How many chickens per coop size? Rooster/Hen Ratio?

Welcome!

I've ordered from Ideal Poultry in Texas, and Meyer Hatchery here in Ohio. I've had good luck with both!

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You will find that you only need one nest for each 3 or 4 birds and may have some nests never or seldom used. I did 5 1/2 sq ft per bird for my coop with nest box access inside only. It is raised and has linoleum flooring with deep litter over that. I use poop planks under the roosts and recycle the poop into compost daily, and in cool months daily directly into our garden. Coop is not stinky in any weather except very first thing in AM when I let them out. It is odor free in less than 10 min every day as long as poop planks are cleaned off and poop removed via 30 gallon plastic tub kept on site for that purpose.

I did 75 - 80 sq ft per bird for the run, so mine is 2000 sq ft. It is 4x6 welded wire set in cement and 6 ft tall. It has a fence charger and 4 courses of hot wire around it from 8" to 42" in height. The coop is well ventilated and is 8 x 16. It has one double hung sash facing east, one west. It has two awning type windows facing south with entrance door in center south. North wall is blank and has nest boxes on it at 24" ht. It has 2 guillotine-type pop doors that are closed all night every night. I set a turbine vent in center of roof, two end gable vents, and continuous soffit vents front and rear. Windows are open most days and in winter, down to a crack overnight. Mine do not free range unless I can be there the whole time. Maybe late in day, an hour before dark.

I always supplement their diet with fresh raw greens of all types and fresh cut grass and did that from day 1. (mine started laying at 16 weeks, and at 20 weeks I was at 4 to 5 eggs daily) I use grass clippings and leaves for litter all year. I would prefer wood chips, but currently cannot get those for free.

I read BYC for tips all of the time and so should you. I ordered my 4 breeds from Meyers of Ohio, and found them to be very helpful and knowledgeable . I ended up with Black Austrolorpes, Buff Comets, Barred Rocks, and Rhode Island Reds. The comets were laying for a full month before the other breeds even started. All have a good record for egg production, even in wintertime. BA and BC were more shy than RIR and BR. Barred Rocks the friendliest. All 4 breeds sweet natured.

Ihope you are as blessed as I have been in this fun hobby/past time.

Happy to meet you! Glad you're here! Hope you enjoy your stay with us!!

You've already gotten some good advice space-wise. If you plan on extra room, (the 4 sq ft/bird or a little extra) you can add in a few extra birds if all things go well and not stress either the birds or yourself. I see you are in a relatively warm area, so your birds won't be locked indoors for days on end due to blizards and such, most chickens will go outside in rainy weather, and don't mind cold of the sort you'll be getting, so you should be pretty ok. so, if you want 20 birds, and you build a coop that's say, 8x10... that's the 4sq ft. of course, you'll need some room to store feed and supplies, so don't forget that... The amount of room or land you have will determine how large you want to go.

I'd bet that if you put in more than 4 nest boxes you'll have lots of wasted space. They'll probably all pick one or two boxes and wait in a line to use the same ones.

Ten hens to one rooster is generally considered a decent ratio, but that's not a Rule with a capital "R". It's sort of a guideline. Some flocks have much higher ratios and do fine others have lower. It's a decent rule of thumb to go by though.

Your breed choices determine some things about your set up. Standard or larger hens need lower roosts, banties can fly very high up, large birds can hop up to higher roosts, but can hurt themselves coming down if the roosts are too high. They're heavier and clumsier. The two types can be mixed together usually, but since they have different preferences, you just need to be aware.

If possible you may want some seperate area to put a broody hen, or an injured bird as well as some place to put young birds that aren't ready to mix with older chooks yet, but can be outside. If you are going to have a run, it's kinda nice (not necessary) to have two sections or two runs so you can seperate them at times. There's lots to think of, most aren't requirements, chickens generally do very well with the absolute bare necessities, food, water, dry shelter.

Here's a chart that has lots of info about breeds. Everyone will tell you what they like, but each situation is different. http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/dual.html

//edit// I also have had great experiences with Meyers Hatchery in Ohio. http://www.meyerhatchery.com/get_dept_1.htm as far as I know all the ones mentioned so far are reputable busineses and are good to deal with.