Questions, questions... how many chicks to raise

[Lins_BE]

Hi all,

My incubator has been bought and tested. Now i still have some question for when the chicks hatch.

I have a brooder of about 5,25ft x 2 ft. How many chicks can i raise in there the first few days/weeks and when should i move them to their outside coop?

Do you all keep the chicks inside the house at first? Or can they go outside in the garden shed during the night and outside during the day when they have a heat plate? If you do keep them inside, until what age is that?

I have an outside run of 26ft x 13ft with 2 night coops of 3,5ft x 3,5ft inside the run. Our chickens are free ranging on 7 acres of Woods and pasture during the day, so they only go in the run at night. If i divide the run in 2 parts, how many chicks could i raise in there with them still having enough space to be happy chicks until they are about 6 weeks old and i introduce them to the rest of the girls and roosters?

When do they normally start roosting at night? My night coops are containers of 3,5ft x 3,5ft. I can put 1 or two roosts in there i think, or could i even put 3 for this depth of coop?

Lots of questions, but i want to do it right, so all comments are welcome!

 

[azygous]

First of all, your dimensions separated by commas are confusing. I may have a stupid brain this morning, but I'm not figuring it out.

You may brood right in the coop if your climate permits. If you fill out your account information as to location, we'd have a clue to climate as we advise you.

Generally, one square foot per baby chick in the first two weeks and double that for the remainder of the brooding period for brooder space. Chicks may begin roosting as young as five or six weeks when taught to do so. Left to their own volition, some don't pick it up until three or four months.

Your run is beautiful, but something over the top can protect against flying and climbing predators. Again, if we knew your location we'd have a clue to predators, too.

 

[Lins_BE]

I’m sorry for the confusion. I’m Belgian, so we are used to square meters and not feet... with .5 I mean 1/2 and .25 is 1/4. Hope that helps. The coop does have a net over it nowand an electric wire on top with concrete tiles around it againstvdigging from foxes and it will have a roof soon, this picture was when it was in progress, the door wasn’t even in yet.