4 Chickens for a newbie good?

[BLT79]

Hello,
we will hopefully be newbie chicken owners soon. Just need to coax hubby little more! My question with only getting 4 is do I get 4 of all one breed? 3 of one breed and 1 of another? or 2 and 2? Our breed choices from local store are EE's and Red Star. Those are the two breeds I have decided on. Just wondering if 3 Reds will pick on the 1 EE? Thanks so much.

 

[MamaB]

Congratulations! You will love raising chickens! I have in my small flock of 9 hens 3 EE's and 2 red stars...never had a problem with them. They grew up together as sisters! Good luck!

 

[wayne hulgan]

get what you like. we have 2 white leghorns, 1 golden comet, and one production red. we have 2 new little ones not yet included in the flock. when they get a little older we will start to combine them with the other 4. we just got the chicks we liked, it seems to be working out. the different breeds do tend to stay together, but within the flock, so if you see one the others are close. unless one gets lost. have fun and have a happy chicky day.

 

[jackhorn01]

Ultimately, it doesn't matter one bit. You can mix and match however you want. Personally, I like to strive to get at least 2 of each breed. I just like the way they look mixed with at least 2 of each breed. Plus as I'm sure you know, pecking order will be established. Sometimes actual cliques are formed and certain chickens never loose all of the aggressiveness towards certain others. In this case, I find it good to have at least 2 as chickens of the same breed will tend to run together in a crowd. Also when you introduce new ones to your flock once it is established, its good to introduce them in a group. ie if you see a new one you want, and think you may want another one later, get em both. Its hard on a lil one to be the new kid in town all alone.

 

[dretd]

Welcome to chicken raising.

I started out with 2 batches of 3 chicks about 3 months apart=6. Four would be a great number. They are all different breeds and they mixed up just fine. Its fun to have a variety of colors and its easier to name them and know who they are by sight. My EE is near the top of the pecking order so I don't see any problems. The only breed that is a problem child ( a later addition) is my Salmon Faverolles. She gets bullied by the other girls, poor dear.

Speaking of later additions, just be aware that chickens are addicting and that your 4 this year will turn in to more than 4 next year or the year after. I currently have 8. Hatching eggs on order for May. Its called chicken math. One of our chickens died so we had to replace her. But you can't just have one chick so we got two=7. Then we thought it would be fun to hatch our own but when the shipped eggs failed to hatch we had to console ourselves with... more babies=9. You get the idea!

The reason I bring this up is the advice I give new-comers is to always build the hen house larger than you think you need!

Good luck.

 

[BLT79]

Thank you both. I just felt bad with the idea of 1 "oddball" EE. Maybe I will do 2 Red's and 2 EE's. Will I get enough eggs out of that for family of 4 and maybe spread some eggs to family? and neighbors? thanks. We don't eat eggs everyday! Also, I know this isn't the right thread but before I forget, how long are the eggs good for? Need to add that to my chicken notebook! Yes, I have a notebook, for reference throughout my experience and research!

 

[BLT79]

Oh that is what chicken math is about! haha! won't tell hubby about that! ok so I think 2 and 2 will be good. Our coop will def house 4, and probably good for more later on, if chicken math gets the better of me! haha. thanks again!