot by 4 foot that's roughly 2.3 foot squared per chicken is it? Maths isn't my strong point then they have their smaller run and coop. Ours don't free range at the moment so I wouldn't want to put them in anything smaller or have more than 4 hens. If we had the room we'd probably have something bigger but they seem happy in their home, beats a tiny cage I guess Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted October 29, 2007 Author Share Posted October 29, 2007 Thanks for your help Poet. The article you directed me to was interesting. I reckon I'd be able to get another 3 or 4 and there'd be enough space in an 8'x8' run. Not quite sure what I'd do about another nest box though? Can't imagine that 1 is enough for 6 chooks somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 the lady at the BHWT advised me 1 nest box per 4 hens- our coop has 3 nest boxes. show us piccies when you've finished it and good luck! xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatsCube Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 (edited) Here you go, I found this link very usefull as it tells you sizes based on chook size http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/10.html Sorry edited! Edited October 30, 2007 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 30, 2007 Share Posted October 30, 2007 You have to log on to the forum to be allowed access to that page of info. This info was posted, but I don't know how accurate it is. Sounds reasonable though. In the house - 1.5 square feet per bird In the yard - 8 square feet per bird Length of perch - 6" to 10" per bird Hens per nest box - 4 to 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
