Flock Planning

[sharky300]

Hi All,

I am a newbie, and hope I m not totally rehashing old news, but I have not seen this exact question in here.

I have aquired a coop with a floor space of 6' X 4' - Nest boxes hang on the side so the floor will be usable, less the food and water... The main living area of the coop is suspended on 4X4's about three feet in the air. I am going to close this in on three sides to give additional "dry" shelter. The run is going to be the electric netting, total of 165' so that should come out to 1700+/- sq feet of freedom. I know my "max" number of birds will be 6, according to coop size is (although not agreed on by all) my over all plan is to have 3-4 hens with one rooster.

My question - How long can I get by with this coop if raising from chicks? I would like to order a straight run of 12 birds. This way I can watch the birds and try to choose the best ones to keep. (mainly the roo's) the rest will be processed to the freezer...

Thanks for the input!!!

 

[AlienChick]

At about five months old (depending on breed) your chickens will be almost their adult size.

 

[ellyn]

Our coop is that size and we had 10 chicken until just recently, about 18 months into our chicken adventure. We culled out 3 a few weeks back and it was surprising how much more content the remaining girls have been. Maybe because we got rid of the bullies...maybe because they have more room. Lost one girl last night unexpectedly. Good luck and have FUN!!

 

[Den in Penn]

Having the large area of poultry netting should allow you some time to decide on which ones to keep. They will be out and about most of the day so the coop size is less of an issue. Come winter and they are coop bound more it will come to be an issue. So I would say you have until the next fall to decide.