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Hi! :frow Welcome to BYC!

I've read that you need 4sf per chicken in the coop...double or triple that. I've also read that you need 10sf per chicken in the run...double or trible that. Why? Because, chicken math. :lau Plus, I just think they are happy with lots of space. I keep a flock of around 12 chickens and have approx 4,000sf of run space. They love it! But, because I didn't know about chicken math, I have 3 coops, and now this spring DH will be building one big new one. :th
 
Hello and welcome to BYC! Congratulations on your impending retirement. I'm nearly at the end of my first year of retirement and it is so great. IMHO start with about 6 chickens. The first year of chicken keeping is a constant learning experience. Plan your coop to house 2 to 3 times as many chickens (and that's just for the layers) to have room when chicken math kicks in. Do your research and plan well. Best of luck to you! :frow
 
Hello Itaylor53.
Welcome to BYC.
That would make you about 66 years old then.
Many people start their chicken addiction with the totally ridiculous idea that fresh eggs would be nice. I suppose it's in our nature to try to rationalize our odd behaviour.:rolleyes:
If you can avoid this step (I'm sure there are counseling services availible) and go straight for the I want a more intelligent creature to talk to in my retirement and it's going to be a pet then a chicken starts to make more sense.
Ideally you will want your new intellect stimulation to outlast your own life or at least live a long and healthy life. You wouldn't want for example to find yourself on the general forum with the teens and tweens and the rest of the insecure, posting that your chickens don't seem to like you and won't let you cuddle them.:p
May I suggest you research game fowl and when you have found a breed that makes you smile, get a breeding pair. Try not to fall for the 'I want lots of different breeds so I can have different coloured eggs. The eggs taste pretty much the same whatever their colour.
Try not to be enticed by the numerically challenged either. They'll be posting about chicken math as if they are struggling with quantum theory. It's pretty simple really. Male and female often reproduce and given chickens lay and hatch eggs it should always be possible to calculate the maximum number of outcomes.
I hope you enjoy your retirement. :)
 
Welcome to BYC, so eggciting to have you here with the community, word of warning do not get an incubator, or chicken math really catches up to you as you become addicted to hatching out.
Depends on what you want chickens for as to how your going to set up the rest, choosing a breed also you need to be taking into consideration your climate range as to what breeds are going to work best, Personally I do dual purpose birds and try to keep them with low combs like rose or pea combs because I live up north where the winters can be very brutal, this helps so they don't loose their combs to frost bite. about the only thing you can plan before you decide on what chickens you have is how much area you are going to use for them and have a first aid kit assembled for any chicken emergency, you could also check most vets don't see chickens and it is very expensive if they do so most of us do it ourselves, with advise from some of the people that have already dealt with the issues and really know there stuff here.
 

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