How many Australorps can i fit in my cage?

[tombokinz]

I am going to get a few Australorp chicks. I have a 21 inch by 35 inch cage and I was wondering how many of them I could comfortably fit in it. When we get them, they will be a day old and we will keep them until they are fully grown. Once they are fully grown, we are sending them to a farm. Thanks for answering!

[wildwood]

At one day old you'd easily get 50 or more in as they need to huddle under the heatlamps to keep warm and the more chicks there are, the warmer they will be. If you're going to keep them until fully grown, the cage would, in my opinion, even be too small to keep one in... although 4 could live in there but the feathers will be in very poor condition.

[tombokinz]

Thank you so much but now that we have decided to get 8 chicks and keep them till fully grown, we are just going to get some chicken wire and make a home made cage. I do not want to abuse them in any way so we are going to give them a 56 inch by 48 inch cage. Thanks again!

[Kleiber]

A cage that size for 8 chickens is FAR TOO SMALL. Don't you have a garden where you can put a chicken house and a run for them? Australorps grow quite big. I must admit, I've never heard of anyone keeping chickens in a cage before (apart from a crazy French woman I once met, who had a pet Light Sussex cockerel in a cage in the house - but even she let the thing out during the day, to run round the living room!!), most of us have them in runs, not tiny cages. Chickens need space to scratch around and do what comes naturally to them. What do you think Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has been making all the fuss over battery chickens for???