When farmers are trying to earn something on the side, they always look for the most convenient options available to them. This is where the chickens come in. They are the go-to poultry that a beginner farmer would go for.
There are cases where the competition between the ducks and chickens as the favorite farm animal gets out of hand. However, they are more or less standing at a draw while in some criteria one of them gets better than the other one.
Chickens seem to be still the popular choice. Many people are trying to raise chickens, even though they are mostly not for profit and purely a hobby. However, though it may be just a hobby we would still need to properly take care of them.
In order to do that, we would need a coop with adequate space for the number of chickens we would have. The usual standard size for a coop is 4×8, it is recommended for beginners.
Therefore, if you would like to know more about raising chickens and how many chickens would fit in a 4×8 coop, keep reading below.
How many chickens are in a 4×8 coop?
There are times when some poultry birds will spend days inside the coop and it could be due to the weather also. Then, in that case, it is a general rule that we would need to keep 1 adult chicken per 4 square feet. Therefore, 8 Large sizes of standard chickens can be in a 4×8 coop.
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When designing a coop, we can get overboard if we are not experienced or well versed in it. This happens to the people that are mostly looking for a small farm in their backyard. Chickens are fun creatures to own since they offer a lot of things from a little amount of maintenance.
Therefore, if we want to do things right, then we would need 8 chickens of standard size and let them live in a coop of 4×8 size and not any smaller than that. Too many chickens will result in stress and other problems in chickens that will yield more anxiety than anything for you.
In this case, we need to be careful about the number of chickens and not mess things up in a way that will end up harming the little birds. A well-made coop will go far and beyond for the health and well-being of the chickens.
Therefore, it is important that we strictly adhere to the general rule of thumb when raising animals.
How many chickens can sleep in a 4×8 coop?
Chickens can be different sizes due to their different breeds. Some of them can be much lighter than their cousins. For example, if we were to take White Leghorn chicken then they will need less space.
White leghorn is a breed of chickens that spend almost all of the daylight they get outside. So there only needs to be 3 square feet per chicken of this breed. So, there will be around 10-11 chickens sleeping in a 4×8 coop.
However, if we take the larger breeds of chickens, then it is a different story altogether. This is because a standard size large chicken will take around 4 square feet. Therefore, there can only be 8 chickens of standard size that can sleep in a 4×8 coop.
2 factors that determine how many chickens can line in a 4×8 coop
There are many different things that can affect how many chickens we can put inside a 4×8 coop. However, among them, 2 factors cannot be ignored. These two are discussed briefly below.
Bird’s Health:
The bird’s health matters a lot as well when it comes to deciding how many you want to keep inside a 4×8 coop. This is because, when the required space is not maintained in a coop for chickens, the flock could get stressed.
When that happens, they will be involved in cannibalism and pecking to the point of taking other birds out.
Breed:
Not all breeds of chickens can be the same amount in a coop of 4×8. Therefore, the breed of a bird plays an important role in how many you can put together in a confined place.
How many nesting boxes do you need in a 4×8 coop?
We know that we can keep around 8 chickens in a 4×8 coop. That is considering the breed of the chicken is a standard large one. However, if they are anything different from the White Leghorn, then the number of chickens you would put there will increase.
Therefore, the breed of the chicken is important when deciding how many chickens you can keep in a coop. When it comes to knowing how many nesting boxes we need, we would first need to know how many chickens there can be.
As a general rule of thumb is that when there are four chickens in a coop, you install one nesting box for them. We already know the coop of 4×8 space can have 8 chickens. Therefore, we would need 2 nesting boxes for the chickens in a 4×8 coop.
How much run space do you need for a 4×8 coop?
There are a lot of factors that go into deciding what space you would need for your chickens. The breed especially matters a lot. This is because the chickens of different breeds behave differently as well as grow differently biologically.
Therefore, it is best for us to choose the breed of the chicken first and then proceed with the measurements that we would need. The heavier chickens will require more space than the smaller chickens.
So, taking the size of a standard chicken you would need 3-4 square feet of run space for every chicken in a coop of 4×8 size. This is because the coop will have around 8-10 chickens.
How to set up a 4′ x 8′ chicken coop to raise chickens?
Below is where we discuss the necessary steps to construct a 4×8 chicken coop.
Prepare the ground:
In the first step we will prepare the ground for the building process to start. If the weather is and was good the prior days, only then you would want to start building.
We need to remove all the debris from the place we are going to build, and also make sure there are no bushy or branching areas that are overreaching the coop.
Choose a frame design:
So, since we are planning for a 4×8 coop, we would need to choose a frame design from many of the ones that are available. We might need to make some adjustments when we choose something that would require more ground level.
Start building:
In this step, we get in contact with the local hardware stores and understand the measurements and requirements they suggest for the 4×8 coop of design of your choosing. Then we collect the necessary equipment and materials.
With the instructions and materials at hand, we start building.
Putting on the panels:
After getting the structure layer out we start by putting on the panels on the walls and two roof panels as well. This is rather important because we would need to do this for the safety of the birds from the weather.
Fence the area:
After putting the panels, we fence the area for run space and accessorize the coop with waterers and nesting boxes.
How big of a coop do I need for 15 chickens?
When we think about how many chickens we can keep in a single place; we will need to understand why the chickens would need space in the first place. Due to their stress sometimes, they would resort to cannibalism or just hurt the chickens by pecking.
Furthermore, for the bigger or smaller breeds, the size requirement also differs. So, if we took around 15 chickens and wanted to design a coop for them, then we would need around 30-60 square feet.
Therefore, 60 feet would be the maximum required amount of space for at least 15 chickens. That way all of the chickens will be stress-free and in good health regardless of their breeds.
Final Thoughts
When we are designing a coop farm, we would always need to know the number of chickens it can hold. The 4×8 coop is a standard design for any sort of starting farmer or your backyard. In the case of a 4×8 coop of standard-sized chickens, there can be 8 chickens in total.