I want to add more chickens to my flock.

[chixcoop]

I have had my 6 barred rocks for about 6 months and I was interested in adding more chickens to my flock. What steps should I take, how many should I add, what breed should I add for more egg layers beside barred rocks? If I buy them as chicks, and then introduce them to the others when they are a litle bit older, is that a normal procedure?

 

[Mutt Farm]

Hi!

First step to determining if you should add to your flock should be determining how much space you have. for the hens you have now, you should have at a min a 4X6 coop and 6X10 run.. Hens need 4sq ft per inside a coop and 10 sq ft per run. So determine how much larger your space is to decide how many more to add. In Mass, you'll want to select more cold hearty birds, docile that are ok to coop up.
Here are some links.
Here's a great thread that discusses the various breed characteristics.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/products/category/chicken-breeds

Here's a good chart as well.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/know-h...gle-_-DynamicAdGroups-_-AllSiteTSCCirc1511PDP

 

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

Hi!

Excellent question, fairly easy to answer. It's absolutely fine to add more chickens later, but it is definitely best until the newbies are similar size if you are raising new ones from chicks. This is so no one gets more hurt by the pecking order because they are smaller.

If you buy other full grown ones, I would "quarantine" them for maybe week and then maybe move them so they can see and interact with the other hens before putting them in but this step can be optional. When you move them in, it's good to do it at night so the older birds can't see the difference at first. As far as the see but don't touch step, I normally do it but I have a large pasture and do it with a new coop for the new birds so they can have outside time before being full grown.

Other breeds can be really anything, it depends on what you want
-I love my two Americaunas for their sweet nature and pretty eggs.
-A Polish Crested can add a nice splash of uniqueness- mine is turning out to be a roo(about 2.5 months old now ).
-If you live somewhere cooler temperature wise, a chicken with leg feathers can do quite well- Cochins, Brahmas, Faverolles..
-If you live somewhere warmer, a rarer breed is an Egyption Fayoumi but they are not quite as good as others with cold weather.
-Similar to Barred Rocks, I love my White Plymouth Rock. She's a real proud hen.
-Buff Orpingtons are known to be reliable but I don't have much experience with them

Hope this helps!

 

[SnowPeeOstrichU]

While I agree that it's also extremely important to have enough space, my hens don't use anywhere near most of their inside space. I built my first coop based on spacing like that and they appreciated the run of course, and laid their eggs in the boxes, and slept inside in the winter for a couple weeks but the square footage for indoors was more than my hens ever wanted or used.

Hope this helps

 

[Michael OShay]

The other members have given you some good advice on adding more chickens to your flock. As far as breeds go, if a high egg laying rate is your main priority and you don't mind hybrids, I would recommend getting Black Sex Links (Black Stars), which are produced by crossing red gene roosters (usually RIRs) with barred hens (usually Barred Rocks). Not only are Black Sex Links are very friendly and hardy, but they can be sexed by color from hatching (male chicks have a white spot on top of their heads; female chicks lack the white spot), and they are egg laying machines, outlaying either parent breed. It's one of the interesting quirks of hybridization. I raised Black Sex Links for years and they have been my best layers, consistently churning out more than 300 large brown eggs per hen per year, with double yolks not being uncommon. I have been especially impressed with their persistence in laying in really cold weather.
If you want a standard breed (as hybrids don't breed true), I would recommend going with Australorps which are extremely hardy, calm and gentle (my children and granddaughter made lap pets of them), and the best layers of the standard, brown egg laying breeds. Whatever breed or hybrid you end up getting, good luck with your flock.