Muhammad Hameed

Short answer: the charts are a useful starting point, not wrong — but they are minimums, and how your birds live changes what 'enough' looks like in practice.

For standard-size hens, use 4 square feet of indoor coop floor space per bird and 10 square feet of run space per bird as your floor, not your goal. So 6 hens need at least a 24-square-foot coop (for example, 4 x 6 feet) and a 60-square-foot run. Bantams need roughly half that, and heavy breeds like Brahmas need more, around 5-6 square feet inside.

Two things the simple chart often misses: first, usable floor space is what counts — nesting boxes, feeders, and a human walkway do not count toward that 4 square feet. Second, time inside matters. Birds that free-range all day can get by with the minimum at night, but birds locked in all day, or shut in for long winters, need noticeably more, closer to the 8-10 square feet Tunde mentioned, plus good ventilation so ammonia does not build up.

Also allow 8-12 inches of roost bar per bird and one nesting box per 3-4 hens, and be wary of prefab coops labeled for '6-8 chickens' that measure only 12-16 square feet inside — by the 4-square-foot rule, that is really room for 3-4 birds.

I put together a beginner guide that works through this with a size chart by flock size, plus roost, nesting-box, and breed-size adjustments: https://thecoopguide.blogspot.com/2026/10/how-much-space-do-chickens-need-in-a-coop.html — it covers the 4-square-foot-inside / 10-square-foot-outside rule, a chart for 3 to 12 hens, and the common prefab-coop mistake.

If you can, build a little bigger than the minimum. I have yet to hear a keeper complain that a coop was too roomy.

Thanks for reviving this one, Timothy — those fun facts line up with what I have seen in a small backyard coop.

If I were starting out again, I would begin with kiln-dried flakes and nothing fancier. They stay looser than the fine grades, so they do not mat down as fast when a waterer splashes, and they give the birds something to scratch through, which is half of the deep litter system working on its own. Carla's approach of letting the chickens do the mixing is exactly how I run mine.

A few specifics that helped me:
- Start about 4 to 6 inches deep, then top up with a fresh scoop whenever the surface looks damp or starts to smell, rather than stripping the whole coop out. Do a full clean-out only when it stays soggy or smells of ammonia even after stirring.
- Keep the waterer on a stand or a board so spills land outside the bedding. Damp bedding is what turns a coop sour, whatever grade you use.
- Skip fine sawdust in a brooder. It is dustier, and chicks peck at everything, so flakes are the safer choice until they are older. Fine grades can work for adult birds in a dry coop, but they need closer watching for dust and matting.
- Make sure the bag says kiln-dried pine, and never substitute cedar shavings. The aromatic oils are the problem Timothy flagged, and chicks and young birds are the most sensitive.
- Spent litter is great compost feedstock, but I age it before it goes near the garden, since it takes a long time to fully break down.

So my short version for a beginner: kiln-dried flakes, deep to start, keep it dry, and let the chickens stir it. That has been the lowest-effort setup that still smells like earth instead of ammonia.

Kevin, I have not restored a strip mine myself, so take this as a starting point rather than expert advice — but for an arid site, I would not plan around alfalfa. Alfalfa usually wants more water and better soil than raw mine spoil offers, and it can struggle until organic matter and soil life recover.

A few things I would sort out before buying hay in bulk:

1. What the hay is for. If it is mainly mulch, you want clean, local grass hay spread thinly to shade the soil, hold moisture, and add organic matter — not a thick mat that smothers everything. If you are hoping the hay will seed the pasture, you need mature hay cut with seed heads on, and even then the species in it may not be the ones that suit your site, so I would not count on hay alone for seeding.

2. Match it to the site, not to a catalog. Ask the local extension office or NRCS office near the mine (not just near Minneapolis) which drought-tolerant grasses already grow nearby, and get a soil test first. Strip-mine spoil can be compacted, low in organic matter, and sometimes acidic or high in metals, and hay will not fix any of those problems by itself.

3. Source close to the site. Local ranchers, hay auctions, and farm groups near the mine are a better bet than hauling hay a long distance, both for cost and because the hay is more likely to come from grasses adapted to that climate. Ask specifically for weed-free hay, what species are in it, and when it was cut, so you know whether you are getting seed, mulch, or both — and avoid bringing in a weed problem on top of a restoration problem.

Have you found out where the mine actually is yet, and whether there are any reclamation rules or soil tests for it? Those answers would narrow down the grass choices a lot.

One place I would be deliberate about sequencing, since you list chicken pens in your restart order, is to treat chickens as a later step, not an early one — after shelter, a reliable water routine, and dry, protected storage are actually working from day to day.

Chickens are forgiving in a lot of ways, but they are not forgiving about three things: predators at night, wet feed, and no shade or airflow in summer heat. In southern Georgia, that last one matters a lot. A small, well-ventilated coop in shade, with a run that keeps raccoons and other night predators out, will save you far more trouble than a larger pen built in a hurry. Hardware cloth on openings and a latch a raccoon cannot work open are worth prioritizing over extra space at first.

I would also keep the pen on higher ground, away from anywhere water stands after a heavy rain, and close enough to your water source that hauling water and feed stays easy when you are living in a tent or camper. Wet bedding and muddy runs are where a lot of beginner problems start.

For flock size, starting with just four to six hens keeps the daily work, feed cost, and manure manageable while you are still building everything else. It is much easier to add birds later than to care for a flock you do not yet have time or storage for. And I would not buy birds until the coop and run are finished, the feed can stay dry, and you have a routine for fresh water every day — even on days when another project runs long.

In your order, that fits naturally after protected storage and before you try to scale up to selling eggs or meat. Get the small flock steady first, learn what your land and schedule can actually support, and then decide whether more birds make sense in year two.

Cloches are a solid pick — I went through the same frustration with my first flock scratching up every bit of mulch I put down.

Two things that worked better for me than sticks. First, bury the amendments instead of top-dressing them. Chickens scratch at what's on the surface; if you work the compost into the top inch of soil and water it in, it mostly stops being interesting to them.

Second, for the mulch itself, try a flat wire apron: lay a circle of chicken wire or hardware cloth flat on top of the mulch around the plant (staked at the edges). Chickens hate scratching on wire — it doesn't give under their feet — so they give up and move on. Unlike the stick method, you can leave it in place and just lift it when you want to add more mulch, then lay it right back down. Cheap to make with a roll of chicken wire and some tin snips.

Yes, this is definitely a common thing — your chickens are not odd at all.

The rule of thumb for a chicken pop hole is something like 10x10 or 12x12 inches: big enough for a hen to walk through comfortably, and no bigger. Your 3x4 foot doorway was a barn door from their perspective. Hens are prey animals, so a huge bright opening makes the coop feel exposed rather than like a safe roosting spot. With the smaller gap, the coop stays darker and den-like, and that is exactly what they want — darkness is also why they prefer dark, private nest boxes for laying.

A smaller door has some practical wins too: fewer drafts at roost height in winter, and a much smaller opening for predators to exploit. Sounds like your fix already proved the point, but you are not alone — plenty of people run into this with converted sheds and barns.

Hi everyone,

I'm Muhammad, and I write TheCoopGuide, a small blog with free, beginner-friendly guides for people who are new to keeping backyard chickens — the sort of practical, get-started-right information I wish I'd had when I was researching my first flock.

The free guides currently on the site are:

- Beginner's Guide to Raising Backyard Chickens — an overview of what getting started involves, from choosing your setup to everyday care.
- How Many Chickens Should You Start With? — how to choose a sensible flock size for your space, time and egg needs.
- How Much Coop Space Do Chickens Need? — the coop and run space each bird needs to stay healthy, calm and laying well.
- Best Chicken Breeds for Beginners — friendly, hardy laying breeds that are forgiving for first-time keepers.

You can read all of them here: TheCoopGuide — free beginner chicken-keeping guides

In short, readers get plain-English, step-by-step help with coop setup, choosing breeds, feeding and winter care, written for complete beginners — so a new chicken keeper can start with confidence and avoid the common early mistakes.

One transparency note: some product links on the blog are affiliate links; I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to readers.

I'm happy to hear feedback, and I'll gladly try to answer beginner chicken questions here on the forum too.