How much room per chook?

Acacia · **Posted:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:17 pm

Hello, I have three 2wk old baby Silkie chicks.

Hopefully at least one of them will turn out to be a girl.

Personality-wise, one is completely different to the others, it also stands differently and has a slightly different shape.
Obviously I could be wrong but I'm thinking I have either one girl and two boys or the other way around. But who knows, and after all, they are Silkies so I suppose it'll be wait and see until one or more start crowing!

Anyway 1) I'd like to know how much space per chook is required for them to live happily?

I plan on either buying a chook tractor or making one soon, but I'm not sure what will be a suitably comfortable minimum size?

Also if only one turns out to be a hen, 2) is it cruel to keep one chook on its own?

3) Is a wooden A frame a better option than metal? I live in suburban Adelaide so it can get very hot in summer.

The chook(s) when grown will be allowed to free range the backyard under supervision of an afternoon and on weekends, but will spend most of their time in the tractor being moved around.

Thankyou.

....edited to say, at the moment the chicks are suitably housed in a box with heat lamp inside my kitchen, 4) at what age can I move them outdoors permanently?

saltandpepper · **Joined:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:52 am **Posts:** 6

Hello I asked the same question and it was 2 large hens for a small coop this is my topic that has lots of good answers viewtopic.php?f=43&t=9302

kwinagi · **Joined:** Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:58 pm **Posts:** 236

an answer to your question 2, YES it is cruel to keep one chook on its own as they are a very social creature, and have a strong social structure which is worked out via their pecking order.

so, if one turns out to be of each sex, i would be looking for at least another pullet to replace the cockerel.

there is little difference between metal and wooden coops, but wooden coops allow the red mite to grow better ( a BAD thing) than metal coops.

in the summer you would need to ensure your tractor was in teh shade, whether it was made of metal or wood.

saltandpepper · **Joined:** Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:52 am **Posts:** 6

Also to some of the wood coops can be eaten by white ants so if you get one make sure its been treated for white ants and wood rot

chookslover · **Joined:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:18 pm **Posts:** 2

So how many large hens would be comfortable in this one? http://www.chickencoopdirect.com.au/med ... w_text.jpg

wickedwings · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 10:29 pm

chookslover,
I have one of those and frankly, unless you are letting the girls out to free range most days or you build an extended run onto it, I wouldn't keep more than 2 large chooks in it. Those chinese made ones are imported and sold by a lot of people, just check out ebay, and are often quoted as suitable for 3-5 chickens but you watch 3 large chooks in there for any length of time and you will quickly see how crowded it is. I think the Vic. and NSW DPI's recommend a minimum of 1 sq.m per large bird.

Blak1 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 01, 2012 9:41 pm

Hi all.
Interested to hear how this coop is going - I bought one off eBay (it got delivered yesterday) before I found this site and it looks depressingly small. I'm looking at Austra Whites, so we're going to alter the coop (extend it sideways to double the width in the 'sleeping area' to about 12 cubic feet (not including the nesting box area) and put it in a double garage-sized enclosed free-range / run in the yard. I'd like four hens, but I've never kept chooks before, so happy to hear all advice! The lady I've made enquiries with says PoL pullets will be available in May, so I've got a little while to get sorted.

The yard space will be half 1800mm colourbond and half doubled 900mm (to 1800) chicken wire. I'm in Canberra, so I'm a little concerned about how the girls will go in winter?

Cheers!

chookslover · **Joined:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:18 pm **Posts:** 2

Thanks wickedwings good to have that knowledge

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