Chook Me!

How much indoor and outdoor space per bird do I need for laying hens?

I plan to get about 25 laying hens in the spring. My brother and husband are putting together coop plans now, so we know what we will need. I've heard that you need 3-4 square feet per bird inside, so will a 10x15 laying hen room be sufficient? We also plan to build an outside fenced run so the dog won't chase them. How big should this be? Do we need to put chicken wire over the top or just on the sides? Thanks in advance for your help. Also, those who have kept laying hens in areas with cold winters, how do you make sure your birds are cozy in the winter?

Public Comments

1. Coop size sounds pretty good. Make the pen as big as you can. The more room the better. Ideally to be sure the chickens don't get out and predators don't get in there would be a top on the pen. But, you could try just clipping one wing on each bird. I have kept most of my birds in that way. As long as you have a coop the birds can get out of the wind and weather you will be fine for the winter. Just make sure there is dry bedding on the floor, like sawdust/wood shavings (not cedar!) and dry nesting material (hay or straw). My biggest problem has always been the water. It's difficult to open the plastic waterers when they are frozen without breaking them. This year I finally found a nice metal waterer that I can put on top of a heat source.
2. I built my hen house and it is about 8ft x 12ft with 8ft ceilings.In that hen house I have 10 nesting boxes. . . I even added a small house off the side of that building which is probably 4ft by 6ft with 6 nesting boxes (I converted an old double bed head board into nesting boxes). I use the littler hen house to keep my chicks once they are big enough to go outside. This is where they stay until they are big enough to join the more adult birds. I made the hen house with landscape timbers and scraps of paneling and siding. Once I constructed the outside walls I had enough to put inner walls before putting up the nesting boxes. I have one small door approx 24inches by 15 inches which I can close up during bad/cold weather. I also have a regular size door that I use to enter to gather eggs.This door way also has an inside screen door so I can leave the big door open during the warmer months. My pen is approx 12ft wide and 25 ft long and 4ft tall. I have had stray cats to come and climb the fence and kill a few of my hens thoughout the years but I now keep a baited trap and get rid of the stray/ferile cats that come up so if you wish to deter cats you might want to put wire across the top. In order to get in my pen to do repairs as needed or to freshen water or to move feed pans around I elected to not cover the top of my pen. I have 24 chickens and am looking to expand that with perhaps another 25 birds. . . . I really enjoy my chickens.
3. that size pen would be ok. the more room you have the healthy and more eggs you will get, the hens will be healthier, happier and more lice free in the more room they have. so therefore the biggest you can have there fence the better, i like to allow 3 meters by 1 meter outside per bird but is you dont have the room for that jst make it as big as you can. you need to allow one nesting box per 2-3 hens and 15 inch perch space per bird. you dont need a roof over the fence depending what you want to keep out. I have a 2.4 meter high fence with no roof, I have never lost ANY birds to foxes cats etc since I have had them for 3 years and I always averayge 100 birds sometimes 130.