i’ve got questions

[ladizzlee]

okay so i see everywhere, people keep multiple chickens / chicks. i became a chick mama when my husband found a chick by itself in the road. am i a bad owner not getting it friends? i mean it’s pretty attached to my husband and i right now and i of course would love to have more chicks / chickens but not sure how the hubby feels about it.

so back to the question, am i a bad chicken keeper if i don’t get it friends?

 

[Aapomp831]

lol no. right now it’s in the house though being that it’s so little. i’m wondering if i should get it some friends now or later.

my whole issue is that if this turns out to be a rooster, we can’t keep it. the county we live in doesn’t allow it. so i am hoping for a hen but we won’t know until we find out

I have that exact same coop, it is great for only 2 chickens (maybe 4 if they are bantams) there’s no way for it to roost though. We now have 34 chickens so that coop has become the hospital / ICU lol.
Since there is a 50% chance that could be a cockerel, I would hold off on the friends until you know for sure.... unless now you want chickens. Just beware / chicks are a gateway drug.... if you fall in love with it and get more, they will add up and you’ll have over 30 like me

 

[Acre4Me]

Chickens are flock animals and it would benefit from friends!

 

[HuffleClaw]

Do you have a coop for it when it gets bigger? You’re going to need one, if not.

No, you’re not a “bad” owner if you don’t get it friends now, but when its older and can live outside it will get lonely. I do recommend getting it at least 2 more friends.

 

[Aapomp831]

You’re not planning on keeping it in the house, right?
I would definitely get it more friends for when it’s time to go outside.

 

[ladizzlee]

Chickens are flock animals and it would benefit from friends!

thank you !

 

[rosemarythyme]

btw don’t chickens fly ? (evidence i know nothing) lol what would keep the chicken from flying away? do i need to clip it’s wings ?

Yes they fly, though many don't fly very well. Your little chick will escape if you don't keep an open mesh cover (anything from hardware cloth to window screen will do) on top.

Is your husband handy? It’s much cheaper to build your own coop. Our coop is 30 feet now, and we did it in 4 sections. The first one we built is 7 ft long and cost $200 to build - so basically twice the amount of space as the pre-fab one for less money. It doesn’t take much (especially for just a few chickens) and that way you can ensure proper spacing and create proper ventilation. That’s my big issue with pre - fab coops... they offer very little to no ventilation. And no ventilation causes severe frostbite in the cold winter months. You can download plans, or there are experts on here that can give you plans and help you step by step.
But that coop would work if you’re only planning on having 2 or three chickens. I would just drill ventilation holes in it somehow.

x2 on ventilation. Also prefab coops are costly for what you're getting and you'll still need to add a proper run, or give them yard access. Never take a prefab at face value for capacity... they're using factory farm numbers to inflate how many chickens will fit into them.

The basic minimum numbers recommended on here are (per bird) 4 sq ft in coop, 10 sq ft in run, 1 sq ft in ventilation.

 

[ladizzlee]

Do you have a coop for it when it gets bigger? You’re going to need one, if not.

No, you’re not a “bad” owner if you don’t get it friends now, but when its older and can live outside it will get lonely. I do recommend getting it at least 2 more friends.

i was planning on getting this one for now. right now i have it in a big target box in one of the warmer rooms in my house that i’m always in since it likes to watch me and follow me. i did notice that he is starting to try to jump out of the box now so i have to figure out what to do for in between the box and the coop.

 

[ladizzlee]

You’re not planning on keeping it in the house, right?
I would definitely get it more friends for when it’s time to go outside.

lol no. right now it’s in the house though being that it’s so little. i’m wondering if i should get it some friends now or later.

my whole issue is that if this turns out to be a rooster, we can’t keep it. the county we live in doesn’t allow it. so i am hoping for a hen but we won’t know until we find out

 

[ladizzlee]

I have that exact same coop, it is great for only 2 chickens (maybe 4 if they are bantams) there’s no way for it to roost though. We now have 34 chickens so that coop has become the hospital / ICU lol.
Since there is a 50% chance that could be a cockerel, I would hold off on the friends until you know for sure.... unless now you want chickens. Just beware / chicks are a gateway drug.... if you fall in love with it and get more, they will add up and you’ll have over 30 like me

omfg my husband would 100% kill me with 30 chickens lmfao but yeah i wanted something small to put it outside and let it out in the mornings and put it away at night.

btw don’t chickens fly ? (evidence i know nothing) lol what would keep the chicken from flying away? do i need to clip it’s wings ?