50 chicks too many??

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Some days I wish the same thing.

Everyone is right when they say it is a lot of work. It really is. And you have to be dedicated, have the space to keep everyone safe and secure, have the resources for coops, feed, etc and have the time, patience and heart to care for a lot of animals. They depend on us 24/7 and at no time can we use the excuses that we are too tired to care for them, not feeling well enough to care for them or put the chores off until another day.

I currently have about 130 chickens and about 200 animals TOTAL and I am the only person who cares for them. In the past, I have had up to 200 chickens at one time. It is a part time job but it's worth every minute.

So, if you have the time, space, resources, and energy to care for that many, then go for it but be prepared for all of the work.

Wow you do have alot to take care of every day....I am by myself and have several dogs and more cats and chickens and I get overwhelmed and Forget about the expense, OMG it's never ending, when my dogs/cats have something wrong it's never an easy fix, its a trip or 2 or 3 to Cornell, they are killing me.....I guess out of everyone the chickens are the easiest to care for but put them along with all the others and it's really tough....but you get the prize for how many to care for by yourself !! Good luck with all those critters

You are absolutely right. It is NEVER ENDING.

I forgot about my 12 feral cats that come and go. I have worked to make sure that my set up for all of my animals works for me as far as cleaning, living quarters, etc.

I have.............
1. 12 chicken coops (Raised open air coops and free standing coops made out of recycled wood and tin. I'm a big recycler, so I don't spend much on materials.)
2. 2 chicken houses with 25 nesting boxes (away from the coops. The hens go to a different location to lay their eggs.)
3. 20 brooders (You have to be prepared for as many broody hens as possible.)
4. 70 waterers and feeders (They have to be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis.)
5. 6 chicken runs

And this list doesn't include things that I have for my pea fowl, sheep, goat, turkeys, ducks, geese and rabbits.

When I arrive home from my 8am - 5pm full time job, I begin my farming job from 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM. Go to bed, wake up and start it all over again at 5:00 AM. Fun Fun Fun.

 

[AlienChick]

I originally wanted 50 chicks, too.

I decided to start off with about 25 chicks of a mix of the breeds I am interested in.

I'm so glad I decided to get a smaller amount cuz now I know which breeds I REALLY like!

I can get more of them later.

I have an 8x12 coop and they all seem to have plenty of room.

They free range during the day.


I would say start out with a smaller number of chicks cuz it's way easier to ADD than it is to get rid of unwanted ones.

 

[silkiechicken]

I find the larger the bunch of chicks I grow up at one time, the harder it is to play with each of them so they like you. Batches of 25 birds will come running up the same as a batch of 5, but the batch of 5 will let you handle them more because you could spend more individual time with them. Depends on your goals of finding the breed you like the best. Best layers, best looking, or best friends with you.

 

[Netherworldtaken]

There's a too much?

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

No one has mentioned how much they eat. In ONE pen I have about 20 sixteen week olds and we are going through a 50# every week. (7-8 days).


I second the "it's A LOT" of work...


50 is going to be WAY different than 9.


I started with 11 and that was a lot.


Biggest "batch" I have done was 20 and that's A LOT of work...

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
They surely do eat a lot. I am fortunate that I found a mill that I purchase about 2,000 lbs of feed from every other month and the feed averages $6.00 a bag per 50 lb bag. So it's not as costly for me because I buy the feed in bulk. Most cities don't have feed mills.

 

[Dobela]

We started with 10. They were so easy. Not a lot of work involved. Then almost a month later we let our son get 32 more for a total of 42 birds. Well, the 31 still in the brooder have actually outgrown it and they are just 2 weeks old. The brooder is 3 ft by 4 ft by 2 ft. The amount of food they are going thru is almost scary. And the amount of water. We just finished the coop a couple of weeks ago (12x12), well, the walls are up and the floor is down and we have a roof and doors, but we have so much more to do. The older chicks are needing a place to roost but they are so enough older than the younger ones we can't blend them yet. We need to divide the space some, we need to put up a roost, the wire we ordered for the run has not arrived yet...

The expense has jumped much more than we expected. Our feeders and waters were perfect for 10 chicks but way too small for 30+. The amount of pine shavings we have now gone thru is outrageous. The amount we have to clean is tiring. We have to buy more and more and more. We have invested easily $1000 so far with no eggs in sight for months.

Start small. Raise them all the way to adulthood. Then, next spring look at how well that is working and how much money/space/time you have.

 

[Germangirlygirl]

Quote:
I figured that mine will probably start laying in around October, so I know what you mean when you are feeding them and getting nothing in return for a while, but I guess it will be fun to watch and learn

 

[CrazyCatLady76]

I would wait till the ones you have get bigger and you have a better idea of what's involved before getting anything like that many chicks. Right now they're really easy--change the water a few times a day, fill the feeder, scoop the tiny little poops. Three weeks from now, it's going to be very different. They're three-four times the size you have now, so they eat and drink three times as much and poop 10 times as much.

No joke. I have six three-week Golden Comets, and I clean nearly as much muck out of their brooder as I scoop out of my two adult cats' litterboxes. I was a vet tech for 10 years, and pound for pound these are the poopingest critters I have ever taken care of.

 

[mdbokc]

Hmmmm......the OP has never commented after #5.