aliciaFarmer
Songster
This coming late winter/early spring we will be venturing into raising meat birds for the first time, but I'm having a difficult time finding recommendations on coop/housing size. We won't be doing Cornish -- either starting with Rangers or even the Meyer's "fry pan bargain" of solely mixed cockerels. They will have their own coop, separate from my other hens and roos, in a space I'm in the process of building myself. Currently it's 4x8' with a 4x4' loft but I'm considering enlarging it. All of my chickens and ducks are let out 10-20 minutes before official sunrise and put back in around sunset so will never be cooped up in the day. The meat birds will have about 1500sf to free range in (the fenced half of my garden area that isn't yet planted -- they will help to prep it). Since we'll be processing between 12 and 16 weeks I presume they can have less inside space than my laying/breeding flock but I also don't want to cram them in or be inhumane. For those experienced in raising birds for meat, how many cocks do you feel could comfortably live (or sleep, essentially) in that amount of space? 32sf main floor and 16sf loft.
I was planning on starting small, like 16 to 24ish birds (especially since we'll surely have others to process from our 28 layers/breeders) but want other's opinions before I order them.
Thank you so much.
I was planning on starting small, like 16 to 24ish birds (especially since we'll surely have others to process from our 28 layers/breeders) but want other's opinions before I order them.
Thank you so much.
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