GUTINNEEN 115in Large Hen House with Run

Most of this site is spent correcting bird counts downward, so it is worth being equally specific when a maker gets it right. This is one of a small number of coops here where the number on the listing and the number the dimensions support are the same.

The measurement

115 inches by 54 inches is 6,210 square inches, which is 43.1 square feet. Ten standard hens at 4 square feet a bird, against a claim of ten. The margin is about 3 square feet, which means it clears the threshold rather than landing exactly on it.

The usual caveat applies and is worth restating: that footprint spans the attached run as well as the enclosed house, so the real overnight roosting floor is smaller than 43.1 square feet. What makes this coop notable is that the claim survives the generous reading, which is a much better starting point than the more common pattern of failing it by a factor of three.

Depth is why it works

54 inches. That is the whole story, and it is the same story on every coop here that clears its claim. The coops that advertise ten birds and measure three are typically 26 to 31 inches deep, getting their headline length from a long narrow run. Depth is expensive to add and it is what makes a footprint usable.

Put this beside the HomeSheek, which is 69.5 by 31.5 inches - 15.2 square feet - and also sold for up to ten birds. Same claim, a third of the floor. That review is the worked example of what the gap looks like at its widest.

What ten birds actually needs beyond floor

• About 80 square feet of run at 8 square feet a bird, which is additional to the coop floor rather than part of it.
• 80 inches of roost bar at 8 inches a standard hen - nearly seven feet, and far more than a kit this size typically supplies. Check it and plan to add bar. Roost bar length, height and shape has the figures.
• Three nest boxes at one per four hens. Not six, whatever the listing offers.
• Ventilation that scales with the flock. Ten hens put considerably more moisture into a coop overnight than four do.
• A cleaning routine that survives contact with ten birds' worth of litter - a droppings board under the roost is the highest-value modification at this size.

The material, and what it will cost you later

Fir, like most of the category. That carries the standard consequences: three to six seasons untreated, with the base rail failing first because it sits in wet ground and wet litter. Raise it on slabs or bricks, treat it annually paying attention to end grain and cut edges, and it lasts considerably longer. Wooden chicken coops has the full maintenance picture.

That is not a criticism specific to this coop. It is the price of the format, and it is the reason the ten-year arithmetic on what a coop really costs frequently favors a more expensive material.

What it still needs

1. Half-inch hardware cloth over every supplied mesh panel, stapled every 3 to 4 inches into framing.
2. A two-motion latch on every opening, including the nest-box lid - the one people forget.
3. A ground apron around the run perimeter, since a raised coop leaves open soil beneath it.
4. Additional roost bar to reach 80 inches.
5. Annual timber treatment, and a spring check on the base rails.

The full write-up

Top pick · Ten hens with a little margin

GUTINNEEN 115" Large Hen House with Run

43.1 sq ft against a claim of eight to ten - it clears its own number with a small amount to spare.

What the numbers say

Published footprint43.1 sq ftHonest count10 hensMaker claims10

115in x 54in = 43.1 sq ft of whole-unit footprint, which includes the attached run and is therefore generous. At 4 sq ft per standard hen that is 10 birds, against a claim of 10.

Figures from GUTINNEEN published specifications (Amazon listing) · 115"L x 54"W x 56"H · Fir

43.1 sq ft is ten standard hens with roughly three square feet left over. The claim is eight to ten, so the arithmetic supports the top of the range.

The 54in depth is the reason. It is not as generous as the AECOJOY's 69in, but it is well clear of the 22-26in corridors that dominate the cheaper end.

Six nesting boxes for ten hens is more than the one-per-four guidance needs. Extra boxes do not reduce squabbling; they add cleaning.

Good

• Clears its claim rather than exactly meeting it
• 54in depth produces a genuinely usable floor
• Run and house in a single purchase

Not so good

• Six nest boxes is more than ten hens need
• Fir at this size is a lot of surface to re-treat
• Nearly 10ft long - measure the yard first

Skip this if: you want walk-in access. At 56in tall you are still stooping, and for a coop this long that gets old fast.

Check price on Amazon

#ad · how this is funded

Where it sits

It appears on coops for 10 chickens and coops for 8 chickens, and it is one of the better answers in both. For a flock of eight it has genuine margin rather than sitting on the line, which is the more comfortable place to be.