How many chickens? What kind?

[ABQ chicken keeper]

Coop is 6x9 and I will have about 16 linear feet of roosting space. I was thinking that would probably be the limiting factor of how many chickens I get. I live in the midwest, but in the Black Hills so surprisingly mild winters with an occasional very cold bout so there may be short chunks of time they would get stuck in the coop for a few days.

My local feed store does individual orders, then multiple orders ship at once to help decrease the odds of a bad shipping experience, but I should be able to be pretty picky with my preferences. We live outside city limits with no neighbors so we can have roosters. I'm thinking with that many chickens, I will end up with 1-2 accidental roos and I will keep one or both of them, depending on who is better taking care of and protecting the girls.

CCK,
It just occurred to me that your very large (40x25) run is most likely not covered, is that a correct assumption? If not do you have plenty of trees and bushes for your chickens to hide under? My concern is hawks and other birds of prey.

 

[BDutch]

12 chickens and many different breeds means a lot more stress than 6 chickens with similar characters. They poop 2x as much too, so 12 needs much more cleaning. With 6 hens you have plenty of eggs for a large family in the first 2 -3 years and less chances on heath issues.

During cold spells the flock probably stays inside the coop. With 6 this is probably fine. 12 might be very challenging unless you choose only smaller easygoing breeds. Dividing areas and roost space , not seeing each other, can help a lot if you have a bully /a few bullies.

A good rooster is a great asset especially if you want chicks in the future. A cockerel can give offspring too, but can be a pain in the ass towards the hens. Roosters and little children are often not a good combination.

Think ahead to the future like Rosemarythyme says. If you want to keep the older hens you better keep the ability to expand in numbers.

A large open run is not /not much safer than free ranging, depending on the sturdiness and height of the fence and blockage against diggers. Bushes or other hiding places are a must if you have birds of prey in the area.
With 6 hens and fertile, living soil you don’t need to clean the run space, and only need to add leaves/ chopped wood to compensate the chicken poop. Even with 12 it might work (not sure).

Chickens are active from dawn till dusk. If you dont want or can’t always attend around sunrise and sunset best buy a auto pop door. That way the chickens don’t need to stay inside much longer as they wish.

 

[CanyonCoopKeeper]

Thank you all so much for the valuable insight. We do have some decent tree and bush coverage in the fenced yard. 10x12 feet of it will be covered and fenced, so I'm hoping they'll have some good hiding spots.

I do think I will want to keep my old ladies after their egg laying prime has ended so I will plan on leaving room for growth. In that case, if I'm getting around 6 chickens this time around, are there breeds on this list (Mottled Java, Cream Legbar, Russian Orloff, Salmon Faverolles, Naked Neck, Starlight Green Eggers) that I should get sooner and/or together? For example, should I get the Faverolles in the first batch so they've got some seniority and less likely to get picked on? Maybe also get them at the same time as the Orloffs (because they both have feathered faces) and maybe the Naked Necks (because they also fit in the "weird necks" category)?

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

For example, should I get the Faverolles in the first batch so they've got some seniority and less likely to get picked on? Maybe also get them at the same time as the Orloffs (because they both have feathered faces) and maybe the Naked Necks (because they also fit in the "weird necks" category)?

I think getting the Favs early on is a good idea but don’t worry about the Turkens getting picked on. They can handle themselves when they need to.

 

[Mrs. K]

Hello from SD. I am on the prairie east of the hills. I hope you are not near the fires!

Think of this as a several year plan. If people ask me, and you did (kind of) I recommend a hen only flock the first year or two. Do you have children under 6 years of age? IMO roosters take more experience, and if they get aggressive, sometimes inexperienced people do not recognize the signs and they tend to attack children first. Wait for the roosters.

I have always loved a mixed breed bunch, easy to tell apart, often different colored eggs. I would just grab whatever you can get your hands on. Breeds might have tendencies, but it really depends on individual birds.

I too, strongly recommend, 6 birds to start, with the idea that next year you add 3-4 more, and then again the next year to a full coop depending on how things go. A multi-generational flock is a healthier flock.

This is a wonderful hobby, and you have years to enjoy it.

Mrs K