Seperate boilers and layers in brooder?

[bigern26]

I am looking at ordering my first chicks in a week or so.

I am thinking about getting 4 Rhode Island Reds, 2 or 3 Barred Rock or Red Star and maybe a dozen Jumbo Cornish X.

I am going to build a brooder and am wondering if I need to build 2. I am thinking I need to separate the layers from the meat birds because of the growth rate and different
protein value in the starter.

If so what is a good size for each brooder and if not what is the best size for the single brooder?

 

[jlmissouri]

All my chicks go into the same brooder after hatching. From there the ones that grow faster are moved into different brooders, keeping the size about the same in each brooder. I only feed one starter feed to all my chicks though, and if you want to feed different feeds you will have to seperate or they will obviously eat whatever they want.

You wouldn't need much space to start, but the chicks will grow fast. I use a 40 gallon mineral bucket at the start for up to 20 +/- chicks.