keeping broilers in the garage?

[PAgirlinID]

Would it be possible for me to grow out a few meat birds if I kept them in the garage with a heat lamp? Would the smell be too much, even with the garage door cracked up a bit? How much room would they really need? If I built a 4x4 box would that be enough for 2 birds?

 

[MontanaMomma]

If your chickens do not have access to a run then allow around 10 square feet per bird. Anything smaller and they may eat each other, themselves and any eggs they manage to produce. Your garage, a heat lamp and a large Tupperware container would suffice until about 5 weeks. Beyond that, it gets more complicated. The smell isn't what you should be concerned about. If you raise your chickens correctly, then smell will not be a problem. Check out the Learning Center link!

 

[SmokinChick]

4x4 is 16 sq ft. more then enough room. Don't forget the feeder and water will take up room also. I had 36 in a 6x8 for 4 weeks. Yes it started to smell within a day of changing the litter. 8 of them were layers though. At 4 weeks the CX were 3 lbs+/-. My garage gets pretty hot during the day. I also installed a cheap window fan, big help with smell and heat.