Minimum number of hens?

[Cattle dog Mom]

I have ZERO chickens right now. Planning on changing that in the spring. Since I am just venturing into the whole chicken thing, I do NOT want 498567 chickens! So anyone answering "get all of the chickens" isn't helpful. LOL I have a few breeds that I NEED. What I want to know though is how many chickens does it take for them to be "happy". Since I am NOT going the day old chick route, but rather pullets from breeders, what I want to know is would say 2 be perfectly fine until I am able to add some of another breed? (I figure just getting one would NOT be good since they are "flock" animals and will be treated as livestock, NOT in my house!) Because lets be real, there is NO WAY that all of the breeders are going to be selling on the same day. It could be MONTHS between when I am able to get them.

 

[AntiqueB]

I had 3, but one turned out to be a cockerel. The 3 got along fine, but now that I'm down to 2, I can see they don't really like each other. They're like people and dogs -- they get along with some and not others. I will add 2 more in spring.

If you buy from a hatchery, you can get different breeds on the same date.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

I had 3, but one turned out to be a cockerel. The 3 got along fine, but now that I'm down to 2, I can see they don't really like each other. They're like people and dogs -- they get along with some and not others. I will add 2 more in spring.

If you buy from a hatchery, you can get different breeds on the same date.

But I'm not doing the hatchery thing. (NO DAY OLDS.)

 

[LapisLazuli]

I believe you would be able to get two, but I'm not as experienced as some people.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Y be able tk. E is better that way if something happens to one, there's still 2 until a 3rd can be added again

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

Y be able tk. E is better that way if something happens to one, there's still 2 until a 3rd can be added again

UMMMM, what is that first part of your reply? LOL And very good point about 3 vs 2!

 

[JacinLarkwell]

UMMMM, what is that first part of your reply? LOL And very good point about 3 vs 2!

So sorry. Meant to say you should be able to get 2 or 3 from a seller as opposed to a large minimum for day olds.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

But I'm not doing the hatchery thing. (NO DAY OLDS.)

You can purchase 15-22 week old poults from Cackle Hatchery. Hatcheries don’t just sell day old chick. And you can get different breeds. They are really expensive this time of year but I think it was around $40 back in the spring. I haven’t checked the prices at other hatcheries though either. Correction the price. Hens are about 30 but shipping to my area is the insanely expensive part.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What I want to know though is how many chickens does it take for them to be "happy".

I suggest a minimum of three in the flock at any one time. Same logic as JacinLarkwell above. If one dies they still have a buddy.

Once you have some in the flock I don't have any issues with just one of a certain breed but (a big but) integration is typically easier when you have more than one. Two is enough. If you can get more than one breed at a time then one if each is enough for integration. If you cannot then get at least two.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

You can purchase 15-22 week old poults from Cackle Hatchery. Hatcheries don’t just sell day old chick. And you can get different breeds. They are really expensive this time of year but I think it was around $40 back in the spring. I haven’t checked the prices at other hatcheries though either. Correction the price. Hens are about 30 but shipping to my area is the insanely expensive part.

And I can get the breeds I want from "local" breeders for less AND not have to pay shipping. I looked at one hatchery and started pullets were almost $25 each, and shipping was $50 EACH. And I would also prefer to support a breeder that is trying to preserve these rare breeds, rather than a hatchery whose only goal is to crank out as many chicks as they can, with no care for the fact that some aren't even true to breed characteristics.