Three or four hens - is this enough? Any other thoughts/advice please?

[GnomeDePlume]

We are going to get 3-4 hens (yippee!), will this coop be okay for them please? I am planning to keep them on the patio with hardwood chippings in the run.

It has a pull out tray in the coop, will that need to have wood shavings in it?

What bedding needs to go in the nesting box please?

we have this for one hen and 4 bantams. we extended the 'inside' run by 50%, by building on the side...but our hens have access to an outside space most days...

Yes, it's fine if you're going to let them out a bit in the day.

By the way, hens love cooked ham! It's hen's chocolate

Thanks all!

Ham duly noted!

I have the same coop and we have two hens (did have three) but I am going to get another two soon and I personally think it's fine as they only tend to go into the house to sleep and lay iykwim and mine tend to squash up together anyway so there is loads of space left :o I let mine out in the garden for a few hours a day too, when I am here and they seem very happy.

I use bed down equine bedding instead of shavings and that works well for us (it's £7 a bale and lasts for ages)

good luck. I love my chickens though, they are the best thing i ever bought :)

Just bear in mind that hens need greens. Doesn't matter if it outer cabbage leaves or grass or chickweed or dandelions or clover, but they do need greens.

yes they will even eat your flowerbeds :o

Each hen needs 1sqm of outside space

I'd say that run looks verrrrry small of they're to spend much time in it

Overcrowding leads to more squabbles and hens are not very nice to one another

We useauboise (dust free horsebedding, hens prone to respiratory probs so no hay and dust free where poss) on the coop floor and in nest boxes with straw on top

I love having hens but be warned they do loads of massive poos everywhere

yes they stink and make loads of mess and your lawn will be ruined

I put my coop/run on a covered hardstanding as it's easier to move and clean

Do bantams need more or less space or about the same and do they lay similar sized eggs to full size hens please?

I don't know much about bantams but I don't think they lay all year and neither do purebreds. Hybrids lay all through winter

Bantams are by definition smaller in size, so need less space than larger birds.

And no, bantams do not lay full-sized eggs.

Thanks duchesse