How Much Space Do I Need To Keep Chickens?

You may be surprised to hear that you can keep hens in a relatively small area. Chickens will appreciate as much space as you can give them so they can forage for food. If you are happy to give your chickens the whole garden then they will have more than enough space to be happy. However chickens can be a bit naughty and can quickly make a mess of your garden, so you may want to keep them in a run. The absolute minimum space for a hen in a run is 1 square metre per hen. However 2 square metres per hen is preferable. Essentially the more space you have for chickens the better as the less space your flock has the more likely it is for there to be quarrels, and bullying. If they have more space any chickens being bullied can escape and are far less likely to be cornered.

Pauline Snel's hens love to free ranging in her garden

The average garden can accommodate for a few chickens. 3 chickens is the ideal number of chickens as if you do lose one chicken then there are still 2 left to keep each other company and you won’t have to introduce a new bird which can be stressful.

What If I Don’t Have Any Grass In My Garden?

This is nothing to worry about as you can lay wood chippings down on the surface of your run. Your chickens will be perfectly happy on this surface as they will still be able to scratch and search for bugs.

Tim Buswell has put his Eglu Classic on a bed of wood shaving which chickens love

Eglu Cube chicken coop designed by Omlet

Customer Images

Eglu Go with 3-metre run on hardeood chips - an excellent, easy care surface for hens

Comments

Debra, 19 May 2020

I have ordered an eglu cube with a 2 metre run. I intend to keep 4 chickens. The article I just read suggested that 1m squared was ideal. So do you think that I need a longer run? I intend allowing them to roam a 9 m squared fenced off grassed area when I am home, but they will be in the run and cube when I am out.