Pheasant brooder size

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: I'm getting started raising pheasants and I am having trouble figuring out what size brooder I need. : One book (Raising Game Birds - Scheid) recommends 4 square feet per bird (or 1/4 a bird per square foot) up to the age of 6 weeks. : The I look at a game bird brooder pen in the Cutler Pheasant Supply catalog and their pen is only 36 inches x 30 inches and they say it can hold 50 pheasants. Seem's so small and I don't want to deal with cannabalism, but I like the idea of the drop pan, screens, heater built in, clean up, etc. Here's a link to it http://www.gqfmfg.com/p2.asp?login=&orderid=&userid=&catid=7&productid=99 : Other internet articles I have read say you can even use a wash tub or a dog cage. Another article recommends 3/4' to 1' per bird. : I am only raising 35 birds. Obviously the more space the better, but I do not have a lot of space. My current plan is to make one using a sheet of plywood (8' x 4' = 32 square feet) as a base by adding walls and round corners, with 1 red bulb hanging heat lamp. : Any advice would be appreciated. Does anyone have a brooder design that they could share with me? How important is it to have a wire bottom and dropping pan? Or should I just spend $131 and buy the Cutler Supply commercial brooder now because I will eventually learn that these make it a lot easier?

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