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Chicken run size calculator

Two ways round: tell the chicken run size calculator how many hens you keep and it gives the run they need, or give it the run you have and it says how many hens it holds.

Run for my hens

Hens for my run

How much run space per chicken

Our default is 10 sq ft of run per standard hen, and 4 sq ft is the least an extension source accepts (Virginia Tech, Cooperative Extension, Colorado State). Bantams and large breeds scale from there.

BirdOur defaultLeast accepted
Bantam6 sq ft4 sq ft
Standard laying hen10 sq ft4 sq ft
Large or heavy breed12 sq ft10 sq ft
  • At least 6 ft out: NC State: extend the run at least 6 ft from the coop.
  • Hardware cloth walls: 1/2 in hardware cloth the full height, on the outside of the posts (Utah State, UC Davis, UNH).
  • An apron against digging: 12 in on the surface and pinned, or buried 12 in and turned 6 in out (NC State, Penn State, Virginia Tech).
  • A roof: hawks and owls come from above, so the run is covered; our plans use polycarbonate panels at 1-1/2 in of fall per foot, the maker's minimum.
A 4x8 coop for six hens with its 8x8 run, 64 sq ft, seen from above.

For the coop itself, use the chicken coop size calculator. The chicken run plans give posts, rails, mesh and roof for each size, and the predator proofing guide covers the mesh and the apron in detail.

Questions people ask

A 10x10 run is 100 sq ft, enough for 10 standard hens at our default of 10 sq ft each, or 16 bantams at 6. The sources accept as little as 4 sq ft per standard hen, which would squeeze in 25, but that is the floor, not a target.

A 12x24 run has 288 sq ft: room for 28 standard hens at 10 sq ft each, 24 large-breed hens at 12, or 48 bantams. Remember the coop has to hold the same flock at night, at about 4 sq ft per standard hen.

Twenty standard hens need 200 sq ft of run at our default, for example 10 x 20 ft, and never less than 80 sq ft. Twenty bantams need 120 sq ft and twenty large-breed hens 240. Keep it at least 6 ft long out from the coop.

No extension source we read gives a number, but NC State asks for a run you can enter standing up. Our default frames it 72 in tall at the low end, which leaves a door you step through bending a little under the head. A lower run shows amber in our checks, never red.