How many chickens.............

[DogAndCat36]

That’s so neat. I need a goose! Does a duck help. I have two ducks and a drake

Ducks are little smushy dumplings. They are a bit bigger than a chicken so that could discourage predators a little bit, but they can't defend themself all too well.
If you are to get a goose please be aware that they tend to bond with only one person which could be a problem if there is a little kid that is living in your house or one that goes over to your house because they will most likely attack them and they can be pretty violent. It is best to get 1 or 2 female geese, this will encourage the geese to follow the chickens. More than 2 geese might encourage them to make their own geese only flock. If you where to get a gander, he might take the geese away from the chickens or hurt the chickens when attempting to do the stuff...
Also, they are not a %100 percent protector. They are %99 predator alarm and a protector of small predators. Their main attack mechanism is their scary screams and chase, they don't tend to kill, just scare the heck out of the critter. Keep medical supplies in hand because they can still get bitten.

 

[moxiemom6]

I got my girls from Murray McMurray too. I have 14 girls that are a little more than a year old. I get about 10 eggs daily as an average. You can look at what is a good laying breed and good for hot weather. I have "heavy breeds" for cold weather as I am in illinois. 50 chickens sounds like a lot of work - basically you will be operating a farm!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I got my girls from Murray McMurray too. I have 14 girls that are a little more than a year old. I get about 10 eggs daily as an average. You can look at what is a good laying breed and good for hot weather. I have "heavy breeds" for cold weather as I am in illinois. 50 chickens sounds like a lot of work - basically you will be operating a farm!

Ehh. In my experience it's only a lot of work when there are multiple flocks. Otherwise it's no different than ten chickens

 

[rlhagan56]

My two cents, every Barred Rock I had was a thrifty layer, i.e. 1 egg a week if that.

My little Leghorns lay an egg a day year round, and we have cold winters.

Sapphire Gems are beautiful and egg laying machines almost as much as Leghorns.

 

[Floof]

in Florida we don't get much winter but the days would be a little shorter so i will get one when the the time comes

You may not need to add light in your winter. When I had chickens in Hawaii their production actually picked up in the winter because it was cooler but the days are still plenty long.

 

[Red Star 2019]

You will need a coop to accommodate 25 hens, mine are ISA brown hens that lay brown eggs about 300 per year and only one egg a day. You will need a coop this size: 100 square foot, like 25 x 25 feet. Four sq. feet per chicken. Also a roost and 6 egg boxes, ( 1 box per 4 chickens) Be sure to put vents in your chicken coop or windows you can open for air with 1/4 x 1/4 inch hardware clothe over the window to keep out varmits. Use shavings at least 4 inches thick for the floor. Have a open run that is fenced in 6 feet high around the yard to keep animals out and chickens in. Chickens are very messy so keep them penned in outside. Remember, that new chickens will molt when they get about 18 months old and yearly after that. The molt usually lasts 2-3 months when they get new feathers, you won't get eggs then.

 

[NatJ]

You will need a coop this size: 100 square foot, like 25 x 25 feet. Four sq. feet per chicken.

There is a math error in that.
25 x 25 feet is 625 square feet, which is 25 square feet each for 25 chickens.
10 x 10 feet is 100 square feet, which is 4 square feet each for 25 chickens.

 

[Cee]

I got a mix of Black Australorps, Barred Plymouth Rocks, and White Plymouth Rocks back in April. I have 20 total. They started laying sporadically end of August. They are all now pretty much laying every day. I average 19 a day.
We eat some and sell some.
There's been a lot of information about cost of food, brooders, heat sources. There is the cost of feeders, waterers, worming meds, other meds to have on hand, the syringes or other means to administer the meds. Cardboard egg cartons. Pine shavings or other bedding material for coop and nest boxes.
You gotta figure in coop and run building too. It is costly when it's done right (predator proof). Lumber, screws, hardware cloth, hinges, hooks, predator proof locking mechanisms, roofing material was really costly for my flock. But I didn't want all the effort, time, and money I spent on raising my chicks to be wasted in one night by a couple of raccoons helping themselves to my flock.
Unless you have #%&* ton of disposable income for a start up business of 50 plus layers, I'd seriously advise starting smaller for the first year and call it school for your bigger flock later.
Another way to figure cost is to start separate threads over in "feeding and watering your flock" for cost as well as "coop and run design, construction" for cost.
I did do a lot of scavenging on Craigslist, Offerup, and Nextdoor for materials and that helped. But beware of used chicken coops carrying diseases and parasites. I learned that, the hard way.

 

[bmurphy349]

Well, my whole family and I eat eggs all the time. We have omelettes, scrambled eggs, breakfast pizza, "hootenanies", and bake countless desserts with eggs. We use them in almost every meal. More than 10 hens gives us a major surplus. They were just going bad. We have 6 laying hens right now and they go above and beyond our needs. Unless your family is huge, 10 laying hens should definitely keep you in supply. If you want to sell some (how many about will you want to sell per week?) you should only need maybe 10-15 more hens depending on the demand. And if you buy newly hatched chicks now, they won't lay until spring. And if you want eggs in the winter you'll have to use supplemental lighting in the coop. But that's hard on their reproductive cycle. You'll have to get new birds every 2 years or so.

We have 24 - 6 are babies and 3 are not quite ready to lay. Half the others are molting. I’m getting about 6-10 eggs a day. I give them to the local police Dept and the fire Dept. Since the pandemic, I also take some to work. And we still have enough for the 7 of us.

 

[Coop de Grass]

You might want to calculate how much you will be able to sell those extra eggs for. That would depend on what you feed them - organic or not, etc... Not sure what "good" eggs are going for in FL, but you may want to check that out. And in pricing your eggs don't forget that your flock will inevitably better than any "farm" hen!