I'm working out the back story of a flying castle run by a king who has a squadron of 200 air cavalry. All the knights ride hippogriffs: head and wings of large eagles, bodies of horses.

Horses eat oats. Eagles eat meat.

How do I calculate how large the grounds surrounding the flying castle need to be, to grow enough oats and to supply enough meat (lamb? pork? goat?) to keep the mounts fed?

My intent for the flying castle is not that it is a battleship. My intent is that there is a hemisphere of land which flies, and the castle sits in the center. The land supports the castle inhabitants (a thousand people) with crops. So, oats could be grown on the flying piece of rock around the castle proper.

Technology level and tone is Age of Enlightenment with some magic. So, roughly 1730 to 1750.

Edit: I'm asking for help calculating the resources needed to feed the mounts. I have an idea of how much land surrounds the castle to feed the thousand inhabitants inside: a radius of two miles, mostly fields with some small forests and hills. The lands around the castle have enough resources (fields) to feed the inhabitants. The castle can send parties down to trade for resources and to forage. I'm trying to work out what can be provided locally and what will be a problem. The castle is not a military team; it's a small town with a normal population distribution of a thousand people.

I'm working out the back story of a flying castle run by a king who has a squadron of 200 air cavalry. All the knights ride hippogriffs: head and wings of large eagles, bodies of horses.

Horses eat oats. Eagles eat meat.

How do I calculate how large the grounds surrounding the flying castle need to be, to grow enough oats and to supply enough meat (lamb? pork? goat?) to keep the mounts fed?

My intent for the flying castle is not that it is a battleship. My intent is that there is a hemisphere of land which flies, and the castle sits in the center. The land supports the castle inhabitants (a thousand people) with crops. So, oats could be grown on the flying piece of rock around the castle proper.

Technology level and tone is Age of Enlightenment with some magic. So, roughly 1730 to 1750.

Edit: I'm asking for help calculating the resources needed to feed the mounts. I have an idea of how much land surrounds the castle to feed the thousand inhabitants inside: a radius of two miles, mostly fields with some small forests and hills. The lands around the castle have enough resources (fields) to feed the inhabitants. The castle can send parties down to trade for resources and to forage. I'm trying to work out what can be provided locally and what will be a problem. The castle is not a military team; it's a small town with a normal population distribution of a thousand people.

Second Edit: while the castle might be five hundred feet or less from the surface, and be able to forage on the planet in times of peace, I'm trying to put together a plan for feeding the hippogriffs in times of war, when forage is not possible and the castle is over the ocean or the frozen north.

I'm working out the back story of a flying castle run by a king who has a squadron of 200 air cavalry. All the knights ride hippogriffs: head and wings of large eagles, bodies of horses.

Horses eat oats. Eagles eat meat.

How do I calculate how large the grounds surrounding the flying castle need to be, to grow enough oats and to supply enough meat (lamb? pork? goat?) to keep the mounts fed?

My intent for the flying castle is not that it is a battleship. My intent is that there is a hemisphere of land which flies, and the castle sits in the center. The land supports the castle inhabitants (a thousand people) with crops. So, oats could be grown on the flying piece of rock around the castle proper.

Technology level and tone is Age of Enlightenment with some magic. So, roughly 1730 to 1750.

I'm working out the back story of a flying castle run by a king who has a squadron of 200 air cavalry. All the knights ride hippogriffs: head and wings of large eagles, bodies of horses.

Horses eat oats. Eagles eat meat.

How do I calculate how large the grounds surrounding the flying castle need to be, to grow enough oats and to supply enough meat (lamb? pork? goat?) to keep the mounts fed?

My intent for the flying castle is not that it is a battleship. My intent is that there is a hemisphere of land which flies, and the castle sits in the center. The land supports the castle inhabitants (a thousand people) with crops. So, oats could be grown on the flying piece of rock around the castle proper.

Technology level and tone is Age of Enlightenment with some magic. So, roughly 1730 to 1750.

Edit: I'm asking for help calculating the resources needed to feed the mounts. I have an idea of how much land surrounds the castle to feed the thousand inhabitants inside: a radius of two miles, mostly fields with some small forests and hills. The lands around the castle have enough resources (fields) to feed the inhabitants. The castle can send parties down to trade for resources and to forage. I'm trying to work out what can be provided locally and what will be a problem. The castle is not a military team; it's a small town with a normal population distribution of a thousand people.