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Pet Environment

Backyard chickens

Size the coop for the flock you'll have.

Six standard hens need a 24 sq ft coop, a 60 sq ft run, 4 ft of roost and 3 nest boxes. Change the flock below.

A chick brooder with a heat plate, feeder and waterer

Chicken coop size calculator

Breed size

Minimums. Check local rules first: many towns cap flock size and ban roosters.

Coop floor
24 sq ft
e.g. 4 × 6 ft, inside, not counting nest boxes
Run
60 sq ft
e.g. 8 × 8 ft, covered against hawks
Roost bar
4 ft
higher than the nest boxes, 2 in wide flat side up
Nest boxes
3
about 12 × 12 in each
Ventilation
6 sq ft
of openings high on the walls, above the roost
Feed
10.5 lb/week
layer feed once they start laying
Water
3 qt/day
sized for hot weather; about half that when it’s cool
Coops for 6 hens ↗Hardware cloth ↗Nest boxes ↗

Prefab coops are often sold for twice the birds they hold. Size by the floor area above, not the label.

From chick to coop

Chicken coopsFor most backyard flocks, choose a sturdy walk-in or well-built coop with about 4 square feet of indoor floor per standard-size hen (2 for bantams, 5 for large breeds like Brahmas), plus about 10 square feet each in the run. Ignore the bird count on prefab coop boxes; measure the usable floor yourself.Read the guide →Chicken runsBuild or buy a covered run walled with 1/2-inch hardware cloth, with a buried or 2-foot-wide apron to stop diggers, giving about 10 square feet per standard-size bird (about 5 for bantams, 12 for large breeds). Give more room if the flock never free-ranges.Read the guide →

Questions people ask

How big should a chicken coop be?

About 4 sq ft of floor per standard hen inside the coop and 10 sq ft each in the run; bantams need about half that and large breeds a little more. Six standard hens need a 24 sq ft coop and a 60 sq ft run.

How many nest boxes do chickens need?

Two boxes for the first four hens, then one for every four more; they take turns. Six hens need 3.

How much roost space does a chicken need?

About 8 inches of bar per standard hen, more for large breeds, set higher than the nest boxes so they don’t sleep in them.

Sources

  1. 1Small Scale Poultry Housing (Penn State Extension)
  2. 2Basics for Raising Backyard Chickens (Utah State University Extension)
  3. 3Living on the Land: Backyard Chicken Coop Design (Oregon State University Extension)
  4. 4Raising chickens for eggs (University of Minnesota Extension)
  5. 5Space Allowances in Housing for Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks (Extension Foundation)
  6. 6Management of Backyard Poultry (Merck Veterinary Manual)