How many cornish cross

[Sweethorizons]

8x6 is small, they get quite large, will probably spend most of their time outside depending on your climate, but inside they should have 3-4 sq feet per bird so a minimum of 150 sq feet inside, so something like a 15 x 10 foot coop.

As to climate I live in South Carolina so our summers hit 100 average? I plan to get a winter hatch and butcher in the spring
Edit: our Winters are normally like 60 degrees high 30 lows

 

[Sweethorizons]

Also think about how many birds you're going to butcher! How are you going to transport them to the processor? Or are you butchering at home 90 CX is a LOT!

Also I think about 50 would be our Max so it falls within our butchering ability. Thank you for your input as it could help other people who are thinking about meat birds and might stumble upon this thread who might not understand how short of a window you have to butcher the Cornish cross.
I apologise if this sounds rude as I do not intend it to, I was just acknowledging your input and the help it could provide people.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

Also I think about 50 would be our Max so it falls within our butchering ability. Thank you for your input as it could help other people who are thinking about meat birds and might stumble upon this thread who might not understand how short of a window you have to butcher the Cornish cross.
I apologise if this sounds rude as I do not intend it to, I was just acknowledging your input and the help it could provide people.

No worries! It didn't sounds rude at all

 

[iwltfum]

I planned to do 50 or so with a moving trough for feeding, and a 8x6 coop or so for them would it be big enough?

30x30 outdoor run with an 8x6 coop is plenty big enough for 50 birds. Personally, I would probably raise about 250 at once in that size area, but your back issue is definitely something to consider. Cleaning an area that is that dense with birds would be demanding to keep up with it in the last few weeks before butcher though. Which brings up another point. You want to size everything for your last three weeks before butcher. That is when the work will be the hardest. If they are in that big of an area starting from day one (or whenever you receive them) it might take a few weeks - maybe even a month for them to dirty that space, but as they grow bigger, eat more daily, and poop more daily, their pension for getting an area really dirty quickly will be obvious. I alwasy try to think of the worst bottle neck in the process and limit my flock size based on that factor - for me it's processing. I can only get about 60 or 70 birds loaded out of the pens, transported to my butchering space, and butchered in one day with help from one or two friends. So that number is where I have to draw the line (since I don't like to butcher multiple days in a row)
Stuff to think about
Cheers

 

[Ruby Rogue]

30x30 outdoor run with an 8x6 coop is plenty big enough for 50 birds. Personally, I would probably raise about 250 at once in that size area, but your back issue is definitely something to consider. Cleaning an area that is that dense with birds would be demanding to keep up with it in the last few weeks before butcher though. Which brings up another point. You want to size everything for your last three weeks before butcher. That is when the work will be the hardest. If they are in that big of an area starting from day one (or whenever you receive them) it might take a few weeks - maybe even a month for them to dirty that space, but as they grow bigger, eat more daily, and poop more daily, their pension for getting an area really dirty quickly will be obvious. I alwasy try to think of the worst bottle neck in the process and limit my flock size based on that factor - for me it's processing. I can only get about 60 or 70 birds loaded out of the pens, transported to my butchering space, and butchered in one day with help from one or two friends. So that number is where I have to draw the line (since I don't like to butcher multiple days in a row)
Stuff to think about
Cheers

250 birds with 48 sq ft inside??

 

[iwltfum]

250 birds with 48 sq ft inside??

I guess I was assuming the run is covered. Just ignoring the coop really and just going by the run space. If it's a covered run, I would definitely raise 250 birds in 900 sqft, but it would be a good bit of work keeping it clean once they get big.

 

[Sweethorizons]

Alternatively, I have about a acre I could use for chicken tractors, but I don't know anything about tractoring chickens, or how many I could fit in the space I have

 

[Ruby Rogue]

If you go by the guidelines...it's 10sqft per bird outside, 3-4 sqft per bird inside, if it's warm when you do it, and your run is covered and predator proof, inside space isn't even necessary. And the less birds you have in the space, the cleaner they will be. It's much more pleasant processing a clean fat white bird as opposed to a poopy fat dirty bird.

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

Alternatively, I have about a acre I could use for chicken tractors, but I don't know anything about tractoring chickens, or how many I could fit in the space I have

Chicken tractors are how we raise our meat birds.
We keep them in a brooder for their first three weeks (we use peat moss, when it gets dirty just dump another bag in there and clean once the chickens are out.)

We use John Suscovich chicken tractors. You can fit 45 birds in a chicken tractor quite comfortably. More if you allow them to day range inside a fence.

Super easy and would definitely recommend it. The only cleaning you have to do is the brooder.

ETA: Once they get about 5 weeks old then you have to move the tractors twice a day because of the poop.

 

[CaroleW]

Chicken tractors are how we raise our meat birds.
We keep them in a brooder for their first three weeks (we use peat moss, when it gets dirty just dump another bag in there and clean once the chickens are out.)

We use John Suscovich chicken tractors. You can fit 45 birds in a chicken tractor quite comfortably. More if you allow them to day range inside a fence.

Super easy and would definitely recommend it. The only cleaning you have to do is the brooder.

ETA: Once they get about 5 weeks old then you have to move the tractors twice a day because of the poop.

I just listened to a webinar yesterday with Joel Salatin (big pastured poultry guy) where he told his big fail with meat turkeys ...using peat moss as bedding... it caught fire... they lost them all and it caught more on fire somehow! He seemed to think it was all due to the peat moss ...not saying it's bad just to watch out! It was funny afterwards but a disaster at the time.