cjnason74
In the Brooder
Hi everyone! I'm actually brand new to chickens, so forgive me. 
We recently purchased a house which came with a coop already on it, and I tossed around the idea back and forth about getting chickens, and then finally after a month in the house decided that I'd rather get rid of the coop because I was scared due to knowing zero about them. I tried to offer the coop to several people, for free, and everyone kept saying "You should just get chickens, they're cute/easy/fun/free eggs, etc". Then finally I just gave up, and went for it. We purchased four pullets, five small who-knows-what bantam cochins, and three guineas to protect them from snakes. And now I'm up to my eyeballs in chicken forums, chicken books, chicken pictures! UGH! Not one person warned me that they were so darn addicting! LOL
I've already had my babies three weeks, so I've been drawing up designs for a new, better coop to house them in. My current one is elevated, which is fine, but I want to be able to go into it and clean it without duck-walking the entire time. And I want them to have more room in it. The run they left is about 20x40, which is plenty if it was fully covered, but it isn't, so we had to do a quick job of enclosing a small portion of it for their safety. I've had fun watching them grow daily, searching online to figure out what each of them are, and also worrying myself crazy over the whole "who's a rooster" thing. I got ten chicks because everyone said that we'd lose some and have to give the roosters away, but so for we haven't lost any. And now I really hope I don't, I love them all! LOL Still hoping for only one or two roosters, though. Now to go figure out the best hen-to-rooster ratio......
We recently purchased a house which came with a coop already on it, and I tossed around the idea back and forth about getting chickens, and then finally after a month in the house decided that I'd rather get rid of the coop because I was scared due to knowing zero about them. I tried to offer the coop to several people, for free, and everyone kept saying "You should just get chickens, they're cute/easy/fun/free eggs, etc". Then finally I just gave up, and went for it. We purchased four pullets, five small who-knows-what bantam cochins, and three guineas to protect them from snakes. And now I'm up to my eyeballs in chicken forums, chicken books, chicken pictures! UGH! Not one person warned me that they were so darn addicting! LOLI've already had my babies three weeks, so I've been drawing up designs for a new, better coop to house them in. My current one is elevated, which is fine, but I want to be able to go into it and clean it without duck-walking the entire time. And I want them to have more room in it. The run they left is about 20x40, which is plenty if it was fully covered, but it isn't, so we had to do a quick job of enclosing a small portion of it for their safety. I've had fun watching them grow daily, searching online to figure out what each of them are, and also worrying myself crazy over the whole "who's a rooster" thing. I got ten chicks because everyone said that we'd lose some and have to give the roosters away, but so for we haven't lost any. And now I really hope I don't, I love them all! LOL Still hoping for only one or two roosters, though. Now to go figure out the best hen-to-rooster ratio......
) The recommended ratio of roosters to hens is typically 1 rooster for every 10 hens. As they mature and their hormones kick in, too many roosters will become very hard physically on your hens; over-breeding them, biting and plucking the feathers from their necks and backs, battering them, and potentially, seriously injuring them. The only reason you really need a rooster is to fertilize eggs for hatching and 1 rooster can easily handle 10-15 hens in that regard. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Cheers.
