Introducing Meat Birds to the Homestead

[Cgardad]

I have been homesteading for the last 2 years and want to now try my hand at some meat birds but am having issues finding answers to space needed to build my additional coop. I am looking to start with about 20 meat birds but want to go up to about 52 as my goal number (+/-). there is alot of information out there in books and blogs but have 2 simple questions I am hoping someone can answer. 1st - Is a 12x12 coop (144 square feet & only meat birds) sufficient in size? 2nd - Will they need a run or no since they are short term life expectancy?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

A run won't hurt them. That is probably enough space to get started. If you choose Cornish Cross, the predominant meat bird, they won't do much but sit by the feeder but I still like to get them outdoors. If you get tight on space, you can butcher by 3.5 weeks as Cornish game hens to make more room.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcomed to the forum from Louisiana, glad you joined.

Is a 12x12 coop (144 square feet & only meat birds) sufficient in size? 2nd - Will they need a run or no since they are short term life expectancy?

I assume you are talking about the Cornish X and not Rangers or male dual purpose birds. They grow so fast part of this depends on when you butcher them. And we all have different criteria for what is acceptable. We house and raise them different ways. In my opinion that would be enough room for 20 but not 52. They are still chickens so they need a certain amount of room to interact without killing each other but they also poop a lot. They eat so much to grow that fast so they have to poop. It can really build up compared to other chickens, which can make it a health risk. It can be hard to keep it dry.

I like the idea of a trial run of 20. That way you can make your own decisions based on what you see. I'll toss out some thoughts so you can customize it to your methods and observations.

Try it with 20. If you decide you need more room be prepared to build a run section whatever size you think you will need before you go to 52. Obviously you don't need roosts or nests in that building, all you are building is a shelter.

Instead of raising 52 at a time consider two batches, one in the spring and one in the fall. That's less to deal with both raising them and butchering them. When they are ready to butcher you have a timeline to follow or they can run into medical problems. It can take time to butcher that many. Do you have storage space for that much meat? If you have a power outage are you in danger of losing all that meat. The main reason I spread mine out is that freezer space is precious when the garden and orchard are coming in. One downside is that when you are raising them you pretty much have to stay on the homestead (limited travel) but you are probably doing that anyway.

 

[Anime2lover]

I have been homesteading for the last 2 years and want to now try my hand at some meat birds but am having issues finding answers to space needed to build my additional coop. I am looking to start with about 20 meat birds but want to go up to about 52 as my goal number (+/-). there is alot of information out there in books and blogs but have 2 simple questions I am hoping someone can answer. 1st - Is a 12x12 coop (144 square feet & only meat birds) sufficient in size? 2nd - Will they need a run or no since they are short term life expectancy?

The general concensus for us is about the same as egg layers. When we get meat birds, they get housed in the same coop as our egg layers. The egg layers free range everyday so we don't need to worry about them gaining to much weight. That being said, their dual purpose breeds anyway so even if they do gain a little more weight it is fine.

 

[Geena]

The housing you'll need depends almost entirely on your location/weather. Broilers generate a LOT of heat and poop ( ammonia). They very easily suffer from heat exhaustion and do best with lots of fresh air. Raising them entirely in a building without a run is not ideal unless you happen to live in a very cold climate. If anything I would do the opposite and raise them in a predator proof, covered run instead of a coop.

 

[imacowgirl2]

12’x12’ is going to be difficult to keep clean with 20 meatbirds — how much time/effort are you wanting to spend cleaning? If you add a run, I think the 12x12 coop would be sufficient for 20-30 birds as most of the daytime poop and feed/water mess will be outside in the run, and you would have less cleaning. For 52 birds, 12x12 will likely not be sufficient, unless you are able to dedicate quite a bit of time to cleaning, and even then it might not be sufficient.

For our meatbirds (New Hampshires that I process at 14-16 weeks old), I just started on a new coop and run. The run is 20’x42’, and the coop will be 8’x8’. I plan to have anywhere from 4-20 birds at a time, average of 10-15, in various stages of growth, so the coop is right on the minimum size recommended…however, I feel it will work since I won’t ever have 20 full grown birds at any time. My run is very generous in size, but that’s because I don’t plan to free range this flock and I want the permanent members of the flock to have plenty of room to move around and forage as much as they can (the older hens, when out with my layer flock, free range pretty far with the layers , so no free ranging will be an adjustment for them).

 

[Morrigan]

I agree that, if possible, put in an outdoor run. You and your birds will be happier for it.

If you don't have room for an outdoor run, I wouldn't raise more than 20 birds at a time. I might even go smaller -- say 15 birds. I would also make sure your indoor coop has lots of windows and ventilation. The more the better.

When I raised cornish cross, I housed them in an 8x8 shed during the night only. Starting at around 3 weeks, I would put their food outside in the morning and as soon as they left the coop, I would shut them out of it. This gave me a chance to clean out their coop and let it air out. I would have a hefty amount of soiled straw each morning to work into the compost. It was a lot of droppings and the coop was very . . . fragrant . . . each morning before it got cleaned out.

I found the 8x8 coop was getting very crowded for 20+ birds as they neared the 8 week mark. When I had 25+ birds, I needed to start butchering the largest ones earlier than I wanted just to make space. I honestly could not have imagined trying to clean out the coop while they were still in it, and dealing with all the day time droppings accumulating in the coop as well.

 

[Acre4Me]

They need shade, bc they can overheat easily. They do not roost, so no need for planning for that. They need to stay dry, so if you use the covered pen idea, make sure that rain doesn’t blow in - cover side of prevailing winds. Make sure that a raccoon cannot reach in thru the wire to behead them. They will rest/sleep near to the wire, so add some tighter wire (1/2”?) to prevent raccoon hands from accessing the birds at night.

We raise meat birds in a permanent covered pen with wood up about 2’ then it’s wire. They stay safe and shaded. We usually raise about 20 in a 6’x11’ space, and it works well. The pen is 2x that size, but can be opened up or divided in half, and we usually divide it in half. Feed in 2 places (hanging feeders), water in 2 places, hanging heat lamp when younger. We put down clean shavings. They stir up the shavings, and we replace the shavings a couple of times before butchering. Yes, they poop a lot, so you need to keep an eye on that. Although the space would be too tight with regular chickens, meat birds don’t act like regular chickens. If you want more active meat birds buy Rangers - longer time to butcher around 16 weeks for a nice carcass. If you are going for fast feed to muscle conversion, then Cornish cross are what you want, and they can live in smaller spaces as long as you manage the poop.

 

[gooseapplefarms]

If you're limited on coop size, break up your birds into smaller batches. You don't want to have to do 50 birds in one weekend anyway. If you do 25, and then in 4 weeks do another 25, by the time the smaller birds are ready to go into the big coop, the big birds are going into the freezer.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I am looking to start with about 20 meat birds but want to go up to about 52 as my goal number (+/-).

I thought we needed 52 birds a year as well (eating one per week), but that has not turned out to be the case. Since I parted out the carcasses to freeze, I found we actually only need about half that --- or less. If you're thinking of CornishX, those birds are MEATY. From four birds, I would package and freeze like this: 4-6 pks breast fillets or strips, 2 pks thighs, 1 pkg drumsticks, 1 pkg wings, 2 pkgs stewmeat & necks. That's 10-12 meals for a family of 4 from 4 birds. If we baked or roasted one whole, it would feed us for a couple of days. Think about it.

1st - Is a 12x12 coop (144 square feet & only meat birds) sufficient in size?

I think so, but it depends on how much effort you want to expend in cleaning up the mess. These birds are eating and pooping machines. The mess they make is incredible.

I raised 20-25 at a time, keeping them in the run during the day and only allowing them into the "coop" (really just a shed) at night. The shed was 4' x 8'. FRIGGING TINY for that many birds, and I won't do that again. What was I thinking?!? Had to clean all the straw/chips/hay/whatever out every day and replace. Near butcher time, they would cram in there to sleep, wall-to-wall, with no room to walk about whatsoever. I had to herd them inside in batches, so they'd go to the back of the shed and make room for the next batch to herd in, and then the next. Nightmare.

Imagine it: The body of a CornishX bird, at 8 weeks, laying down (which they will do about 95% of the time), will fully occupy about 1 sq ft of floor space. With your planned coop, 144 sq feet will give each of 20 birds about 7 sq ft each. Not bad at all, even with the mess. Might get away with cleanout every 2nd or 3rd day if you keep them out in the run during the day. If you do 52 birds, that's 2-3/4 sq ft each. Pretty damn crowded, no room to walk really, and a whole lot to clean up every day.

How's your back holding up?

2nd - Will they need a run or no since they are short term life expectancy?

Absolutely. If you don't plan a run, then I'd raise no more than about 10-15 at a time inside the coop 24/7. With a run, you can raise more at a time. You can lock them out of the coop during good weather, and they'd get the benefit of sunlight (vitamin A), bugs, grass, weeds, seeds, worms, and anything else they find. Plus, feeder/waterer mess stays outside. Half of their poop mess stays outside. Healthier birds, less cleanup.

Here's one of the batches I raised in that run and tiny shed, about 25 birds here: