Coop size for dutch bamtams

[dainironfoot]

Hi guys! I have a few years experience raising standard size chickens but am new to bantams. I am hatching some Dutch Bantams right now and was wondering how much space I would need for a trio. Thanx in advance for the help!

-Tony

 

[gabbyscritters]

You will love your Dutch, especially being able to raise them from day 1. I hope they hatch out well for you, we have found them very easy to hatch, have 40 older Dutch chicks in the barn in a coop we use as a big booder, 25 in the kitchen brooder and I'm not sure how many have hatched out right now in the hatcher also in the kitchen.

Just came in from checking on the youngsters in the barn, they are 4 & 5 weeks old. They just moved outside a few days ago, their new trick is to hop up on my back and crawl up to my shoulder when i'm bending down to fill the feeder. I had at least 6 little Dutch on my shoulder and back this morning.
My daughters older Dutch are tame, personable, curious & come for treats but only a few are real freindly, they were 10 to 12 weeks when we got them. It really makes a difference getting a close people conection from day one, they are sweet birds by nature so they can tame up real easy.

Anyway, on to coop size. We have a big old stone dairy barn that houses all our coops, hubby transformed older daughters former horse stalls into seperate coops containing breeding pens for younger daughters bantams. Basically they are 4 enclosed, insualted & ventilated coop rooms within our barn, they have windows and a chicken door out to runs.

Dutch are small and active (not in a flightly way), they love to have several perch heights and will hop up as high as they can get. A coop with verticle height is good for them, they will take advantage of it.

The Dutch groups, mainly trios, have spent the winter in the coop with smaller pens, the former milk house. They are each 3' x 4' & 6'+ tall. There are 4 pens and then a open walk in area about 12' x 3'. This area is rotated daily so each group can get out and play, works great in the winter especially. They do have a door to a run but the Dutch don't like cold weather. We try keep our guys at at 38 degrees.

The coop pens they spent the winter in is smaller than I think they like. This coop was our quarentine coop, daughters flock grew faster this year than hubby could fully enclose and insulate some of the other coops we have.
The coop they lived in spring thru late fall was bigger, each pen was 4' x 5' x 6'+ tall, again with a walk in area that we could rotate them into daily for exercise, along with a small run outside. Again it had different pecrh heights for them. Now that winter is over hubby has just about finsihed fully enclosing this coop for the Dutch so they will like moving back into larger quarters soon.

Dutch are small but like any breed they do enjoy having some space. Ours have been happy in the pens we have but they really do enjoy when it is their turn to go outside or have access to the walk area for the day. I usually try to go out at luch time and rotate the pens so they each get more time out to play.

They love when they can go outdoors, being so small I dont let them free range. We have multiple runs for the Dutch and Ameraucanas we have. My daughter will let them come out in the yard when she is outside, we just worry about hawks too let them roam.
You will also enjoy how much less food they eat then LF. Ours are real treat pigs!

 

[dainironfoot]

Wow! Thanx so much for the lengthy reply! That put my mind at ease on a lot of issues.

-Tony