Space for 25 BBQ Specials from McMurray plus 9 hens

[Wheeler Farms Chickens]

I have been reading that I need 4ft coop space and 10ft run space for chickens. I am getting combined total of 25 Cornish X Rocks and Cornish Roasters that I can butcher in 2-3 months. I want to treat them well, but wasnt planning on having 250sq ft of run space for them. What can I get by with and still be treating them humanely? I have enough space in the coop because it is 10X10. This is my first outing with chickens and really dont want to screw up.

 

[wava1vaughn]

Hi from Ga. your 10'x10' should be plenty of space while they are growing. You can tell if they are crowded. Hope you have enough roost space for all of them. Good Luck.

 

[TDM]

Quote:
You have read wrong. It is two square feet per bird for housing and 86 square feet per bird in the run. These are OLD rules of thumb before "urban farmers" modified the numbers to appease their guilty conscience.

 

[I-Have-Happy-Hens]

86? do you mean 6-8 or something like that?

 

[OSUman]

Quote:
You wont need any of that required space for the Cornish X (Cornish Roasters are the same thing just a marketing ploy by MMH) a 10x 10 coop will be enough room for them for their short lives.

 

[BoltonChicken]

It is two square feet per bird for housing and 86 square feet per bird in the run.

Yes, this is true for commercial growers. If you are raising chickens to keep and don't want them going insane (more than usual) you need to use 4 sq. ft per bird. More would be better. If you couldn't care less then two square feet would be plenty.​

 

[Emily1220]

Meat birds dont have to have a roost either. They get to heavy to fast and a roost can encourage broken legs.

 

[OSUman]

The most important thing is to make sure they have enough room around the feed and water. Also are the hens full grown or chicks? Because if you put the chicks in with full grown hens you might not have any chicks left.

 

[Wheeler Farms Chickens]

Quote:
No, they are all coming as chicks. I wanted to do a chicken tractor for my 8 hens, but it would have to be huge. I am really disappointed about that. I had downloaded a book by Martin Ashway called "Incredible Chickens" and his spacing is smaller than the general consesus here. I should have just read this forum first.

 

[ragerkid2]

Quote:
You have read wrong. It is two square feet per bird for housing and 86 square feet per bird in the run. These are OLD rules of thumb before "urban farmers" modified the numbers to appease their guilty conscience.

86????