Just getting started and need advice on new chickens

Personally I would get all my chickens for my flock at the same time. Intergration of new additions just takes time to do it right and safely.
I’ve thought about what happens once they stop laying there are some I just can’t part with because they are family pets.
About hot summers....I put in misters (Home Depot) not expensive and it’s the best thing I’ve done to improve their quality of life. Triple digits in summer where I live are common. The difference with the misters is amazing (plus shade). Sitting in the run in the shade under the
Misters is a slice of heaven.
 
94AA4C28-A57F-4F7D-BFD6-1A4899C1C96C.jpeg
I don’t know how small your coop is. Mine is tiny...so tiny (prefab). I CANNOT wait to build my own. My
Hubby blew out the
Back of the existing wall made a addition. I keep 4 hens standard size. They are just right inside. I just cannot get more chickens as they would be over crowded.
It was a good starter (I guess) but I outgrew it the first year. You’ll find you’ll learn as you go. Chickens are just addictive lol.
 
I prefer a multi-generational flock. Where you plan to add a few chicks in the spring, and are aware, that very often chickens do not live real long lives, and many will die around 3 years of age, not all, but a good share.

So I plan to cull some each year, and add some each year. I keep a flock, where as chickens come into the flock and leave. I feel bad when I lose a favorite, but as my granddaughter says, now we can get some chicks. So fun.

I raise my chicks up in the flock, and have had very good luck with either a broody hen or a wooly hen.

One of the big problems with getting all 6 at once, is that they will get old all at the same time.

Mrs K
 
I prefer a multi-generational flock. Where you plan to add a few chicks in the spring, and are aware, that very often chickens do not live real long lives, and many will die around 3 years of age, not all, but a good share.

So I plan to cull some each year, and add some each year. I keep a flock, where as chickens come into the flock and leave. I feel bad when I lose a favorite, but as my granddaughter says, now we can get some chicks. So fun.

I raise my chicks up in the flock, and have had very good luck with either a broody hen or a wooly hen.

One of the big problems with getting all 6 at once, is that they will get old all at the same time.

Mrs K
Wish I could do that. I need a new coop first. :hmm
 
Welcome to the forum Heidi, glad you joined. :frow

In my opinion the best way to avoid stress on your hens and yourself is to not crowd them. You can follow the link in my signature to see why I say that. I find that the more I crowd them the more behavioral problems I have, the harder I have to work, and the less flexibility I have to deal with issues. When you integrate extra room is tremendously helpful regardless of age or size. In your climate they should be able to go outside every day, thanks for that information. If you build your run so you consider it predator proof to the point you are comfortable leaving the door between coop and run open all the time, your space is the coop plus the run and should be sufficient for six hens. If you leave them kicked in that coop only for extended times when they are awake it could be really crowded, even with bantams.

The secret to putting poop in the compost and avoiding flies is to keep the poop dry or cover it. If the poop gets thick enough that it stays wet after a rain it can and probably will draw flies. To avoid that mix the poop with the compost so it's not that thick. If your compost pile gets really wet and stays that way for long it can turn into a stinky slimy mess with or without the poop but in San Diego that should not be much of a problem. The way I generally handle flies is to cover the poop with lawn clippings when it gets thick to bury it where the flies could not get to it even when it rains a lot.

As far as laying cycle and when you might need to bring in new birds to maintain egg production you might read this thread. My post is #21 but there is a lot of good information by others in that thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/advice-on-flock-size-please.1282043/page-3#post-20691324
Hope this helps a little and once again, :frow
 
Welcome to the forum Heidi, glad you joined. :frow

In my opinion the best way to avoid stress on your hens and yourself is to not crowd them. You can follow the link in my signature to see why I say that. I find that the more I crowd them the more behavioral problems I have, the harder I have to work, and the less flexibility I have to deal with issues. When you integrate extra room is tremendously helpful regardless of age or size. In your climate they should be able to go outside every day, thanks for that information. If you build your run so you consider it predator proof to the point you are comfortable leaving the door between coop and run open all the time, your space is the coop plus the run and should be sufficient for six hens. If you leave them kicked in that coop only for extended times when they are awake it could be really crowded, even with bantams.

The secret to putting poop in the compost and avoiding flies is to keep the poop dry or cover it. If the poop gets thick enough that it stays wet after a rain it can and probably will draw flies. To avoid that mix the poop with the compost so it's not that thick. If your compost pile gets really wet and stays that way for long it can turn into a stinky slimy mess with or without the poop but in San Diego that should not be much of a problem. The way I generally handle flies is to cover the poop with lawn clippings when it gets thick to bury it where the flies could not get to it even when it rains a lot.

As far as laying cycle and when you might need to bring in new birds to maintain egg production you might read this thread. My post is #21 but there is a lot of good information by others in that thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/advice-on-flock-size-please.1282043/page-3#post-20691324
Hope this helps a little and once again, :frow
Wow, thanks for the welcome and for all this info. I'm going to go to that link now. Everyone's insights have really got me thinking. I do indeed plan to only close the chickens in the coop overnight, to avoid stress on them from resident raccoons, possums, and rats. Their run (in which the raised coop is placed) is predator proof as well, but the coop will be a safe space they won't experience any visual stress from ambient light or critters while they're resting or nesting. The door to the coop will remain open for them during the day, but I anticipate they'll be hanging out in the run or "free ranging" under a protective hoop in a rotation around my yard. My initial purpose for getting chickens is to clear unwanted weeds from an area I've been composting on for the past 10 years. We have crab grass which has overgrown half the yard and before I sink my bare root fruit trees into that fertile ground, I want to eradicate as many weeds and weed seeds and grubs as possible. I don't use glyphosate in my yard, and chooks, I've heard, are phenomenal at prepping a garden space.

It looks like I need to reassess the role of my coop and run. Initially, I planned to purchase 2-4 young hens, eventually going up to a max of 6 if they were small breeds, but now I think I'll try to start with a broody hen and just a few fertile eggs becoming wee chicks. I don't know the first thing about mama hens' needs. I assume chicks can't wobble down the ladder to the run, and I don't want anyone falling to his/her death from 3 feet up in the coop... I assume mama hen will keep the eggs and babies warm, and the coop I've built her is so lovely and secure, but do we need to be closer to the ground? Then I need to learn how many eggs I should purchase for her to sit upon, since I know some may become males. so much uncertainty!!! Any help, any links, anything at all to guide me would be fantastic!!! Thank you so much!!!
 
Wish I could do that. I need a new coop first. :hmm
I prefer a multi-generational flock. Where you plan to add a few chicks in the spring, and are aware, that very often chickens do not live real long lives, and many will die around 3 years of age, not all, but a good share.

So I plan to cull some each year, and add some each year. I keep a flock, where as chickens come into the flock and leave. I feel bad when I lose a favorite, but as my granddaughter says, now we can get some chicks. So fun.

I raise my chicks up in the flock, and have had very good luck with either a broody hen or a wooly hen.

One of the big problems with getting all 6 at once, is that they will get old all at the same time.

Mrs K
Mrs K, can I ask how you cull your flock? I think most people seem to have their chooks as pets, and I'm assuming they let them live out their lives on the backyard farm. Knowing myself, I'll likely be doing the same, but I am still curious; I have a close friend who homesteads, and has a large flock. When her hens age out of laying eggs, her husband goes out there and returns with a chicken he boils up for stew.
 

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