[Boonoff]

Hi guys do any of you experts know how many chickens I could keep in 23' x 30' of space?? 

[Boonoff]

Probably black rock and light Sussex. Thanks in advance. 

[Lindeggs]

Hi Boonoff, welcome to the site.

Before answering your question I would like to know a bit more about this space you have.  Is it currently lawn, vegetable garden, paved or bare?  Is it under a fruit tree or a hedge or out in the open?  Also, will you need to keep your hens inside this space the whole time?

Deciding how many hens to keep is as much about quality of space as quantity, so knowing more about the space will help us to advise you.

I currently have six chickens that range in my large yard, mostly lawn but with several fruit trees as well.  I think they would be happy in that size space, but they would soon strip it bare of any grass and I would need to cover the soil with some kind of dry litter such as fallen leaves, wood shavings, pine needles, etc.

Six Light Sussex hens would lay about 1200 eggs a year (on average) so that's about 100 eggs a month when they are in full production.  How many eggs do you and your family need in a month?

[Boonoff]

ok thanks for the reply. its mainly soil now that i have removed a majority of the flags that were down and there are 3 fruit trees running down the right hand side (apple, damson and pear trees). Yes they will need to remain in the same area and i cant see there being a problem getting rid of the eggs as im sure the family will be very welcoming of free eggs.

[Lindeggs]

Well after doing a rough conversion to metres (10m x 7.5m approx) that sounds like ample space for five or six hens to live happily in.  The fruit trees are a bonus as they make life more interesting for the chickens, give them a sense of safety from flying predators, attract bugs, and give them over-ripe fruit to peck at.

Others will tell you that DEFRA recommends 1 square metre per hen, and therefore you could keep about a million birds in that area.  I would strongly advise you to start with a very small flock (5 or 6) and only consider more once you are familiar with all the basic needs of your flock and are sure you could handle more in that space.

The larger space you have per hen, the easier the whole situation is to manage for all kinds of reasons.

The next step is for you to find out what local regulations apply - is there a maximum number of hens that you can legally keep?  If you let us know where you live, someone else in your area might be able to advise.

[Boonoff]

Ok sounds great thanks for your help I live on queen street in Crewe Cheshire so let's see if anybody can help out with any regulations