How much land? Chicken/Turkey to acre ratio...

[m1chelle1]

Hello all!
I'm looking into buying land (hopefully soon) and am trying to determine how much land I should be looking at for free range chickens and turkeys. Is there a good rule of thumb on a chicken and turkey to acre ratio? You know, like ten chickens and ten turkeys to every acre, etc... The land would be mostly grass land and some wooded areas. Any input would be appreciated, thanks!
~Michelle

 

[Mrs. K]

My advice, is work into it a bit slowly. There is a learning curve, and advice only goes so far. A lot will depend on your climate, your predators, and the birds you get. I have several friends who have had chickens for years, not have real good luck with turkeys.

I would be leery of buying all those birds at once, trying to raise them all up and figuring everything out. Start smaller, and add every 6 months till you get to the number you want. This gives you a multi-generational flock, if a predator nearly wipes you out, you have not lost everything, and you can find and deal with the weak spots in your set up.

Mrs K

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I don't believe there's a recommendation for birds per acre like there is for other farm stock. A lot has to do with how you plan to manage your birds. Both chickens and turkeys will supplement their diet by free ranging but neither can survive on range alone.

Do you plan to use movable tractors? Fencing? Are you raising for production? What you are doing with the birds and what your long term goals can dictate how much land you need.

In general I wouldn't recommend 100% free range as birds can wander off and predators can help themselves.

 

[m1chelle1]

Not sure about turkeys, but chickens don't require much space at all! Just 4 sq ft per bird in a coop & 10 sq ft per bird in a run! So... lots per acre! More importantly than that, though are the rules/restrictions where you are buying land. Do they have a limit of how many they allow per acre? Are you allowed to have roosters? If you haven't yet, make sure you look into that!

Thanks so much! Yeah, im curious too if anyone in this forum knows anything for the turkey specifications....it makes me curious if it would be much different. But YES! where im looking they allow roosters (thank goodness, theyre my fav) and there is no specified limit. That is definitely something I need to make sure of before buying, good advice

 

[aart]

I don't believe there's a recommendation for birds per acre like there is for other farm stock. A lot has to do with how you plan to manage your birds.

Ditto Dat^^^

Also depends on what kind of soil, climate, vegetation as to how well the land will hold up to poultry populations.

Knowing more about your poultry goals might help us help you.

 

[aart]

I have no clue but you could use the label rouge specifications for land to chicken ratio.
https://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/download.php?id=224
They use 2 acres per 4,400 chickens, but they need much more space if you want them to maximize their foraging.

Interesting standards......some are vague and numbers don't quite add up...as misleading as the 'label' requirements here in the US.
2 acres is 87120 sqft.
4400 x 22 is 96800 sqft.
The pop hole and and 'cereal' requirements are wide open to interpretation.

 

[Molpet]

http://www.plamondon.com/wp/how-many-chickens-per-acre/

 

[theoldchick]

Get the most land you can afford. Hobby farms have a tendency to run out of space real quick. A thousand acres should do you. (Just kidding!) But seriously get as much land as you can afford.

 

[NikAndHerChicks]

Not sure about turkeys, but chickens don't require much space at all! Just 4 sq ft per bird in a coop & 10 sq ft per bird in a run! So... lots per acre! More importantly than that, though are the rules/restrictions where you are buying land. Do they have a limit of how many they allow per acre? Are you allowed to have roosters? If you haven't yet, make sure you look into that!

 

[m1chelle1]

All-

Love the conversation! Yeah, I had the feeling that the "standard" would be loose, at best. I get that, just wasn't sure if there would be any opinions on what might "work best". I do want to maximize the foraging for sure, I understand that I would need to still supplement their diet, which I intend on. My goals are to own an organic free range chicken and turkey farm, but I wouldn't have a ridiculously large number of poultry. Was thinking of 20 dual purpose (orpington) chickens to start off with, would sell the eggs, and eventually meat when they aren't laying anymore, and maybe expand from there. Then about 50 turkeys per season, with room for expansion.
My ideas are to look at around 10 acres, with the chickens and turkeys on various runs in the 5 (protected in the barn at night), and use the other 5 as living space and small organic farm space (veggies). I would fence off separate runs on the 5 acre, maybe an acre a run, and have them on an acre for a month (or so...depending on how well the grass does), then rotate to the next acre next month, so on and so forth. I have a dog who is used to being around chickens who I plan on using as a livestock protection dog (shes loud) and she has NO prey drive whatsoever, so I have confidence she would not attack the poultry. They would not be left outside after dark, and I have a lot of predator defense measures I plan on implementing . Hmmm, I think that pretty much covers it.
My overall intent, I think, is that if I plan on expanding my chicken and turkey numbers at any point, I do want the ability to do so, without having to purchase another property.....
thanks all!

~M