How many chicks should I start off with?

[madicollins]

First timer here. We just purchased two chicks. Should we get two more? Our coop is plenty big. Just new to this.

 

[Firekin1]

When I first started I bought 12 straight run chicks the first year, 9 out of 12 ended up roosters which is why I started with 12....better odds for me getting some gals....lol

 

[madicollins]

Oh my. We will probably get a few more to increase our chances. If we end up with more than one rooster is that okay? If not...what do we do

 

[junebuggena]

How big exactly is your coop and run? What breeds?

 

[trailrider330]

We started with 5 grown birds before trying our hand at chicks. When we went with chicks, we started with about a dozen as well and over half of them turned out to be roosters. Being that the roosters were raised together they had no problems getting along. I've even had quite a bit of luck integrating some roosters that were not raised together. However, if you have a lot of roosters, it's best to have a lot of hens (especially for the hens). General rule of thumb is to have about 10 hens for every rooster.

 

[LLranch]

I'm not sure where you're getting your chicks from but my local farm store sells them as straight run that's a mixture potluck of boys and girls or they sell them as pullets which are supposed to be girls once in a while a rooster will get mixed in hope that helps

 

[madicollins]

Yes I bought them that way. We have no idea what we have. Our coop is 6x6.

 

[junebuggena]

Yes I bought them that way. We have no idea what we have. Our coop is 6x6.

That would mean a maximum capacity of about 9 average sized large fowl.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hi Madi. For a coop that size, while you CAN put up to 9 birds in it, I'd start with 4 - 6. Find out from the feed store if they are straight run or if they are pullets. If you can, get the chicks now, so that you will have them all be the same age, and they will grow up together. Be sure you don't end up with meat birds which sometimes happens to first timer's when they don't know what breeds they are buying.

 

[madicollins]

Thank you. We are currently at four. We went bsck and found the breeds. They are straight run so we are hoping for hens. We have aracana, buff orphington, and rhode island red. Are these okay