Indoor bantam run?

[Moose0]

Hello chicken enthusiasts!
Bit of a where I'm at and why I'm asking back story, bear with me please

I run a small quail farm out of my garage turned barn, it has 1 aviary style run I built with 6ft high walls and 25sqft of floor space that I have lined with a tarp, sand in most if it 1/3 being pine pellets to one side where their waterer is. There are also Three tortoise enclosures turned breeding pens, sand bedding with small area of pine pellets under the waterers.

Working with this set up I am use to managing the "quail dust" and ventilation in the garage. (So much sweeping )

Having said that I was thinking of making another aviary type pen probably 30sqft in all, sand and pine pellets ~my time tested smell reducing set up.
In this pen I would like to keep 5-6 bantams as a breeding group.

I have a few questions on this mostly if it's plausible.

Since it would be an indoor set up I'm not thinking of a hen house in the run more of just some nesting boxes that could double as bolt holes if they get spooked. Roost bars probably leaned against one of the walls. With a set up like this would 5sqft per bantam be enough? Or is a hen house more of a must have? Do bantams still do best with 2×4 size roost bars like standards or can a smaller 2×2 be used?

I have lights on 14 hours a day from spring to late fall and switch to 8 hours a day for winter months.
-wifi lights this is automated-
Is this a good schedule to keep for Chickens as well?

I leave the doors open to the garage any day there is fair weather to increase ventilation. And keep them locked at night. Garage floor is concrete, walls are cinder block. Double roof with wood inside and a peaked tin over top so there is a small air gap area in-between. 350 sqft of floor space in entire building so the birds don't take up the entire area and pens are not squished together.

What do you all think of bantams being in a setup like this?

Would they be able to be their happy chicken selves?

What about the set up would you modify?

Thanks all for your opinions

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I would stick closer to 4-5 max if that's their whole space. What type of bantam? Some will be much more likely to use the walls of the enclosure too if there are perches/platforms and that will also 'make' a bit more space for them.

 

[Moose0]

I would stick closer to 4-5 max if that's their whole space. What type of bantam? Some will be much more likely to use the walls of the enclosure too if there are perches/platforms and that will also 'make' a bit more space for them.

Cochins most likely tho I'm also considering Orpingtons. I can make the space a bit bigger but 5 is a fine number for what I want. 4 girls 1 roo. The m vs f numbers are very controversial however so I'm not sure if I need an extra girl or two.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Cochins most likely tho I'm also considering Orpingtons. I can make the space a bit bigger but 5 is a fine number for what I want. 4 girls 1 roo. The m vs f numbers are very controversial however so I'm not sure if I need an extra girl or two.

Honestly it will depend on your male. I've had some male's fine with a single female, and others give bare backs even with 9 all to theirself

 

[Logar]

I feel like that would be too small for Cochin bantams. If it was for Seramas I think it would work fine but I wouldn’t give Cochins less than 8 sq feet so that would be 4 birds max which may or may not work out with a roo.

 

[Moose0]

I feel like that would be too small for Cochin bantams. If it was for Seramas I think it would work fine but I wouldn’t give Cochins less than 8 sq feet so that would be 4 birds max which may or may not work out with a roo.

I can go bigger, 8×4 so 32sqft was just the easiest design as I can just make the side walls out of standard ply sheets. I could go as large as and 8×8 but would prefer to keep it under 8x6 as i like having wide walk ways between my pens since I use walking assistive devices.

I would be going with hatching eggs probably around 18 or 24 so I could pick and choose, if my hatch rate is good and re-home any that didn't make the temperament/size or general generics cut. This is how I breed out my quail except I process the ill tempered ones.

But anyway it's a space issue not an always inside issue? I don't want them to be deprived of a happy life that's why I keep all my quail on sand not wire like a lot of breeders. Space I can work with. But if they need to be outside daily it's impossible for me. Maybe 1 or 2 days a week in small run during the spring and fall but otherwise they would be inside 24/7 and I'm unsure if the birds would just waste away. I saw ducks die once in a wire pen they never got to leave when I was a kid and I've been paranoid about making sure animals have a happy environment since

 

[Logar]

I could go as large as and 8×8 but would prefer to keep it under 8x6 as i like having wide walk ways between my pens since I use walking assistive devices.

I would say go as large as you possibly can. The more space the better.

But anyway it's a space issue not an always inside issue?

It is a bit of both. If a chicken could choose (maybe excluding some of the weirdos like silkies) they would choose to be outside 10/10 times. The bugs they find, the weather, the other animals, the natural ground, etc all are constantly changing and Provide tons of enrichment for them helping to keep them from getting bored which is never good. And chickens outside would also have a coop which would increase the space by a decent amount. If you follow the minimum for bantams outside that is 3 sq feet in the coop and 8 sq feet in the run per bird. That is mostly why I think going bigger is better. Even if you have only 8 sq feet per bird in total, the more space you have the more space each bird will have to roam in despite the actual area per chicken staying the same.

At least that is my way of looking at it. Chickens can absolutely be kept inside and be healthy and happy but it just isn’t as ideal.

But how dead set are you on bantam Cochins? There are some smaller types of bantams that could probably work out a bit better in a setup like you are planning.