How Many PET Chickens Are In Your Flock?

How many chickens?

  • Only 1. They are my feathered cat.😊

    Votes: 1 0.5%
  • I have a pair of 2.🙂

    Votes: 1 0.5%
  • I have 3.🙃

    Votes: 13 6.5%
  • I have a small flock of 4-5

    Votes: 20 10.0%
  • I have a flock of 6-10 birds. Not too many, not too little.

    Votes: 56 27.9%
  • I have 10-20 birds. Keeping it realistic.😌

    Votes: 54 26.9%
  • I have 20-30 birds!

    Votes: 16 8.0%
  • I have 30-40 chickens! Lots of eggs, lots of types, or both!

    Votes: 12 6.0%
  • 40-50 chickens! I keep a big flock!

    Votes: 4 2.0%
  • 50-80 chickens! Wow! 😍

    Votes: 5 2.5%
  • 80-100, You keep em as Pets?! How do you keep track of names?!

    Votes: 2 1.0%
  • 100+ THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS TOO MANY CHICKENS!😃😍

    Votes: 11 5.5%
  • I don’t keep any pet chickens.

    Votes: 6 3.0%

  • Total voters
    201
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Only a handful out of my 100 or so are pets. I raise chickens primarily for utility (eggs, meat, both), but pets have emerged over the years. One example is a black Cochin roo with red leakage: he was on the roster for dog food, but he was so docile and friendly, and follows my partner around, that he became a pet. A year later, and he's now serving as a surrogate mom to whatever random chicks I put in his pen!
 

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I intended to have 6. Started with 3 then ordered 4 more. Lost 1. Then, when one of my "hens" from the second order turned out to be a roo, I got 2 hatchings of 6 more. That's 12 total at this point (if you don't want to bother doing the math).

They all have names. They will all get to live out their lives with us. ...except possibly the roo if he can't learn some manners.

Six to eight was really the right number for my coop and run and also for our needs. I've adjusted by letting my chickens out during the day into a protected chicken yard that -- including the run which stays open all day -- about triples the size of their daytime habitat. And, in this way, we'll work our way back to 6 or 8. All of whom will be hens -- tho I still have a roo. ...I just won't let any of the hens go broody again even if we had GREAT experiences both incubating chicks and getting baby chicks the natural way with a Mama Hen.

We live and keep our chickens on a 1/2 acre suburban lot that's probably a lot more urban than most parts of the country.
You sound like me. We live on a large lot in a semi-rural community. Currently have 6 hens but our first experience was with 4, then one hen kept going broody. Tried a broody breaker but I wasn't very good at it so ended up buying some fertilized eggs and letting her hatch and raise them. That was the best thing we ever did! In fact we let her raise several more broods. Only kept a couple and of course some were roos which my "down the road" neighbor complained about so in order to not cause trouble we found homes for them. We let this flock free range in our large backyard but the hawks did us in so now we have fenced an area and put avian netting over the top. All my chickens (hens and roos) have been named and absolutely NO plans to eat them.
 
At the present time i have over 100 over 150 counting the muscoveys and the 7 turkeys. However until the holocaust I had over 300+. But a viscous field rat got into my brooder house and killed and stack stored 200 of my 2 week old chicks. Which where intended for my 25 breed breeding stock for 2021. I am slowly recovering and hopefully my sweet ladies will hatch me at least 6 pullets for each breed that they are sitting on. I am presently up to 17 breeds. And hope to get to 250 before March 2021.
 
62 hens in my run. I had two roosters and a han from my last batch that were free range and a raccoon ate them one at a time for three nights. I caught the coon and relocated it at the river 25 miles away. I miss my roosters crowing every morning.
Relocated him at the river or in the river if he took my prize hens. I was loosing muscovy adults and ducklings, hens, roosters, rabbits, chicks due to coyotes, raccoon, opossum ( and i have seen them sneak under a setting guinea taking one or two eggs at a time until they all are gone. Then kill the hen.) Rats, stray cats and dogs and an oversized weasel. Now i keep at least one of my aussies out at night to scare and attach night prellers. And their totals are finominal. Have 3, 6 foot black rat snakes, which are pets, a new tomcat who's learning how to chase rodents, my female and male aussies, who are learning how to hunt and kill rats and with the puppies coming in end of September mom and dad will have some time to teach the children (pups) how to catch things.
 
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Out of all of the chickens on the communal farm, I consider my beautiful LF Cochin girl as my pet. After receiving her as a very young pullet from some very unfortunate circumstances, she has lived with me in my house ever since. She has her own hen house that she sleeps and lays her eggs in (she won’t lay them elsewhere unless it’s an emergency). She has her favourite chicken food that must be served or else. She follows me around better than our dogs! Usually she’ll answer and run up to me when I call, but it’s summer time so she can’t be bothered. I love her so much! Even though she’s probably just using me for her own personal gain! 😂😂😂

(Small note: I apologise if this is hard to read. I’m still recovering from head trauma and my communication skills are still lacking. Thank goodness for spellcheck! 😂)
 
No it’s not ridiculous at all! I think it is just wonderful! Much more healthy than watching tv. Lowers stress and anxiety and brings your blood pressure weigh down. I know it does for me. I lost both my parents in 2019. I am an only child but was 50 years old yet I was so close to my parents. I have grieved hard. Having started my backyard flock this year has been the best thing for that grief and me that I could have ever done. TMI I know but it’s is true. I love them crazy thangs!
I know what you mean. I lost my Father-In-Law and my Golden Retriever very close together. I started my flock and would sit out back and cry and watch my girls waddle. They certainly helped heal my heart. I am so sorry for your loss! from a fellow ONLY.
 

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