Let's learn together

daskhan

Songster
Apr 24, 2015
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Indiana
Hello everyone I have questions pop up all the time some I have the answer to a lot I don't today I will be presenting two question neither of which I fully know the answer to so feel free to give answers or suggestions to

Question 1.) I have a few odd balls one Easter egger on Araucana one polish rooster and one mix hen the first are still unknown in sex but both are around 3 months old or so the others are full grown mix hen is 8-9 months old the roo I would say is young but full grown the question is would these misfits make a good flock

Question 2.) I'm building a new tractor coop for 6 Dominique's and 6 light brahmas the run is 8 feet long and 5 feet wide about 7 feet tal mostly covered by a tarp the coop is 5 feet wide about 5 feet tall and 4-5 feet deep is this enough space atleast for winter for these 12 birds during summer I open doors
 
Hi, in answer to question 1 - there's no reason why they should not be ok together, providing that they have been introduced together appropriately.

I'll let others answer question 2 as i have no experience in keeping chickens in a run. I know that there are recommended square footage per bird, but these need only act as a guideline for you. Try searching for such details here in BYC.

Good luck
CT
 
Not sure how to answer question 1, but I think whether or not they would get along depends entirely upon the individual birds' personalities.

Question 2 - Not nearly enough room. Brahams get big. Generally, you need a minimum of 10 sq ft per bird in the run. Your run will barely have 3 sq ft per bird.
 
I've read somewhere it said 10sq ft but I've also read much smaller if you let them out a lot which I plan to do in the winter at which point I'll be seperating for breeding this is a winter only question most people keep chickens in coops I figured less make an enclosed run so they arnt "cooped up" all winter the number will drop to 6 max when spring comes.
 
You can always just "suck it and see" - if it works and they are fine with no squabbling etc and YOU think they are ok, then i would imagine that its ok. Its about what works best for you and your birds.

CT
 
You can always just "suck it and see" - if it works and they are fine with no squabbling etc and YOU think they are ok, then i would imagine that its ok. Its about what works best for you and your birds. 

CT
This is what I did. I found out pretty quick that I needed more space and started building a bigger coop. Wanted a few more chickens so added another coop. Now I have three small coops and one big one. But sine my leg horn decided to go broody, I'm gonna have too expand again. If I had it to do all over again, I'd build it three times as big as I thought I needed it. Still wouldn't be big enough though lol.
 
Yeah, we all suffer from the age old problem of chicken maths eh?
smile.png
 
I've read somewhere it said 10sq ft but I've also read much smaller if you let them out a lot which I plan to do in the winter at which point I'll be seperating for breeding this is a winter only question most people keep chickens in coops I figured less make an enclosed run so they arnt "cooped up" all winter the number will drop to 6 max when spring comes.
You can get away with having a smaller coop, if your run compensates for the lack of space; and you can also get away with a smaller run if you compensate with free range access all day long. A few hours here and there will not compensate for too little space though. Having said that, Brahmas are big, and take up quite a bit of sq footage. Just 3 sq ft per bird in the run is too little space, even if you are only keeping bantams.
In a 5x5 coop, there might not be enough roosting space for all of them though. Like I said, Brahmas get big, and need about 16 inches of roost space per bird.
 
You can get away with having a smaller coop, if your run compensates for the lack of space;

I tend to disagree with this statement going into winter. You can cheat in the summer, but not in the winter. Even if your coop is open to the run 24/7, the darkness will make them all go to the coop, yesterday, mine were heading to the coop by 5:00 pm. The long winter nights will artificially confine them in the coop, and if you don't have enough space, you will get bad behaviors.

You can cheat in the long days of summer, but not going into winter. In the late fall, you really need to fit your coop with out cheating, or you and your birds will regret it.

Question 2.) I'm building a new tractor coop for 6 Dominique's and 6 light brahmas the run is 8 feet long and 5 feet wide about 7 feet tal mostly covered by a tarp the coop is 5 feet wide about 5 feet tall and 4-5 feet deep is this enough space atleast for winter for these 12 birds during summer I open doors

No, 25 square feet would fit about 6 birds. 12 birds in that tight of space are going to produce a large amount of moisture, and they are going to be too close to the walls and maybe the ceiling. There might be a lot of frostbite from the moisture build up, and more than likely a lot of fighting during the roosting period which will be probably close to 14 hours a day.
Mrs K
 
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