How to keep a super healthy Flock??

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Great!!

So, any of you well versed chicken lovers out there that could give me a pointer or two on how many chickens would be ideal in an outdoor space of 23’x38’ and house 10x12 (two of them) how many chickens would you have? I just want to keep getting more. Lol

 

[KahKaDoodleDo22]

Great!!

So, any of you well versed chicken lovers out there that could give me a pointer or two on how many chickens would be ideal in an outdoor space of 23’x38’ and house 10x12 (two of them) how many chickens would you have? I just want to keep getting more. Lol

Also, I can’t let them free range. They would be gone so quickly by various predators around me.

 

[Conan]

Hello, fellow Washingtonian!
I largely free range, but when we do have a predator issue (such as right now with a goshawk), I like to add things to their run daily. I toss in apples from the orchard, squash/pumpkins from the garden, alfalfa hay, raked leaves, etc. I let them out every day as soon as possible, but they seem to do just fine with lots of stuff to peck at, and eat during the day. Oh, and I did pop a dust bath in there too. They dig that.

 

[DiYMama540]

The rule of thumb on space requirements is 10sqft. of run space per bird, and 6 sq ft. of coop space. Honestly, I feel that's a bit tight. The more crowded they are, the more chance you have of illnesses, behavior issues, and not to mention more mess.

I'm thinking with the size of your coops, up to 15 in each would be a good number. You have a nice, big run space for them. Then again, if you wanted more chickens you could always add another coop.

 

[aart]

So, any of you well versed chicken lovers out there that could give me a pointer or two on how many chickens would be ideal in an outdoor space of 23’x38’ and house 10x12 (two of them) how many chickens would you have? I just want to keep getting more. Lol

Don't do it!!
Take your time, get thru your first year, work on increasing your run space, then maybe hatch out some more.
Your run space is your limiter...and they'll all want to roost in the same coop.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Great!!

So, any of you well versed chicken lovers out there that could give me a pointer or two on how many chickens would be ideal in an outdoor space of 23’x38’ and house 10x12 (two of them) how many chickens would you have? I just want to keep getting more. Lol

Follow the link in my signature below. It might help you. I don't believe in magic numbers for space or much of anything to do with chickens. We keep them in so many different ways and in so many different circumstances that there is no one number that works for every chicken in the world. I've seen recommendations on here of anywhere from 1 square feet per bird in the coop to 15 square feet in the coop with no thought to outside space. Which magic number do you believe? A common one on here is 4 sq ft per bird in the coop, which works fairly well if they are all the same age and sex, and already integrated, provided they have extra space outside and they can get to that space much of the time. That means for some of us 4 is more than the absolute minimum to get by but for others it is not enough. Plus if you have a relatively large coop the manure piles up really fast with a lot of chickens.

I find the more I crowd them the more behavioral problems I have to deal with, the harder I have to work, and the less flexibility I have to deal with issues. Instead of looking at how many can I shoehorn in here without them cannibalizing each other, I suggest you decide how many you want and then provide them enough space. The more room the better for many reasons.

Decide for yourself, what are your goals? Why do you want chickens? How many chickens do you need to meet your goals. How will you manage them? If you hatch them yourself you need more room for integration plus you will get a lot of boys. What will you do with the boys or extra girls? Are you planning on selling eggs? Raising chickens for meat? All this can factor in.

I definitely suggest you start small and gain some experience before you get too far in. That experience can be valuable in determining what your goals really are.

 

[BReeder!]

Hi All,

Who has some great pointers on how to keep a healthy flock when you can’t let them free range.

I have an outdoor enclosure that’s 24’x38’ and two hen houses that are 10x8 and 12x10

Aside from a clean coop, a dry run is very helpful. Mulch or sand helps provide drier ground in uncovered areas by allowing water to drain below the surface quickly. Bacteria loves a moist environment, so the drier the better to keep nasty bacteria at bay. Avoiding overpopulating the run and coop is important too. Too many chickens in a tight place leads to stress, which equates to all sorts of secondary problems like weak immune systems, fighting and lack of laying as a few examples.

 

[Lizzy733]

Oversize the run where you can... The extra space comes in handy if you need to section it off for any reason. For me, that's revegging the run for summer.
Go nuts with old ladders and pallets, benches, offcuts of fence posts and old logs - they will use all of them over the course of the day