Help with chicken math(s) please :D!

[Mother of Chicks]

Hi all,

I could do with some of your wonderful wisdom to help me pass a basic course in chicken math(s - I'm a Brit ).

So, I have 6 silkies of about 8 weeks, and in usual silkie fashion, their gender could be anything. Best guess at the moment is 2xf 2xm and 2x ??. Regardless, they are precious to me and I want to keep them all. I have a coop and run with a free ranging area. Now, if my luck turns out as I expect, I will have 50/50 m/f or worse, which means I needed a solution. So, I sort of have a solution.

I have an old shed over the other side of the garden and with a bit of TLC I can make it nice for up to about 8 or so chickens (probably bantams) and add another run. I will be asking for advice on the coop building threads soon enough. Anyway, this question is well in advance... but I want to know:

• Should I plan a batchelor pad in my old shed and leave the new coop for hens and selected roos? OR... should I plan to get pullets and split and ratio between 2 coops?
• Should I buy more pullets or chicks? I am really wanting to hatch my own but I know the maths won't work (sob - I love hatching)
• What breed(s) can I get as chicks which can be sexed, will work with silkies and won't really piss my neighbours off? (suburban but allowed roos)
• Are any of those breeds able to get over my 4ft fencing - because if so, I have more building to do

Oh man, this is complicated, but I am so excited about the 2nd coop. Thank you for helping me - I'd be totally lost without some other ideas.

Bex

 

[eggspecto_patronum]

I can tell you for a fact all standard breeds can get over a 4 ft fence.
Hatch some eggs and rehome the room's.
If you're in the US Meyer hatchery can ship a few a 3 chicks.

 

[FuzzyCritters]

I like having a bachelor pad. It allows me to keep a lot of breeding roosters, and grow out cockerels. If you plan on having over 4 roosters, I would make a bachelor pad. If you plan on having 4 or less roosters, I would split the roosters between the two coops with groups of hens.

Some docile breeds that would get along with silkies are cochins (also called pekins) and brahmas. They come in both bantam and large fowl size. My bantam cochins can barely fly to a 1.5 foot tall ledge, so a 4 foot fence would easily keep them in. Large fowl cochins are also terrible at flying, and would stay in a 4ft tall fence. I don't have adult brahmas, but I think they are also bad at flying.

 

[Mother of Chicks]

I like having a bachelor pad. It allows me to keep a lot of breeding roosters, and grow out cockerels. If you plan on having over 4 roosters, I would make a bachelor pad. If you plan on having 4 or less roosters, I would split the roosters between the two coops with groups of hens.

Some docile breeds that would get along with silkies are cochins (also called pekins) and brahmas. They come in both bantam and large fowl size. My bantam cochins can barely fly to a 1.5 foot tall ledge, so a 4 foot fence would easily keep them in. Large fowl cochins are also terrible at flying, and would stay in a 4ft tall fence. I don't have adult brahmas, but I think they are also bad at flying.

I do like the idea of a bachelor pad and so I am keeping it in the back of my mind for when I work out what I already have in terms of gender. It's nice to hear from people who do this though as I just want to keep them all.

OMG I have wanted Pekins for ages so I am excitedly Googling in anticipation that I might get some. I want the bantam kind anyway so I am happy that 4ft will keep them contained. I have just looked up Pekin Silkie cross too - I might have to let them breed . How noisy are yours?

I have just looked and measured up my shed - there's room for another 12 birds but I might just start small to get the ratios right. Chicken math is hard...

 

[Homesteadermomma6382]

I have 2 standard roos and 2 bantam cockerel (12 weeks) I have all of them in a mixed flock with standard hens and a mix of standard and bantam pullets. 2 silkies and a partridge cochin bantam. They have a very large 400 ft2 yard. They all get along very well. I also have a 4 foot fence. The only one that jumps it is my Nigerian dwarf goat, Lilo. Lol

 

[birdlover2]

I do like the idea of a bachelor pad and so I am keeping it in the back of my mind for when I work out what I already have in terms of gender. It's nice to hear from people who do this though as I just want to keep them all.

OMG I have wanted Pekins for ages so I am excitedly Googling in anticipation that I might get some. I want the bantam kind anyway so I am happy that 4ft will keep them contained. I have just looked up Pekin Silkie cross too - I might have to let them breed . How noisy are yours?

I have just looked and measured up my shed - there's room for another 12 birds but I might just start small to get the ratios right. Chicken math is hard...

The problem about chickens is they're living beings, each one is an individual and even perfect chicken math may not work out in real life. You could keep them together for now and see if they got along, my mother currently has 3 roos and 6 hens. It's a ratio that shouldn't work, but does, somehow. And sometimes even the best roosters in the best ratios go bad, sometimes even the most thought out flocks don't work out. However, if you end up with more roos than hens, overmating may certainly be a problem, and a bachelor pad may be a good solution! I've never had one, so I would refer to others on this site that know exactly how they work and how to make one. Bantams, though small, from my experiance can fly pretty far. I had a bantam fly over my head once. I don't know much about Pekins or even Cochins, so again trust those on this site who have had experiance with them. Some chickens, even though they can get over a fence, don't have a drive to. Others always will fly over even if it's nearly impossible for them. The worst thing for keeping chickens contained is a roo or dominant hen that flies the fence, because then the others will follow. Getting more hens may also be a good thing to do, whether you end up making two seperate flocks or keeping them all together, or even if you go with the bachelor pad. Maybe you'll do all those things some how or at some point, see what works for you! Good luck in your chicken journeys!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Should I plan a batchelor pad in my old shed and leave the new coop for hens and selected roos? OR... should I plan to get pullets and split and ratio between 2 coops?

You never know what will happen with living animals. You just don't. Some people may be able to keep several boys with girls all together, some may be OK splitting the boys and girls, some may really need a bachelor pad. It's also possible no matter what you do you may not be able to keep more than one rooster or cockerel in an enclosure. Immature cockerels are usually worse than mature roosters but you never know, they are living animals.

My strong suggestion is to be prepared for anything. Get that shed ready so you can use it immediately if the need arises. I'd want a bit of run fenced off with it too. That way you have flexibility. You can try splitting your flock or using it as a bachelor pad. Or as a hospital if one gets hurt. Go more by what you see than what someone like me tells you over the internet, but be prepared so you can react quickly, even if it is just a crate for an emergency.

Should I buy more pullets or chicks? I am really wanting to hatch my own but I know the maths won't work (sob - I love hatching)

I don't know what your goals are for having chickens. You should try to reach your goals as long as you can care for them. To me, that is what should be driving this decision.

Some people really honestly believe that adding more females makes it better. I'm not one of those. If the boys are going to fight over a girls, they will fight over 20 as much as they will over one. People with one rooster and 20 hens have problems with bare backed or over-mated hens. Cockerels and pullets are usually worse (often much worse) than roosters and hens. I believe you should keep as few males as you can and still meet your goals. Not because you are guaranteed to have problems but because the more males you have the more likely you are to have problems .

I agree with you. You should not hatch unless you have a plan for the boys. That would be irresponsible.

What breed(s) can I get as chicks which can be sexed, will work with silkies and won't really piss my neighbours off? (suburban but allowed roos)

I don't know how it works in the UK. In the US very few hatcheries will even try to sex bantams. They do not offer bantam sex links. I have no idea where you can find sexed bantams, in the US the options are really limited. If you want pullets baby chicks are probably not an option. Started pullets are.

On your other two questions, my opinion is that you don't get guarantees with living animals and breed counts for very little.

Are any of those breeds able to get over my 4ft fencing - because if so, I have more building to do

Silkies can't fly. As far as I know all other breeds can but there may be some kind of specialty that cannot fly. The Cornish X meat birds probably couldn't. Bantams typically fly better than full sized fowl. Chicks typically fly better than adults. Basically, any chicken that you would find acceptable "can" get over a 4' high fence if they want to. The question is will they "want" to? That is a very hard question to answer.

I keep my full sized fowl inside 4' high electric netting. They regularly fly up to a 5' high roost, so there is no question that could fly over that netting if they want to.. With very few exceptions, they don't. When I have issues with that is when cockerels are going through puberty and get in their fights. If a loser gets trapped against the fence it may go vertical to get away. Sometimes they land outside the netting. Or a hen or pullet is trying to get away from an amorous male. This doesn't happen very often but it's the same thing. If they are trapped they can go vertical to get way. I can change the configuration of my netting. I've learned that if I avoid sharp corners (nothing sharper than 90 degrees) and I avoid narrow sections so they can get by a chicken instead of feeling trapped the problem practically goes away. Some people talk about their bantams flying up 15 feet to roost in trees. It's a case of want to, not a case of can they.

Another common problem is that chickens like to perch. It's obviously fun for them. If the top of your fence looks like a good place to perch, they are likely to fly up there. Who knows which side they might hop down on. If your fence has a top rail or is a wooden fence they can land on, it looks like a good place to play perch. Solid fence posts can be a perch too. The way I get around that is to attach stiff wire at the top of the fence, have it stand up maybe a foot above any possible perch. That's usually not that hard to do unless maybe your fence is stone or brick. Take a 2' or wider piece of wire, attach it to the top of your fence in the middle of the wire and again a foot or so down the fence. If you paint it black or dark green it pretty much becomes invisible, doesn't look that bad.

Some people keep chickens that can fly inside 4' high fences even if the top makes a good perch. Others have problems. You don't get guarantees with living animals. If you are that concerned about it you might consider just Silkies.

 

[FuzzyCritters]

OMG I have wanted Pekins for ages so I am excitedly Googling in anticipation that I might get some. I want the bantam kind anyway so I am happy that 4ft will keep them contained. I have just looked up Pekin Silkie cross too - I might have to let them breed . How noisy are yours?

My cochins/pekins love to talk--but their clucks are very soft and quiet. My rooster's crow is pretty quiet too, so if you do end up with a rooster he shouldn't bother you or your neighbors.

 

[Mother of Chicks]

Squeee - I managed (eventually) to order 4 new silkie pullets. I am so excited and they are arriving on Thursday. Now I just need to finish that coop before they come

I mean - we have started converting the shed but we thought it would be ages before we found some as demand has been crazy. So now I am going to spend the next few days frantically building, sawing and beautifying with my hubby. Pics to follow <3

I can't wait to meet my new babies.

Project coop#2 is on

 

[FuzzyCritters]

Squeee - I managed (eventually) to order 4 new silkie pullets. I am so excited and they are arriving on Thursday. Now I just need to finish that coop before they come

I mean - we have started converting the shed but we thought it would be ages before we found some as demand has been crazy. So now I am going to spend the next few days frantically building, sawing and beautifying with my hubby. Pics to follow <3

I can't wait to meet my new babies.

Project coop#2 is on

Congrats on your new chicks!