- Aug 14, 2009
- 188
- 3
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Thanks Bren!!!! Thats a great idea! I have two pens and I will keep the two best roos and switch the best roo from pen to pen. Thanks! Ohh and how big of a pen do you keep your 5 hens in?
It depends on where I have room to put them in. The smallest area would be 6 x 5 roughly. That is probably larger than you need. My large enclosed pens are cut in half and thirds with portable pet fences. I know you have seen those gold colored ones you can buy. I pick them up when I find them used to shape as I need. They are 24 inches high. Tall enough to nearly always keep the silkies in and I can step over. I have one big 10 x 20 pen divided up into 5 areas. Then I have another 10 x 10 dog kennel pen divided in three areas. One is nearly half the pen while the other two are smaller. In each one of those I do have a cockerel right now with 5 or 6 hens/pullets. The largest ones also has much younger birds not yet mature and able to blend in.
I have two areas with whites that are 10 x 5 within a large 10 x 10 enclosed pen. I move one very good cockerel from one to the other. On one side I have 5 show girl hens and on the other I have 4 white silkie hens. I always breed silkie to showgirl so this work well with one guy. These are fairly large and I will probably move some young whites in there soon to grow out. I always have to watch to be sure none of the younger birds are being bullied and are eating and drinking like they should. So it can be a much smaller area for breeding or if I have the extra room they get a BIG pen until I need grow out space for the started chicks.
The nice thing about my portable fencing is I can take it down...divide it more if I need more areas to seperate ages or colors for breeding. Silkies are so easy to work with since they rarely get over a very high divider. I do have to rearrange at times with I have a really agressive cockerel/rooster who insists on taking on more than his assigned share.
It depends on where I have room to put them in. The smallest area would be 6 x 5 roughly. That is probably larger than you need. My large enclosed pens are cut in half and thirds with portable pet fences. I know you have seen those gold colored ones you can buy. I pick them up when I find them used to shape as I need. They are 24 inches high. Tall enough to nearly always keep the silkies in and I can step over. I have one big 10 x 20 pen divided up into 5 areas. Then I have another 10 x 10 dog kennel pen divided in three areas. One is nearly half the pen while the other two are smaller. In each one of those I do have a cockerel right now with 5 or 6 hens/pullets. The largest ones also has much younger birds not yet mature and able to blend in.
I have two areas with whites that are 10 x 5 within a large 10 x 10 enclosed pen. I move one very good cockerel from one to the other. On one side I have 5 show girl hens and on the other I have 4 white silkie hens. I always breed silkie to showgirl so this work well with one guy. These are fairly large and I will probably move some young whites in there soon to grow out. I always have to watch to be sure none of the younger birds are being bullied and are eating and drinking like they should. So it can be a much smaller area for breeding or if I have the extra room they get a BIG pen until I need grow out space for the started chicks.
The nice thing about my portable fencing is I can take it down...divide it more if I need more areas to seperate ages or colors for breeding. Silkies are so easy to work with since they rarely get over a very high divider. I do have to rearrange at times with I have a really agressive cockerel/rooster who insists on taking on more than his assigned share.
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