Having moved to a new location, I plan to get about 9 chicks in the spring. My coop is sized for this number of chickens. If the provider sends packing peanuts, I will have too many for the coop. I could give the peanuts away, but if I remember correctly, you cannot identify them until they are almost grown. (what age?) Will overcrowding for that period of time be a problem? We could raise the peanuts for butchering, but there is still the issue of overcrowding for that period of time. Any advice would be appreciated!
In my experience the packing peanuts were MALE White Leghorns. They are hard to justify dressing out to me, unless you have lots of spare feed. I would advertise them on Craigs List and hope someone will want them or I'd dispatch them the day I got them. If they are other breeds you might feed them and sell them off as they age, but they will make your life way hard with the overcrowding and the risks.
You can order from Meyer hatchery, which does not send peanuts, or order from Ideal and check the "NO PACKING PEANUTS" box at checkout... or buy sexed pullets from the feed store. I believe in many places feed stores will let you custom order and just tack it onto their order for the week. To me it is not worth the hassle of getting rid of an extra 10-15 chicks, or raising them when you don't have space in the first place.
I got dark brahma peanuts from ideal. I kept them & have processed half of them. I wish I would have gotten rid of them the day I got them, it sure would have saved on feed!
My original coop is 8' x 8'. I have 3 - 8' roosts in it and a couple of 3' roosts in it. I have had as many as 25 birds in the coop, but during the day they spend it outside and only go into the coop to lay eggs and eat. I have a feeder inside and one outside under a partially covered run in their yard. At about 4 to 6 weeks you should be able to tell they boys from the girls. Here is a pic of some chicks at 6 weeks old.
You can request they not send packing peanuts. Overcrowding can cause major problems. My chicks killed one and scalped two other babies in the brooder.
Thank you all so much! It is great to learn from others' experience! You all confirmed my concerns of overcrowding! I didn't realize I could request NO PEANUTS from Ideal. That may be my answer. Thank you! Thank you! I'm so looking forward to these new chicks!! It will be awhile yet, since we have to start from scratch...fence, etc. and there is other work to be done! I'm hoping I will be able to free range them most of the time. I will have to see how big a problem predators are here. At our previous home, we had a bobcat, neighbor dogs, and a bear!
