My Lg Fowl breeding pens

[3riverschick]

Quote: Hi,
Do you think one of these 4x8 pens would be big enough for a hen to brood and raise 7 chicks to 8 weeks?
Thanks,
Karen

 

[Pozees]

Chris, thanks for the time and effort you made to post these pics and descriptions, it is very helpful!

 

[mommyoftwo]

Is their s way you could just bulid one stall? I wanting to find some ee to hatch and raise to find different color eggs for my basket. But I would like to use it year around to keep a rooster in while the hems and the other rooster was with the girls.

 

[RedRidge]

Ok Chris, you have been our inspiration.
Thanks so much for sharing... I hope my breeding pens will be finished this weekend.
We used your design as our base model (hope that's ok), and modified it some.
I thought I'd share our progress...
I would also love to know what you do for nesting boxes?

The changes we made... I have 4 pens instead of 3... they are slightly smaller, but will only house pairs so that works fine.
The lower portion of the back will be hinged plywood to allow access to nesting box and a mounted feeder easily.
The middle 2' tall partitions are easily removable so that I can use 2, 3, or all 4 pens as one for use as a grow out pen in the summer.

Now that you've used your pens for a season I'd love to know if you wish you had done anything differently.

 

[Phoenixxx]

Are your chickens normally free-ranged and, if so, how do they take to being confined for these breeding periods? My birds are all free-ranged (the really good fliers are from dawn til dusk, the rest from about 2pm onwards) but one of my BA hens is related to my BA roos. When it comes time, I want to put my best BA roo with the unrelated BA hen and the related hen with an unrelated roo. Just trying to figure out how to go about doing this and if it'll negatively affect them to lose their freedom for a time.

 

[Phoenixxx]

Btw, when is breeding season? Spring? Because my last rooster was "active" year-round and now that my new dominant is nearly grown HE's been going crazy! Young hens not laying just yet, though, but from what I've read it's possible they'll get broody soon after they begin.

 

[RedRidge]

Are your chickens normally free-ranged and, if so, how do they take to being confined for these breeding periods? My birds are all free-ranged (the really good fliers are from dawn til dusk, the rest from about 2pm onwards) but one of my BA hens is related to my BA roos. When it comes time, I want to put my best BA roo with the unrelated BA hen and the related hen with an unrelated roo. Just trying to figure out how to go about doing this and if it'll negatively affect them to lose their freedom for a time.

Mine free range most of the year, but for about 90 days each winter they are confined regardless of whether they are breeding or not.
There is simply nothing to peck at or eat worth the effort... nor do I want my ground scratched at and torn up... my pastures all rest from all livestock over than 90 days period and it does the pastures good and avoids root damage.
The hens really don't mind being moved around... what they don't like is to have their management group switched.
So I try to avoid doing that as little as possible since it seems to get everyone out of whack.
As soon as my breeder hens are chosen, they will go into the breeding pens before the roos just to acclimate.
The roos don't care... Young roos/cockerels are still in groups... some for processing next month, some for potential breeders.
The older roos from the previous few years (if they are fortunate enough to still be around) have their own pen.
Except for choosing which 4 HRIR to breed out of this year's pullets, I already have my other breeding groups chosen and separated... this has happened gradually over the last month.
My HRIR were late hatchers, so I am still watching them... they are not laying yet but are 23 weeks old, so I am expecting eggs any day. I didn't want to divide the group until I got my first egg... then I will divide immediately for quicker acclimation to their new digs.
Roos will be added in Dec.
That will provide fertile eggs/chicks beginning in Jan.
I have a list of people wanting eggs/chicks from two of my three breeds, so I will hatch from each of those two breeds in Jan/Feb to guarantee fertility and egg quality.
Other folks will get their eggs and chicks beginning in March.
I am not selling any of my Rhodebars next years as they still have way too much improvement needed and no one seems to be as willing to cull as deeply as I do.
I don't want to sell low quality birds just because they are a certain breed. We will eat a LOT of Rhodebars next year. LOL

 

[Phoenixxx]

Thanks! So, basically, it's good that I'm thinking about this now rather than later! Well, I guess I'll be taking inventory of what I've got for building materials today then hit the drawing board

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Oh one more thing....here are a few pics of the outside brooders, rooster condo, bantam pens or what ever you want to call them....while I was building them. I started off using up all my broken fence boards and old wood I had lying around. All I bought when I was making them was the wire, the wood for the doors and the metal for the roof.



Thanks for looking,
Chris

I use a similar pen for baby chicks. The floor is 1/4 inch hardware cloth. The back, top, and both ends are sheet tin. The front is 1/2 x 1 inch welded wire or 1 inch chicken wire.

The top is hinged, and the inside is divided into two equal parts by a small piece of 2 inch by 4 inch welded wire. A standard size hen can't go from one side to the other but all the chicks in a pen like this are free to range the entire pen and come or go to the mother as the need for warmth arises. The food and water is placed on the side that the hen can't get into but close enough to the center welded wire divider that she can stick her head through to eat and drink without spilling the chicks' food.

 

[RedRidge]

This is what I use for a brooder and chick pen... we "think" it was an old rabbit hutch (it was in the barn when we bought the place).
So we enclosed the bottom and added removable partitions.
Because I don't brood chicks inside I cover the ends and part of the top with towels at night when I have chicks under a few weeks old and the temps are below freezing.

Water is with bottles and buckets with chicken nipples from the time they are hatched... I never provide water any other way so it's all they know.