Work out how big a chicken coop and run need to be. Enter flock size, breed, and time spent inside, then get indoor area, run area and cost estimate.
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Chicken coops get built too small more often than too big. Six standard hens need at least 24 square feet inside the coop and 60 square feet in the run before any adjustments. This calculator works out those figures from your actual flock, then adds multipliers for breed size and how much time the birds spend confined.
Enter the number of chickens, pick the breed class, and set how long they’re inside. The tool returns recommended indoor area, run area, total footprint, suggested dimensions, nesting box count, and roost length. Enter prices per square foot and it adds the cost.
Pick your currency from the top dropdown.
Enter the number of chickens in your flock.
Choose a breed class: standard, large, or bantam.
Set how much time they spend in the coop: full time, part time, or night only.
Confirm the indoor space per chicken. Four square feet is the standard starting point.
Set the run space per chicken. Ten square feet is the residential default.
Pick nesting boxes as auto or enter your own count.
Add coop dimensions if you have a specific footprint in mind, then enter prices.
The Summary tab leads with recommended indoor and run areas. Detailed Breakdown lists every multiplier and adjustment.
The calculation starts with a base space allowance per bird, then adjusts it for breed size and confinement time.
Formula: Indoor space per chicken = Base × Breed multiplier × Time multiplier
Formula: Run space per chicken = Base × Breed multiplier × (Night only ? 0.7 : 1.0)
Formula: Total indoor area = Chickens × Indoor space per chicken
Formula: Total run area = Chickens × Run space per chicken
Formula: Nesting boxes (auto) = [ Chickens ÷ 4 ]
Formula: Roost length = Chickens × 9 inches
Breed multipliers are 1.0 for standard, 1.3 for large or heavy breeds, and 0.6 for bantams. Time multipliers are 1.2 for full confinement, 1.0 for partial free range, and 0.8 for night only. A flock of six large breed chickens confined full time needs 6 × 4 × 1.3 × 1.2 = 37.4 ft² indoors.
The run gets a slightly different treatment. Night-only birds get a 0.7 multiplier instead of 0.8, since they only use the run during daytime and can spread out more.
Nesting boxes default to one per four hens, rounded up, with a minimum of one. Roost length uses 9 inches per bird, a standard figure that gives each hen room to settle without crowding.
If you enter preferred coop dimensions, the tool uses those instead of suggesting a footprint. The 1.5-to-1 aspect ratio used for auto-suggested dimensions is a common backyard shape, long enough to fit a roost and wide enough to walk in.
Worked Example: Eight Standard Hens, Part-Time Free Range
Say you’re planning a coop for eight standard chickens that get out to free range for a few hours a day. Base indoor space is 4 ft², base run space is 10 ft². The tool returns:
Indoor space per chicken: 4 × 1.0 × 1.0 = 4.00 ft²
Run space per chicken: 10 × 1.0 × 1.0 = 10.00 ft²
Total indoor area: 8 × 4 = 32.00 ft²
Total run area: 8 × 10 = 80.00 ft²
Total footprint: 112.00 ft²
Suggested dimensions: about 6.9 × 4.6 ft (indoor)
Nesting boxes: ceil(8 ÷ 4) = 2 boxes
Roost length: 8 × 9 = 72 inches, or 6.00 ft
Coop cost at $25/ft²: $800.00
Run cost at $8/ft²: $640.00
Estimated total: $1,440.00
That’s the layout. The coop itself is modest. The run is where most of the footprint lives. Budget-wise, the run tends to be cheaper per square foot, but it adds up fast because the area is larger.
Four square feet per standard chicken inside the coop, plus ten square feet per bird in the run. A flock of six standard hens needs at least 24 ft² indoors and 60 ft² outside.
Four square feet for standard breeds, five to six for large breeds, two to three for bantams. The calculator applies these figures automatically when you pick a breed class.
Ten square feet per chicken is the residential standard. Bump it to 12 to 15 for flocks confined full time. The calculator adjusts the run multiplier based on confinement.
Two boxes. One box per four hens is the rule. Hens share boxes, so more than that just takes up coop space.
Nine inches of roost per bird. Heavy breeds do better with 10 to 12 inches. Place roosts 18 to 24 inches off the floor.
Yes. Bantams need about 2 to 3 ft² indoors and 6 ft² in the run. The calculator applies a 0.6 multiplier when you select the bantam option.
No. Larger coops are fine as long as ventilation is adequate. The only real trade-off is heating in very cold climates.
If they free range most of the day, the run can be smaller. But a run still matters for keeping them safe from predators during the hours they’re outside the coop.
Six to eight feet for a walk-in coop. Three feet is the absolute minimum. Ventilation at the top matters more than overall height.
Yes, and a lot of it. Ammonia builds up quickly in a sealed coop. High vents that stay open year-round move moist air out and keep the flock healthy.
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