Hobby Farmer outside of Twin Cities

[wannabevet]

Well... I have chickens.... This hobby started off being my husband's hobby. He really wanted chickens etc. Now I am the primary care person for said chickens. It's okay, I love animals. I am registered and certified Vet Tech. My friends and my egg customers call me the "egg lady" or the "chicken lady". Anyway.... I have an 8X10 coop composed of the following (24 hens, 2 roosters total) 1 silkie rooster, 1 standard cochin rooster, 3 cochin hens, 2 easter eggs, 1 cuckoo maran hen, 1 white maran hen, 2 black crested polish hens, 1 silver laced polish hen, 1 white silkie hen, 2 golden laced wyandottes, 2 silver laced wyandottes, 2 new hampshire reds, 3 australorpes, and one barred rock. My coop is fully insulated in the winter and the runs that are running both north and south of the coop are approximately the same size as the coop itself. I have been selling my eggs to the locals and they have been selling like hot cakes and I can't keep up demand. Really would like to have another coop with 50 birds in it but right now I am trying to figure out why my gals are pecking at each other so darn much and low cash flow to invest in another coop. . Anyway. I frequently check out this site when I have questions but decided to take the plug today and join. It's nice to meet everyone!

 

[drumstick diva]

You have too many birds in a coop that size, chickens need 4-5 sq. feet per bird inside the coop excluding roosts and nest boxes. And 10 sq feet per bird in the outdoor run. Crowded chickens start pecking at each other, or feather pulling, in extreme cases they resort to cannibalism.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - DD has hit the nail on the head in terms of space requirements being the likely cause of the issues you have identified.

All the best
CT