How much min. ground area should I fence in for 25 chickens?
I am buying 25 baby chickens and converting a 5×7 ft. wood shed into a chicken coop. Any advice on how to construct a coop would also be appreciated. My Dad used to have chickens , so I remember many things about his operation but will appreciate any advice!
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It is possible to raise chickens in extreme confinement, if you cut off their claws and beaks to prevent fighting and fill them with antibiotics to prevent disease. But that would be folly.
Your coop is plenty huge enough, if you let them play in the fenced area during the day. Chickens should only be indoors for sleeping, laying eggs, or shelter from severe weather.
I like to use at least ten square feet per chicken, twenty would be better.
You will have some roosters in that batch of chicks, if half are roosters, you will have to cull it down to one or two or they will cull each other for you. Twelve hens is about right for a rooster.
I keep about a foot of straw or wood chips on the bottom of my pen. It absorbs all the manure, and with the constant scratching and manure it becomes rich black soil in a couple months. I assume that the composting material generates lots of insects and worms, but I never see any because the chickens eat them.
One of the major concerns is adequate ventilation and protection from critters.
LINKS TO FREE COOP PLANS!
http://www.freechickencoopplans.com/
That size is probably fine for chicks but not for adults. That allows 1.4 square feet per adult chicken.
Open the link below and scroll down to see how much coop room and how much pen room per chicken
*********Minimum Space Requirements for Poultry********
http://poultryone.com/articles/housing.html
A Plethora of designs for the coop
http://www.backyardchickens.com/chicken-coop-small.html
Perspective
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/perspective.html
Plot for 8 x 8′ Layer House
15 to 20 Hens
Cutaway View
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/cutaway.html
Side view
http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/poultry/factsheets/designs.html