[infowarrior]

    I thought I'd be able to have quite a few hens in a 6x4 size shed but was told today by somebody who apparently knows about hens that I should only put 2 nestboxes in it meaning I would only be able to have 5-6 hens. Does that sound accurate? I was originally planning on putting 6-8 nestboxes in there, either 2 rows of 3 or 2 rows of 4 stacked on top of each other.

[arugula]

This might help:

At least one nest for every seven hens.
If group nests are used, there must be at least 1m2 of nest space for a maximum of 120 hens;
perches, without sharp edges and providing at least 15 cm per hen.
Perches must not be mounted above the litter and the horizontal distance between perches must be at least 30 cm and the horizontal distance between the perch and the wall must be at
least 20 cm; and at least 250 cm2 of littered area per hen, the litter occupying at least one third of the ground surface.

Only perches at 30cm centres or more apart should be calculated as part of the perching
space, although more perches may be provided adjacent to one another to make a perforated
floor. Perforated floors can be considered as perching space when they have perches incorporated within the floor structure or attached on top of the floor surface.

Source: Wells poultry housing and equipment


This Defra link is useful reading too:

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Environmentandgreenerliving/Smallholders/DG_189309

[Hen 1-0 Fox]

My four use one nest box just for info... No need for as many as you were planning in my humble opinion

[GrannieAnnie]

a 6x4 shed is plenty big enough for 8 hens.  I've had 15 in one that size with plenty of room.  Also I would put 3-4 nestboxes in, although possibly they will share about 2 of them.

Our older 15 hens are in half of a 16x8 shed with 7 nestboxes, but they tend to use 3 or 4 of them

[joyfull]

I always recommend the following:-
For large fowl they need 12 inches of perching space each (although they certainly wont use it all) and for bantams then 8 inches of perching space.
1 nest box for every 3 hens although as has been said they won't use them all.

However the most important thing is the run space. you need to have a minimum of 1 square metre of clear run space per bird and ideally far more than this. This space is in addition to the coop space (in your case the shed) and the feeding/drinking stations (always have at least two of each).