Pasture Pen sizing

[jasuus]

Hello -

What is the recommended sizing for pasture shelters for meat birds within a 40x40ft electro fence? How many birds can this http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Building+a+Pasture+Shelter.html shelter accommodate?

 

[cstronks]

Jasuus,

3-4 square feet is recommended for bird. If they are being raised for meat, you might be able to get away with 2 sq. ft per, but I would stick to the general guideline of at least 3. Is the electro fence to keep the chickens in, or to keep predators out? If it is just for keeping them in, then you are overdoing it...chickens do not need to be contained with electric fencing. Predators are a different story. Electro-fencing is effective in that regard. What is the square footage on the link? You can't really eyeball it from the picture. I would guess 20 birds, but that is without any facts...I could be wrong. Interesting design though!

 

[chfite]

From reading the article, I concluded that the bottom of the A-frame is about 64 square feet. Using the 4 square feet of space for each contained bird would allow for 16 chickens.

Chris