Pen size question

[kssilkiemama]

I have a question...I have my silkies inside my chicken house which is 12' x 30' with brick floors and the runs are 4' x 6' x 6'...So they are big enough to walk and stand in. My question is, can I put a pair of silkies in the rabbit cages you buy from the farm store and stack them? Is it enough room for 2? The size of the rabbit pens are 2'x2'x 18". I would like to put pairs in there but it just doesn't seem like enough room to me. I would like to separate some breeding pairs that way. Thank you in advance for your information!

 

[QueenMisha]

It's not really ideal - wire cages don't offer great opportunity for natural behaviors such as dust bathing or foraging/scratching - and 2x2 is pretty small. BUT if it was just for the breeding season (a couple months) and you offered a small kitty litter box to allow dustbathing and limited to one pair per cage, it shouldn't be too detrimental to them. I personally have to use similar small spaces for my breeding operations because we live in bear country, so housing birds in anything non-bear proof more than 50 feet away from the house is asking for trouble. I currently have 8 Silkie and Silkie cross hens under my porch in a 4x5 run and 3 Booted Bantam pullets on my back porch in a 1.5x3 rabbit hutch.