How many hens can I keep

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Beekissed

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Re: How many hens can I keep
« Reply #15 on: February 09, 2017, 21:58 »
I have a 10 ft. x 12 ft. coop for my 13 birds and even that feels crowded when they are confined by deep snows.  It serves as a coop/run at those times, as mine free range and don't have a run attached. 

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Sassy

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Re: How many hens can I keep
« Reply #16 on: February 11, 2017, 10:07 »
Bit confused by this thread. Is there some mix up between the house they live in and their run?  ???

Too much room in the house is not so good as it is harder for them to keep warm in winter. However, the larger the run the better.

I agree you can get a bully however much space they have but behavioural issues can and are caused by lack of space in the run. There are lots of differing management systems and if it works for your hens that is fine - as long as it does. There are so many variables re breed, size and temperament as well. Some breeds do not take to a confined run so research is key. The guidelines are just that that, guidelines and are only minimum measurements. I, personally,  would not be happy with those. The more space you can give in the run the better for all birds.  :)
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted!!

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New shoot

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Re: How many hens can I keep
« Reply #17 on: February 11, 2017, 12:38 »
I don't think so really.  Beekissed is making the point that whatever area your hens are confined to, it needs to be a decent size.

Beekissed has a slightly different set up to the traditional UK one.  Her coop of 10ft x 12ft is covered, but well ventilated and she uses a deep litter composting system which keeps it warm, despite the heavy snow she can get in her part of the US.  It does double as a run when the snow gets bad and there's quite a few pictures of it in the chicken forum and her garden diary on here.

Its a system that work wells, but most of us have a smaller coop with a hopefully larger run attached.  I think we all 'get it' either way  :)

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Sassy

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Re: How many hens can I keep
« Reply #18 on: February 13, 2017, 16:09 »
My reply was not aimed at anyone in particular just that I felt there was some confusion as to whether coops or runs were being discussed. Perhaps it's just the way I read it  :wacko:

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Beekissed

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Re: How many hens can I keep
« Reply #19 on: February 15, 2017, 05:31 »
I don't know what kinds of weather you get there, but over here we can get a lot of snow, high winds and subzero temps here that can last a couple of weeks up to, or beyond, a couple of months.  Even with covered runs, a lot of chickens will want to huddle into the coop for a place out of the wind, blowing snow or just for warmth, so we don't often count adequate run space as being a trade off for insufficient coop space. 

Usually we err on the side of too much space rather than too little when considering possible confinement due to inclement weather.  It's also during that kind of weather when illness can be more prevalent, so too many birds confined in too small of spaces during rough weather is a recipe for trouble.  Then there is the factor of overcrowding during those times causing stress and subsequent social problems like bullying, feather picking, cannibalism, etc. 

So, when someone asks "how many hens can I keep" in X amount of space, I often err on the side of caution.  I read an awful lot of posts at this time of year about illness, bullying, feather picking and cannibalism and a huge number of those posts can be attributed to lack of adequate space for the number of hens being kept. 



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