How much yard space do you need for raising a handful of these?
I'm going to post pics of my entire setup from egg to table if you'd like to keep an eye out or subscribe.
You can fit 30 chicks in something like a standard rubbermaid tote, easy.
As adults, the answer is a little more complex. You want 1 male per 3-6 females. Any more males will really really really wear down the ladies. So let's assume you have however many at the above ratio. You can easily keep 3.5 birds per square ft if they were all hatched together. If you combine groups of adults, you'll want to combine similar numbers. Adding 1 or 2 adults to an existing covey will lead to bullying.
3.5 per square foot is only true if they are on hardware cloth. If you prefer bedding, 1 per square ft. A 2ft x 2ft hutch with 1/2" hardware cloth can easily house 12-14 birds. There are other factors, but if you're thinking about buying some, this is a good rule of thumb.
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