Coop Interior Design Ideas Needed

[ScorpChix]

Hello all -- I am a chicken newbie and need your advice ...

We recently decided to get some chickens. My plan is to get about 10 meat chicks (cornish rocks), 5 older layers (8 mos+), and 2 turkeys (6 wks old). My DH built me a fine 10 x 12 coop this past
weekend and now I need to lay out the interior and run. Hence my questions --

I am guessing that I should divide up the coop so that the chicks can be by themselves (without going outside) for a few weeks. How big of an area do I
need for 10 chicks? And many weeks do I keep them in there?

Any ideas on how do divide my 10 x 12 coop up? Should I make it into 2 interior rooms with 2 separate outdoor runs?

Or once the chicks are old enough to go outside, can the layers/turkey/ meat birds co-exist? Will they all have the same food requirements?

Any and all tips/opinions are appreciated.

Thanks!
Donna

 

[write2caroline]

If it is warm enough you can keep them outside. They grow so fast, I have 20 I am more than ready to put outside as soon as the new coop is finished at two weeks. At night they can sleep in a smaller space and during the day they need more because they will denude all plant material in a matter of days and their run will be nothing but dirt if it is too small. My new coop is right from the pallet coop plans from MPC it has multiple roosts that are removable and a ladder like piece to go between. The really only use the coop for sleeping and protection from night predators.
Caroline

 

[teach1rusl]

I would keep the chicks separate, as you don't know how the older birds would react to them, plus you want the hens on layer feed and the chicks on chick feed (not sure about the turkey chicks, or whatever they're called). So that would mean keeping their runs apart, or divided. Since you guys get pretty cold winters (yes? I'm geographically impaired...lol), I'd give ample space for your layers, since they will be around for quite a while, maybe 40 sq. ft. That still gives tons of space for the meat birds, who won't be around that long anyhow. I can't help you with the turkeys, but I'm sure since they're large, that they should have ample space, but with only two...???