How many hens should I plan for?

[Ispahan]

Hi all:

I would like to plan for a small urban laying flock that I would like to raise from day-old chicks over the summer. I would ideally like to obtain about 12-18 eggs per week for household use with the possibility of extras that I could use for baking or giving away to friends and neighbors. How many hens do you all think I should get so I can supply at least the majority of what we would need egg-wise?

After doing a lot of research, these are the breeds I am most interested in, all chosen for personality (they will be family pets), fairly reliable production of brown eggs, and beauty:

1. Speckled Sussex (possibly my top choice)
2. Buff Orpington (very near the top of the list)
3. Red Star sex-linked hybrids (sounds great but I am concerned about egg burnout and other health problems with these)
4. Possibly Easter Eggers, although they lay more than just brown-shelled eggs

Would it be okay to mix any of the above breeds in a small flock or would it be better to stick to only one kind for now? I don't want to mix any aggressive breeds with docile breeds and find that the gentle ones get picked on all the time. I am open to suggestions about breeds, except I would probably liked to avoid Barred Rocks. My neighbor had BRs when I was a little kid and I remember them being mean.

Thanks in advance for any advice and comments,
C.J.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
I have all of the above in my flock. The bold will tell you how many eggs to expect per week from each bird.

 

[poultrypatch]

Hi....
I have a mixed flock. My RIR are the older girls..about 8 months and good layers...even with this horrid cold weather we're having here in New England. Then some that will be 21 wks on Tuesday....Spec Sussex......so pretty and very sweet and friendly. Also some Amerucanas...EEs......Silver Laced Wyandotts and Gold Laced Wyandotts. One of my SLW laid her first egg today !! On top of that I have 4 asst Banty roos and 3 asst Banty girls. And 7 Guinea Keets. All seem to get along ok...for now anyway.
Good luck on whatever breed/breeds you choose.
Liz
Rochester, MA

 

[easttxchick]

The only breed you are missing is a Barred Rock-they are wonderful layers and sweet, curious birds.
Every flock should have at least 1 Barred Rock!

 

[SC_Hugh]

1. Speckled Sussex
2. Buff Orpington
3. Red Star sex-linked hybrids
4. Possibly Easter Eggers


I will be adding two EE's and two Sex Links to my flock this spring...that may be 16-22 eggs on top of what I am already getting

I wish that we had gotten 8-10 chickens when we started. We got 4 and 1 turned out to be a rooster, but he turned out to be a good boy

Important considerations are where you are located and how cold it usually gets in the winter and how hot in the summer, not all breeds do well under temperature extremes.

Why not get two of each of those listed above, along with 2 more Barred Rocks for a total of 10? Don't let your childhood experience keep you from getting a couple of Barred Rocks (great layers and great chickens).

--Hugh

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
Total agreement. My BR hen is SO sweet and full of personality. Even my BR rooster was friendly and curious and never tried to be dominant towards humans. Just a pity he liked to crow a little too much for my neighborhood....

 

[Warthog]

I would say plan to have hens to provide for twice as many eggs as you currently use.

I say this I rarely ate eggs, mainly used for cooking etc and probably used at most 12 a week.

Since having my own hens, I am using maybe twice that much, because they taste so different and are delicious.

I don't think I could eat a store bought egg again, and our only strated laying in November. JMO

 

[joedie]

I have all except the Speckled Sussex. My BO's frequently go broody but are docile and good layers, the PR lays about almost daily and the EE's lay 5-6/wk. I really would reconsider the BR. They are the friendliest of my crew and good layers as well!

 

[BarredBuff]

I would plan for 5-7 hens I think you might wanna look at the coop designs on here before you pick chicken numbers also consider what you have room for. WELCOME TO BYC!

 

[Ispahan]

Hey guys:

Thank you for the great advice so far! I am so glad I found this forum!

I am located in Chicago, so it can get fairly cold and windy in the winter and fairly hot and humid in the summer. Would any of the breeds listed above be particularly good (or bad) for this area?

There are currently no laws about the number of chickens that one may keep in Chicago, although they cannot be used for slaughter and have to be adequately enclosed.

Judging from what everyone is saying so far, I think 5-7 would be my ideal number of hens. I definitely have a good location in my backyard to build a nice coop for them with a sizable run. I would probably be able to let them out to "free range" for an hour or two each day with human supervision.

You all are probably right, I shouldn't be prejudiced against Barred Rocks. I will consider giving them another chance.

Thanks again,
C.J.