How many chickens do you need to maintain the genetic integrity of a flock of chickens?

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Mike1988

Mike1988

Hatching
6 Years
Nov 27, 2013
2
0
9
Hello my name is Michael and I am new to backyardchickens.com and have been having difficulty with my research into how many chickens I need if I want to try to make a self sustaining flock of chickens. I am interested in this for I would like to get into conserving some of the heritage breeds such as the Buckeye Chicken, Delaware, Barred Plymouth Rock, and Sussex. Have not settled on the breed I plan on going with and I have a few years before I can start since I am finishing up my last year and a half of school but want to research this thoroughly before I begin. I love the personality of some of these birds and want to work on making the meet qualities from some of these dual purpose heritage breed strains even better. Thanks for the help in advance and I look forward to getting to know some of you.
 
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Barred Plymouth Rocks are awesome chickens!
 
It is good to think ahead and do some planning. If you talk to someone who breeds heritage birds and seeks to keep their breeding at top form, they'll likely recommend focusing on just one breed. The reasons are many, but the most important aspect of breeding to the Standard is that it simply takes a lot of chicks put on the ground each year in order to keep improving your flock. There is no such thing as "standing still" when preserving these venerable breeds. If your flock is standing still, you're actually backing up. You must continue to improve with each breeding cycle.

To do that, most long time breeders will tell you it takes between 75-100 chicks from very selective breeding matches. Thus, doing right by one breed takes a lot of space, time and commitment. Very few folks can genuinely dedicate the resources required to do right by 3 or 4 breeds. That would take an enormous commitment. Hope some of these insights give you things to ponder.
 
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Thanks, I'll see if I can talk to some of the heritage breeders on the site and I am looking at possibly raising over 200 birds so the 100 birds required sounds rather encouraging. Thanks for the welcome roostersandhens.
 
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