Is 15 chickens too much?

[AmyLM]

Depends on your space and how much energy and time you have! lol I started off with my first flock that should have been 26... but ended up being shipped 46... including males *grumbles* Im down to 33 now but for a starter flock they arnt that bad. Just takes alot of work at times.

 

[tmayk]

Start small because soon you will be saying "owe I need of of this breed" or "I need more of these" haha. If you get the max you'd be able to have in your space then there is no room to play with the breeds you like/ want! We started with a variety and since lost some and gotten more and different breeds. We are about to get more too! Ha it's addicting.

 

[bobelot]

I only have 3 heheh

 

[missnu01]

I have 10, and am planning on getting a lot more soon. Mine are adults...You can have as many chickens as you have space for and ability to take care of and can afford to feed.

 

[Mrs. K]

I kind of use this general rule of thumb, take the number of people in your family and double it + 2. That number of hens...... kind of sorta, will keep you in enough eggs for your use, and some to give away.

The eggs are not constant, not a perfect egg a day deal. And some periods of the year, the production can really drop. The thing is, with 15 hens, depending on the breed of chickens you get, there will be times when you get lots of eggs, and then other times where not very many. In my humble opinion, 15 in not enough to set up a steady egg sales to very many people, and probably not enough to offset the extra feed that many hens are going to need.

I have 10 hens and a roo. Often I give a dozen of eggs away here and there as a small gift, or send them home with one of my kids. But in the late fall, early winter, there was a small spell where I bought eggs for just my home use. I am a baker, and my family eats a fair amount of eggs, and with the 10, I might keep another family in eggs, if I was darn careful in my own egg use, but not consistently.

With 15 hens, I think you are going to be in that expensive zone for feed, in which you generally get too many eggs for your own use, but not enough eggs to have enough sales to make the feed bill worth it.

That being said, I started off with 25, but some died. As the years have gone by, I have found a dozen suits me best........ so why do I have 25 ordered for the spring? Well that is chicken math.

MrsK

 

[donrae]

I kind of use this general rule of thumb, take the number of people in your family and double it + 2. That number of hens...... kind of sorta, will keep you in enough eggs for your use, and some to give away.

The eggs are not constant, not a perfect egg a day deal. And some periods of the year, the production can really drop. The thing is, with 15 hens, depending on the breed of chickens you get, there will be times when you get lots of eggs, and then other times where not very many. In my humble opinion, 15 in not enough to set up a steady egg sales to very many people, and probably not enough to offset the extra feed that many hens are going to need.

I have 10 hens and a roo. Often I give a dozen of eggs away here and there as a small gift, or send them home with one of my kids. But in the late fall, early winter, there was a small spell where I bought eggs for just my home use. I am a baker, and my family eats a fair amount of eggs, and with the 10, I might keep another family in eggs, if I was darn careful in my own egg use, but not consistently.

With 15 hens, I think you are going to be in that expensive zone for feed, in which you generally get too many eggs for your own use, but not enough eggs to have enough sales to make the feed bill worth it.

That being said, I started off with 25, but some died. As the years have gone by, I have found a dozen suits me best........ so why do I have 25 ordered for the spring? Well that is chicken math.

MrsK

I keep saying no baby chicks, no baby chicks! I may have to start sending my husband to the feed store, though, I'm weak. I want to just hatch my own........no baby chicks no baby chicks.

Yeah, we'll see how that works out!

 

[critterwhisper]

I started with 15 chicks/almost 2 weeks ago,went to the feed store tonight and got 6 chicks,omg now my flock count is 21! I am done and think my husband will kill me if i get any more,but gosh darn it them fuzzy butts are so hard to resist. Thank goodness their coop will be plenty big enough- but seriously i am done...no more..21 is plenty..i promise i wont break down when i see other chicks ...lol

 

[Auscal]

I started with 6, we now have four. For the two of us that is just about perfect. We haven't bought eggs in the 1 1/2 years they have been laying - and have been selling some to recoup some of the feed costs.
The size of your flock is a personal choice, but, this works for us.

 

[lahowardjr]

I started with twenty chickens and butchered four roosters. This is the start of my second year as a "chicken farmer" and fourteen hens has worked out fine for us. I can feed them 24 oz. of feed a day and let them free range in the evening w/o any problems. They gain weight and are healthy layers. We're average six eggs a day right now and have enough to sell and/or give to our neighbors. Try fifteen. You can always add or subtract (butcher roosters) if needed. I'm really considering adding six more Brahamas in a month or so. Luck.

 

[silvercat76]

I started four years ago with six hens and a rooster, perfect for me and my family. We have slowly out grown that and have eleven and ten chicks coming in next week and I've already convinced hub to expand my coup this year. I have eleven chickens in an 8'x8' coop plenty of room for what we have. To add the new chicks this spring Im going to house them in my quarantine coop I have.