So many questions before I can even start to make any recommendations or suggestions. Even then there are so many different ways you could go. We are all unique in climate, goals, locations, potential for facilities, and many other things there are no simple answers that cover us all. We all have our own way of doing things and within limits they can all work. Your challenge is finding ways people in your situation do things and try to adapt those to your unique situation. In some ways there are too many options. Anyway, welcome to the forum. You are in a good place to get opinions and answers. And it can be a great journey.
First, are there any restrictions based on where you live? Many towns, cities, HMO’s, and such either ban chickens entirely or put restrictions on them. Things like a maximum number of chickens, ban roosters, require certain distances between the chickens and property lines or buildings, not allow butchering, require neighbors’ approval, or require a minimum space per chicken. Even if you see neighbors with chickens don’t assume it’s legal. They may be flying under the radar or they may be grandfathered in.
What are your goals? Why do you want chickens? You mentioned learning experiences for kids and eggs. What kind of learning experiences? Taking care of animals either as pets or livestock, hatching and raising baby chicks, seeing the flock interact, learning where eggs and/or meat comes from, maybe even learning about genetics? Lots of possibilities.
How many eggs do you want? Egg laying has seasons. They normally lay really well in spring and summer and slack off in fall and winter, but there are techniques to get around that, at least to a certain degree.
Some people like to think there are magic numbers with chickens, square feet per chicken in the coop and run, length of roost space per chicken, hen to rooster ratio, brooder space, how high a fence has to be so they won’t fly over it, that a hen of a certain breed will lay a specific number of eggs per year, brooder temperature based on age of chicks, just magic numbers for practically everything. Real life doesn’t work that way. Each chicken is an individual with its own personality and each flock has its own dynamics. There are so many variables with any of this that there cannot be one specific number that works for all of us in all conditions. People with no experience have to start somewhere and the numbers given are often good guidelines for starting places. They will normally keep people out of trouble even if they mess up a bit.
But then you get conflicting guidelines. Some people say 8” per chicken on the roost is enough, others any you need 12”. I don’t say either. I say you need enough room they can spread their wings and fly up and down plus, if they need it, the weaker can get away from the bullies. For some people 9” is plenty, for some 12” is pushing it.
The biggest spread of magic numbers I’ve seen is in coop size. I’ve seen recommendations anywhere from 1 square foot per chicken to 20 square feet per chicken. Personally I’d never dream of one square foot, that’s just too tight for how we raise and keep them. There are a lot of variables in how much room a flock needs. One standard often repeated is 4 sq ft in the coop along with 10 sq ft in the run. If you have a flock of all mature hens that’s a pretty good starting point, but if you ever plan to add new chickens in the future or allow a broody hen to raise chicks with the flock, that’s pretty tight. You can follow the link in my signature to get my thoughts on space. It might answer some questions you didn’t know you have or raise some more. In general the more space I give them (coop or run size, roost space, nest size) the fewer behavioral problems I have to deal with, the more flexibility I have to deal with issues, and the less hard I have to work. But space can be expensive. You have to balance it.
I suggest you read topics of interest in the forum posts, look through the Learning Center at the top of this page, and start your own threads with specific questions putting specific information in your topic title so you attract the right people to answer your question. It really helps with a lot of these if you put your general location in your profile. That way we know your seasons based on whether you are north or south of the equator and maybe even an idea of your local climate.
I’ve probably made it sound a lot more complicated and harder than it has to be. Keeping any animal is a commitment but chickens don’t have to be hard. I applaud you for asking questions and trying to learn before you get chickens. Not everybody prepares the way they should. That’s a big reason you see a lot of threads with the word “Help” in the title. That’s often a lousy thread title by the way. If they include “help with what” they are much more likely to attract someone that can help them.
Again, welcome to the forum.
i need help from the experts as far as coop size, how many chickens etc!? Thank you!
