Deciding on 4 or 5 chickens...input?

[joan1708]

I vote for 4. I think fewer happier chics is better than, more crowded and possibly pecking chics.

 

[canesisters]

Are you getting chickens just for the eggs? If so, I say get 2.
In a perfect world, you can add a bird or 2 every year and stagger the ages of your flock so that you won't have the issue of them all getting to 'retirement' age within a few months of each other.

Of course - that sage advise is coming from someone who has room for 10 birds max. I have six 4mo olds and am talking with someone who has 10 grown birds that need to be re-homed ASAP.

Chicken math

 

[chiques chicks]

Get four now. Chickens love space. You'll end up with more/ bigger coop and twelve or more in a year anyway! You'll find more breeds you "have" to have
I started wanting 7 in early sorting, now have 13 + 7 roosters to cull, 28 eggs in incubator and twelve on the way.
Gotta go build some coops and runs. chicken math, it's exponential, not linear

 

[ONSTAD1]

Well, I posted this on 4 threads and the answers were across the board. Pretty much a 50/50 split between 4 or 5 chicks. Thanks for all your input. Think I'm just going to drive up to Loveland and see how the mood takes me...guessing with 16 little chicks peeping at me and crawling in my hand, 5 get a new home... but who knows. The universe will provide ; )

mo

 

[TonySorrento]

Well, I posted this on 4 threads and the answers were across the board. Pretty much a 50/50 split between 4 or 5 chicks. Thanks for all your input. Think I'm just going to drive up to Loveland and see how the mood takes me...guessing with 16 little chicks peeping at me and crawling in my hand, 5 get a new home... but who knows. The universe will provide ; )

mo

You are SO buying 5! Lol

 

[kivi]

I'm a newbie too! But I get what they are saying. You will loose at chicken math. Give in and go with it. As long as you have the money, time and space don't be afraid to get more. My plan was 4 chickens and I ended up with 6. If the other 2 breeds I wanted would have been available at my shipping date I would of had 8! lol. I got an easter egger, a silver laced wyandotte, a golden comet, an australourp, a cuckoo maran and a buff orpington. I decided on 6 different breeds so I could (in theory) find what breed I liked. So far I love them all. Also if I lost one or two then I still would have 4 chicks. They are 4 weeks old now and I still have them all. The EE is a hoot! Very bold and friendly! So is the buff and wyandotte. the australoup,maran and comet are a little more shy but will come to my hand and let me pick them up. Good luck with your chicks and I would love to hear what you decided!

 

[kivi]

I love this pic! the EE looks like she has chipmunk cheeks! lol. Thanks for sharing.

 

[crchickens]

Well, Originally, we wanted 7 chickens. Everyone told me to get 12, because I would lose some, probably 25% of the chicks is what they said. Well, all twelve survived. Then, I rescued 6 more chickens from someone who needed to rehome them. The good news is, theirs are older, so I have the spread, and we built our coop to house 20 birds. I am at what I will consider max right now, but if I lose some, I will get chicks next year to replace them.

 

[ONSTAD1]

Here are the 4 chicks I decided to get.

 

[joan1708]

Ha! Ha! I love the way you count!