Chicken Math, when to subtract?

[Cturber]

I am pretty new to chickens and have found that chicken math is a real thing. The Plan was to start with some good variety and figure out what breeds I love and what I don’t love then go from there. I have 25 girls. 4 1 yr old hens and 21 14wk old pullets ( I don't see any signs of cockerels) Of 11 different breeds. I have a 10 X 16 coop and 1/2 acre run. The Coop is split into a can be fully closed area and an open air area. They have free access to the run all day long. I find my girls all roost For the night in the fully enclosed side. They do the opposite during the day. This makes the chicken math part of me say, “they are only using half of the coop, plenty of space left”. I am also having no issues like feather picking, bad poo, etc. I have a broody sitting on 9 eggs. I am wondering at what point do you decide it’s time to subtract from your flock? Its super easy to sell older pullets or hens right now, so that’s not an issue, it’s more of who and at what age? Here are pics of coop and yard. Some of the girls as well.

 

[NatJ]

I have a 10 X 16 coop and 1/2 acre run. The Coop is split into a can be fully closed area and an open air area... I find my girls all roost For the night in the fully enclosed side.

Chickens need space for several different activities:

--sleeping, they need enough roost space. They don't care at all about floor space when they are actually roosting. (Common estimate: about one linear foot per bird. In your case, you could just go out after dark and make sure they all fit and have a bit of space left.)

--getting on and off the roosts, they need enough space to do that (distance to fly, ramps to walk, whatever your setup needs.)

--nestboxes, they need enough for each hen to lay in a box. (Common estimate: one per four hens. If all eggs are being laid in nestboxes, then what you have is sufficient.)

--eating and drinking, they need enough food and enough space to eat it, likewise for water. If you aren't seeing problems, this is probably fine.

--space when awake, they need to be able to move around, forage, peck each other and run away, and things like that. They need this space from the instant they wake up until the time they actually go to sleep. (Common estimate: four square feet of space per bird.)

If you shut the chickens into fully enclosed side of the coop at night, they probably don't have enough space when they wake up but you haven't yet let them out. If both halves of that 10 x 16 coop are always accessible to them, then that's how much space they have.

When to subtract:
--when the feed bills are too high, or you have too many eggs
--when you see problems
--when you feel that you have "too many"
--when there are chickens you just don't like, and no reason to keep those specific chickens

That last idea for subtracting: sell any chickens that escape over fences, hide eggs, bully other chickens, get picked on by other chickens, just don't look pretty in your eyes, have recurrent medical problems, quit laying for the winter, and so forth. Unless such a chicken is a particular favorite, in which case of course you should keep her anyway

 

[Folly's place]

Chicken math! You are still good, but planning ahead is the best! Your broody has fertile eggs, I hope! Are you planning on keeping a cockerel or two? Half of hatchlings will be male, at least.
'Extra' space is best, as crowding occurs, bad things start to happen.
Over years, some birds will die, predation happens, and you will have favorites, and less loved individuals.
New chicks every year, or two, keeps the flock producing, and means that some may need to leave. As you mentioned, selling one year old hens is an option, or selling pullets and cockerels you just don't want to keep. Then there's the freezer, another good option, especially for any birds who have poor social skills.
I wouldn't get more birds this year unless you do plan to move some on this year too, because you will then have room for next year's birds, and maybe you will decide to add yet more breeds, or more of your favorites.
Mary

 

[Cturber]

Thank you for the GREAT advice. I think I am in good shape based on the tips. That means, I have time to continue figuring out which are my favorites!!

Chickens need space for several different activities:

--sleeping, they need enough roost space. They don't care at all about floor space when they are actually roosting. (Common estimate: about one linear foot per bird. In your case, you could just go out after dark and make sure they all fit and have a bit of space left.)

--getting on and off the roosts, they need enough space to do that (distance to fly, ramps to walk, whatever your setup needs.)

--nestboxes, they need enough for each hen to lay in a box. (Common estimate: one per four hens. If all eggs are being laid in nestboxes, then what you have is sufficient.)

--eating and drinking, they need enough food and enough space to eat it, likewise for water. If you aren't seeing problems, this is probably fine.

--space when awake, they need to be able to move around, forage, peck each other and run away, and things like that. They need this space from the instant they wake up until the time they actually go to sleep. (Common estimate: four square feet of space per bird.)

If you shut the chickens into fully enclosed side of the coop at night, they probably don't have enough space when they wake up but you haven't yet let them out. If both halves of that 10 x 16 coop are always accessible to them, then that's how much space they have.

When to subtract:
--when the feed bills are too high, or you have too many eggs
--when you see problems
--when you feel that you have "too many"
--when there are chickens you just don't like, and no reason to keep those specific chickens

That last idea for subtracting: sell any chickens that escape over fences, hide eggs, bully other chickens, get picked on by other chickens, just don't look pretty in your eyes, have recurrent medical problems, quit laying for the winter, and so forth. Unless such a chicken is a particular favorite, in which case of course you should keep her anyway

The coop is open at daylight and closed after dark. They do come into the coop during the day when something scares them, for nap time, in bad weather, etc and use the roosts and space throughout The entire area. There is about 3/4 roost space still available when this happens bc only part of the girls roost durning the day, the rest hang out in the floor space. At night, they use about ⅔ of the roost space, loosely ( lots of room Between groups), in just the inclosed side. They don’t use the open air side at night, but have access.

The girls have 2 favorite boxes. They will try to sit on one another or fuss at each other to use those 2 boxes. Lol.

Chicken math! You are still good, but planning ahead is the best! Your broody has fertile eggs, I hope! Are you planning on keeping a cockerel or two? Half of hatchlings will be male, at least.
'Extra' space is best, as crowding occurs, bad things start to happen.
Over years, some birds will die, predation happens, and you will have favorites, and less loved individuals.
New chicks every year, or two, keeps the flock producing, and means that some may need to leave. As you mentioned, selling one year old hens is an option, or selling pullets and cockerels you just don't want to keep. Then there's the freezer, another good option, especially for any birds who have poor social skills.
I wouldn't get more birds this year unless you do plan to move some on this year too, because you will then have room for next year's birds, and maybe you will decide to add yet more breeds, or more of your favorites.
Mary

I picked up fertile eggs from a couple of local breeders. A couple of breeds I don’t have. There are just so many its hard to know where to start or what your preferences are until you have them. Lol

 

[aart]

Don't wait until it's problem...BTDT.
Had one miserable winter with too many birds...never again.
Course you don't have the winter issues I do.

The girls have 2 favorite boxes. They will try to sit on one another or fuss at each other to use those 2 boxes. Lol.

Put one fake egg in each nest to 'spread the love'.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I am wondering at what point do you decide it’s time to subtract from your flock?

Interesting question. Not sure I've seen it phrased quite this way.

To me it is not just about space. I'm a firm believer that you should not try to shoehorn as many chickens as you possibly can into an area for many different reasons. If you want, you can follow the link in my signature below to see why. My general thoughts are to determine how many chickens you want and then provide adequate space for them. You have a lot of room and in Alabama that room should be available every day of the year. As far as room goes you are in a good position.

What are your goals? Why are you keeping chickens? Those questions are for you to answer to yourself, not to me. How many chickens does it take to meet those goals. I don't know if your goals are eggs, meat, eye candy, bug patrol, manure for compost, something else, or a combination. When you have enough to meet your goals, you have enough. I personally like a few extra. Things happen. When you deal with living animals you sometimes have to deal with dead animals. That's the way the circle of life works. If one, male or female, is disrupting my flock or does not suit my goals I'll probably eat it. But that ties in with my goals. My goals include raising them for meat and keeping a peaceful flock.
How much time and money are you willing to spend. How you manage them has a lot to do with how much time they take. Larger numbers don't always translate into a lot more time, but it can.

Chicken feed costs money. The more you have the more you need to buy. But larger numbers can also mean more facilities or equipment. How much are you willing to spend? You may be able to offset costs by selling eggs, hatching eggs, or chickens. You may need more to make a profit. There are so many different parts to your question. You'll just have to figure out what works best for you and your goals.

Over time I developed what works for me. I overwinter one rooster and 6 to 8 hens to be my laying breeding flock for the following year. My total numbers rise to the 50's when I start hatching. But I subtract as they reach butcher age to wind up with my overwinter flock.

Good luck on figuring out what works for you.

 

[LaFleche]

Very good advice from @NatJ except for

...have recurrent medical problems

These should not be passed on to someone else's flock, but are best stowed in the freezer.

 

[NatJ]

These should not be passed on to someone else's flock, but are best stowed in the freezer.

In general I agree that they should not join someone else's flock, but they could be sold to someone who wants to eat them.

The exception is conditions like crossbeak and blindness that can require special management but not be contagious--they are just fine to go into someone else's flock, on condition the person buying them is prepared to care for them.

 

[SueT]

I’m going to see if I can revive this thread from last year because I think it’s an important subject and there are already some very thoughtful/helpful replies.
2021 is my year for subtraction.
For the first 4 years I was able to keep my flock at a reasonable size, and only replace those lost. But last year, I got an incubator AND let my broody hen hatch as well. Suddenly I went from 7 to 20 chickens. My DH built an extra coop for the ones I hatched, and I subdivided the main coop for the broody’s chicks. But as the new ones grew, it was obvious that it was too many chickens. I gave away some of them to an Amish woman I had promised them to, and later she took some of the extra cockerels. Two cockerels I killed myself. We ended up with a flock of 14.
In a short time, their run had no more plants anywhere and was dug up like a moonscape. There was a lot of tension in the flock. I had to clean the coops every day. I had more eggs than I knew what to do with. I couldn’t tell who laid which eggs. There was bullying, and sometimes blood. Sometimes eggs would be broken and eaten. There was often a broody to be monitored. It had all gotten so complicated, that I didn’t think I could ask anyone else to care for them so I could travel. Something had to give. I sold 3 big pushy hens at the poultry swap, and it already feels a lot better. Less poop to clean up. The smaller breeds that remain not only poop less, but eat a lot less. Everyone gets along better.
I found out that the local poultry swap is very active and has friendly supportive people. I realized that I am not the only one who can give these chickens a good life, that there are people who would love to have them. I plan to sell more hens next month. (It’s monthly.) I’m not done subtracting.

I’d like to hear more of your subtraction experiences.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I also need to downsize two of my flocks for two reasons.

First coop, Bantam coop is maxed out, & need to make more space. Attempting to find homes for 7 of the Bantams, if I can't give them new homes, they'll meet the freezer. Gonna be giving the coop an expansion too.


Coop Two, Mixed Flock Coop still has some space, but not enough for the 7 Malays, so we gotta get rid of about 6, or so birds. I would add a couple guineas to the list, but my dad won't give them up. Plus he won't allow an upgrade in henhouse size, because he wants the rest of the shed as a shed. Don't understand why he can't just build a new shed just for storage.