How Many Do I Have Room For?

[Jerhanner]

Right now I have 8 ladies and a gentleman. My Broody Girl is currently sitting on 5 eggs, and I'm wondering how many more I have room for?
Follow up: is 'trading roosters' a thing to keep the inbreeding at zero?

 

[Jerhanner]

The door is blocking it - but there is a 'summer house' back there which I use as the nursery.

 

[Chickin Fairy]

Chickens will typically mate daughter to father/son to mother and it isn't considered inbreeding. It's referred to as straight line breeding and is desirable if you want good characteristics in your birds (show chickens are often line bred). However, if it bothers you, I would suggest finding someone who has fertile eggs and use a broody to hatch them out. I also looked in to "rooster trading" (I called it studding ), but decided it wasn't worth it since you'd have to have a quarantine period before introducing him and then giving him back, he would have to be quarantined again.

 

[Jerhanner]

Chickens will typically mate daughter to father/son to mother and it isn't considered inbreeding. It's referred to as straight line breeding and is desirable if you want good characteristics in your birds (show chickens are often line bred). However, if it bothers you, I would suggest finding someone who has fertile eggs and use a broody to hatch them out. I also looked in to "rooster trading" (I called it studding ), but decided it wasn't worth it since you'd have to have a quarantine period before introducing him and then giving him back, he would have to be quarantined again.

Oh, I could care less about the inbreeding; I just didn't want mutant chickens. I have the nicest rooster in the universe and don't want to give him up! If it really is a 'normal' thing, then straight line breeding it is!

 

[LhickenChicken]

Oh, I could care less about the inbreeding; I just didn't want mutant chickens. I have the nicest rooster in the universe and don't want to give him up! If it really is a 'normal' thing, then straight line breeding it is!

Yeah, you'd have to be several generations in to start being worried about inbreeding. (Line breeding is basically another word for inbreeding. Same thing.)

 

[Chickin Fairy]

Oh, I could care less about the inbreeding; I just didn't want mutant chickens. I have the nicest rooster in the universe and don't want to give him up! If it really is a 'normal' thing, then straight line breeding it is!

You won't! In fact, it will help keep those nice qualities you like. The nice rooster is a great quality to pass along to babies! Although, personality doesn't pass along as well as things like feather quality, etc.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm wondering how many more I have room for?

Without any measurements given, no way to answer this.

You can roughly calculate using the following minimums (per bird):
4 sq ft in coop (not counting nest boxes)
10 sq ft in run
1 linear ft in roost
1 sq ft ventilation in coop open 24/7

 

[Sally PB]

1 sq ft ventilation in coop open 24/7

I just want to add that "open" means covered with hardware cloth, or some other STRONG screening material that will keep out predators.

 

[Jerhanner]

Without any measurements given, no way to answer this.

You can roughly calculate using the following minimums (per bird):
4 sq ft in coop (not counting nest boxes)
10 sq ft in run
1 linear ft in roost
1 sq ft ventilation in coop open 24/7

Guess who has room for 4 more chickens if she adds one more vent to the coop?!

 

[aart]

Guess who has room for 4 more chickens if she adds one more vent to the coop?!

Those numbers are bare minimum....especially where severe winters happen, you want more room in the coop for those nasty days on end storms that can happen and there is no roofed run.
I learned this my first winter, ChickenCabinFever is real and it can get ugly!