Normal Flock Size?

[HS Pye]

I'm with Ridgerunner.....make sure you KNOW how many you want, and make sure you are prepared in advance to house them with enough space. Cramped chickens fight, too much space can cause the chills in winter...etc...I live in the city and our ordinance requires only 6, but as a first time owner I would tell you to not get any more than you are prepared to house, feed and handle. Chickens aren't too time-consuming, but it's easy to go "Oh look how cute they all are!" and soon you've doubled your original decision to only get 3.....lolol. Good luck! The eggs are fantastic and they sure are silly Throw a couple ducks in there, too

And Guineas

.

 

[George S]

I have alot of room .I was planning on 12hen and one rooster .was thinking the American breed.the coop would be (each) 16"x16" x12"high with alot of hey for warmth and less in summer. I have a 20x60 polebarn (not using all for chickens ) also a leantoo that is 10'x60'using for run 10'x30'
Electronic fence for predators and motion sensor lights inside and out for predators.
What I need help with is food what kind and were do I get the chickens from

 

[Phoenixxx]

I have alot of room .I was planning on 12hen and one rooster .was thinking the American breed.the coop would be (each) 16"x16" x12"high with alot of hey for warmth and less in summer. I have a 20x60 polebarn (not using all for chickens ) also a leantoo that is 10'x60'using for run 10'x30'
Electronic fence for predators and motion sensor lights inside and out for predators.
What I need help with is food what kind and were do I get the chickens from

The kind of food all depends on you. Do you care whether you ingest potentially harmful gene- and hormone-altering substances? If not, then any low-cost layer feed will do. If, like many of us here, you are concerned about what goes into your body, then you'll want to source a non-GMO or organic feed. If you are hormone-sensitive (for example, acne problems) then you'll want to avoid anything with soy (most - if not all feeds - contain soy). You can ferment or sprout grain such as barley or seeds like black oil sunflower to give in addition to pre-mixed ration, you can free-range your birds, the options are endless!

I've been using layer mash in the mornings, free-range whenever possible and then sprouts for supper. I ran out of layer mix the other day and I've replaced that with fermented barley and small amounts of sea weed. Since I can't get any soy-free feed where I am and I'd like to have clear skin again, I'm gonna see how it goes without the commercial feeds. So far, it's a bit labour-intensive, more so than I'd like. But, I got chickens so that I could have the healthiest breakfasts possible, so I'm willing to put in the work.

There are a lot of threads here about things like fermenting, growing fodder (sprouts), even farming mealworms! You just have to search

As for where you get your chickens, you can order chicks from hatcheries (search threads here to learn about the different ones), get chicks or young birds from registered breeders, buy hatching eggs and incubate them yourself or you can browse online classifieds such as craigslist or kijiji. Since you're starting fresh, I would suggest ordering day-old chicks or hatching eggs. You'll have a better chance of being disease and parasite-free that way. I started with "second hand" hens and wound up with a crash-course in parasites and disease!

 

[Phoenixxx]

One more thing to consider if you plan on free-ranging: I've found that a small number, 6 to 8 or so, will stick together for the most part. Over a dozen, or even two dozen, and they tend to break up into smaller groups. When I had 23 last summer, I found myself running around like a chicken with its head cut off chasing one group out of one neighbour's yard, another group out of another neighbour's... Eventually I trained them all to "back in the yard! NOW!" and they'd listen. So, if you're free-ranging on less than 2 acres or so, unfenced, without a herding dog, smaller numbers will be MUCH easier to keep an eye on! Thank god I've got cool neighbours, lol!

 

[Sylvester017]

I'm with Ridgerunner.....make sure you KNOW how many you want, and make sure you are prepared in advance to house them with enough space. Cramped chickens fight, too much space can cause the chills in winter...etc...I live in the city and our ordinance requires only 6, but as a first time owner I would tell you to not get any more than you are prepared to house, feed and handle. Chickens aren't too time-consuming, but it's easy to go "Oh look how cute they all are!" and soon you've doubled your original decision to only get 3.....lolol. Good luck! The eggs are fantastic and they sure are silly Throw a couple ducks in there, too

X2 - we started with two day-old Partridge Silkies as pets but wanted an egg layer and added a White Leghorn. One Partridge Silkie was a roo so was re-homed and then took in a Marans pullet. 3 chickens wasn't enough so we added another Silkie pullet to take the place of the Silkie roo we gave away. All went well with 4 chickens until the Marans went ballistic on the newest Silkie and challenged the alpha Leghorn to a duel. Because the 2-lb Silkies didn't have a fair chance in flock politics with a 7-lb bully who was nasty to all, the Marans was the next to be re-homed. Down to 3 chickens again with still only one good egg layer. We group ordered with friends by mail and got 2 Ameraucana pullets and a Buff Leghorn pullet. Both were gradually introduced to the flock after quarantine and after some time in diapers in the house. Now we were up to 6 chickens but only for a short while as one of the Ameraucanas never grew and died shortly after we got her. Now we were down to 5 chickens. All seemed well until the normally sweet gentle White Leghorn came out of her severe moult to re-establish her dominant position in the flock with a vengeance. Had the flock all been LF I wouldn't have interfered in the flock politics but the bantams were in jeopardy being only 2-lbs each. Sadly we re-homed the White Leg to an egg seller who says she's doing fine in a flock of hybrid sexlinks. Well, we are down again to 4 backyard birds that are all docile and under 5-lb but double the amount of chickens from the first two "pet" birds we started with. Of course, for our zoned area, we can't throw in a couple ducks although we would have LOVED to - LOL!

 

[SteveinDallas]

I live in town and have limited space sound I went with four hens. Seems like they keep each other from getting bored, aren't too crowded in a 100 square foot pen, and probably most important, aren't too noisy to where the neighbors complain. My Barred Rock is by far the quietest in the group.
I probably get 20 to 25 eggs a week and we have more than we need. Not in it for the meat, at least not yet. Four works for me.

 

[blondiebee181]

Quote:
Guineas gross me out and they're noisy as hell....

 

[SteveinDallas]

I've had five kinds, they are, from the most quiet to the loudest here's how I'd rank them.....
Plymouth Barred Rock (smart!)
Production Red (curious & brave but not too friendly to newly introduced birds)
Silver Wyandotte (a bit bossy) tied with Americauna (sweet but not the smartest thing out there)
White Leghorn (bold but high strung)
If quiet is critical, I'd go with PBR's

 

[Henrik Petersson]

I've read that if the flock gets bigger than about 20 individuals, the chickens won't be able to remember every flock member, which can be stressful to the chickens… Is this true?

 

[Phoenixxx]

I've read that if the flock gets bigger than about 20 individuals, the chickens won't be able to remember every flock member, which can be stressful to the chickens… Is this true?

I've never heard that! Family friends of ours kept a hobby farm where they raised about 50 chickens at a time, if not more, and the birds' biggest stressors seemed to be the other animals (goats, sheep) when they got excited and, of course, us kids chasing them

I have noticed with my own birds that when you go over ten or so, chickens tend to seperate into smaller groups. I wouldn't worry; just like people, there will be chickens that "like" and "hang out" with some flock members while "snubbing" others. Kinda like high school in a way, actually!

I think the memory thing would probably be chicken-specific. Just like some seem more clever and are easily trained, some may have better memories than others. Also, apparently chickens can't count so whether or not they actually know who everyone (in the flock) is is likely irrelevant.