How did you starting breeding? I have a lot of questions.

[RuffIedFeathers]

I don't know if this is the right place for this question, but here goes.
I would like to try my hand at breeding. I don't have a ton of room (I have 1/2 an acre) so I can't have 100 chickens. If I invest money on high quality chickens, how many hens/roosters should I realistically have/keep? How many pens? I CAN have multiple coops, but I just went to learn the process first. I'm thinking I'll start with ameraucanas (even though the pita pintas are my favorite, but there isn't a SOP). I want to go through the process of breeding, culling, showing, etc. We plan to move within the next 1-2 years to a much larger property, so I could then expand. I just need guidance, or a mentor, if you will. I tend to be overly ambitious, so I really appreciate all of your guys advice! Thank you!

 

[raingarden]

You are peering over the precipus a deep rabbit hole here.

Obviously, the minimum number of founding stock is one pair or enough chicks or hatching eggs to insure one pair. That would be confining though because the more breeders you have the more variability you will have to select from. Buying from several sources would be nice too.

You cannot have too many pens either. No matter what, within nine months all the pens will be full and there will never be enough space from then on.

A good starting point might be deciding on the maximum you are willing to spend on feed. From that you can work backwards to the number of chickens and the number/size of pens

 

[Chooks man]

First you have to chose the breed of chooks you want to work with.
2 do you want to breed for fun or to the SOP ?
3 how much time do you have to give to your project?
For one breed of chooks you need a breeding pen large enough for a trio or a quad .
You need a small place as a nursery for the little chicks .
You need a larger pen for a grown up
You can start small and increase your flock as you go by selecting the best one each generation .
Good luck
Chooks man

 

[3KillerBs]

You need a small place as a nursery for the little chicks .
You need a larger pen for a grown up

And a pen to separate culls from keepers. Two pens if you want to separate cull males from cull females.

And a plan for dealing with the fact that at least 50% of the chicks will be male.

 

[Amer]

I saw your other thread and it lead me here.
I have an acre.
If you build a big enough coop and coops/brooders/tractors for offspring, you should have more than enough room if you limit it to one breed.
I’m curious, what attracts you to the breeds you want? Maybe there is a similar breed?
To me, Pita Pintas remind me of mottled Javas (which are extremely rare and need help) and Anconas, so why is your heart set on them? (Out of curiosity.)
Because a lot of new imports can seem exotic and rare and exciting, but the birds that have been here for a long time are just as good and worthy of our attention.
I think with your space you could easily hatch 50 a year. But, since you would need to build pens for 50, maybe start with 30 so you can build enough pens and get used to the flock maintenance of 30 and work your way up to 50? That way you have time to build more pens?

 

[gimmie birdies]

1/2 acre only for your chickens, or in total?

 

[gimmie birdies]

I have maybe 1/4 acre Just for my chickens but only have about 25 adult hens. But I am not a factory or anything.

 

[RuffIedFeathers]

I saw your other thread and it lead me here.
I have an acre.
If you build a big enough coop and coops/brooders/tractors for offspring, you should have more than enough room if you limit it to one breed.
I’m curious, what attracts you to the breeds you want? Maybe there is a similar breed?
To me, Pita Pintas remind me of mottled Javas (which are extremely rare and need help) and Anconas, so why is your heart set on them? (Out of curiosity.)
Because a lot of new imports can seem exotic and rare and exciting, but the birds that have been here for a long time are just as good and worthy of our attention.
I think with your space you could easily hatch 50 a year. But, since you would need to build pens for 50, maybe start with 30 so you can build enough pens and get used to the flock maintenance of 30 and work your way up to 50? That way you have time to build more pens?

I like the Pinta Pintas mostly because of their personality. They are similar to my Rhode island red. They come running when I go outside, are easy to pick up and handle, and my rooster is extremely docile. Of all the breeds I have, the pita pintas and Rhode island red have the best personality (IMO). I also like the way they look and that they're not too common, like Rhode island reds are. So I guess my heart isn't "set" on them, they're just the most enjoyable breed that I've experienced so far. I'm open to other breeds with great personality. I will look into Javas and Anconas, or any other less common/rare breeds you can recommend that have a personality similar to the above. I just don't like flighty birds.

 

[Amer]

I like the Pinta Pintas mostly because of their personality. They are similar to my Rhode island red. They come running when I go outside, are easy to pick up and handle, and my rooster is extremely docile. Of all the breeds I have, the pita pintas and Rhode island red have the best personality (IMO). I also like the way they look and that they're not too common, like Rhode island reds are. So I guess my heart isn't "set" on them, they're just the most enjoyable breed that I've experienced so far. I'm open to other breeds with great personality. I will look into Javas and Anconas, or any other less common/rare breeds you can recommend that have a personality similar to the above. I just don't like flighty birds.

Oh, my Buckeyes were friendly like that. I haven’t had Javas so I wouldn’t know. Some of my Anconas are friendly but there is the problem of some aggressive males.
Obviously, it’s natural to experiment and try different breeds. I originally wanted Ameraucanas and raised the breed but their personality was so bland I turned to bantam Buckeyes and d’Anvers, favoring d’Anvers, because they are so intelligent and personable.
But if your Pita Pintas are really what you want, I get it. Once you get “bit” by a breed you really like in experience and not just in theory, it’s hard to go back.

 

[HaikuHeritageFarm]

I have anywhere from 25 to 100 chickens at any given time on a footprint of less than 1/4 acre. Of course, our lot and neighboring lots are much bigger so we have "buffer space" between us and neighbors.

My advice would be to pick one breed, a breed you love, and stalk and hunt great breeders and butter them up and do whatever you have to do to get the best stock you can afford to start with. Small coops for trios and pairs and then grow out pens that will fill and empty every year are the essentials of what you need.

You seem to like Rhode Island Reds quite a lot. Largelfowl standard bred rode island reds are actually pretty rare, too, and appearance-wise completely different from hatchery stock. Ameraucana are a great breed too and probably at this point one of the more popular large fowl breeds so finding good stock and mentorship might be easier.