How much space?

[Karrie13]

I am going to get some Jumbo Cornish Cross meat chickens this year and I have some questions on space and temperature. Do they have the same temperature requirements as other chicks (95 the first week and reduce by 5)? What is the lowest temperature they can survive outside? I am going to make a portable PVC pen and was wondering how big I should make it to comfortably accommodate 40 males (including space for food and water)?

Thank you for your help! I have searched but can’t seem to find any information.

 

[roaminggnome61]

i have 30 meaties coming in May....i will keep them very warm for the first week and then slowly lower the temp. I am hoping it will be warm enought to go out to their 10'x10'x2' pvc pen when they are about 1 month old. Last year I had about 10 meaties in the pen and there was plenty of room. I hope that this size is big enough for 30.
good luck

 

[jaku]

Keep them in the brooder for about three weeks. If the weather is nice towards the end, put them out. Don't worry about precise temps- it will only drive you crazy. Set your lamp to about 18" from the chips, and make your brooder big enough so that the birds can get away from the heat if they want to, but not so big that they get stuck in a "cold" area if they're too stupid to go to the heat. They'll find the temp they like. If you're making the pen on pvcplans.com, at 10x10, it will easily hold your 40 birds. I put 78 of them in it last year.

 

[bigredfeather]

I agree with Jaku on time in the brooder. Cornish chicks feather out much quicker than your typical dual-purpose. Try to wean them from the heat lamp as quickly as possible. The faster you reduce brooder temp, the faster they will feather-out which will get them in the tractor quicker. Weather permitting, I start taking away the heat lamp for a few hours each day when they are two weeks old. Keep an eye on them. If they start to really huddle up without the lamp, watch they don't smother. You will be surprised how hardy they are. I got a batch a month ago, and the weather here was pretty cold, but because of that, they were really feathered out before three weeks. They are a month old now, and only missing white feathers on their heads.

I figure 1.5 sqft of space per bird which is close to what Jaku said about 78 birds in a 100 sqft area. Space won't be an issue until they reach 7 or 8 weeks and at that point, the hardest thing is to keep enough food and water available.

 

[Karrie13]

Thank you very much for your replies and advice. I was hoping the 40 birds would be fine in a 10 x 10 area, they will be on pasture and moved everyday too.