New chicks are here! (already failed chicken math)

[Rosebuttons]

After months of planning and anticipation, I got my baby chicks today!! I'm a first-timer with chickens so it's all new to me. I got a Plymouth Barred Rock (top left), two Ameraucanas, and a Buff Orpington. My kids have named them Jingle, Stella, Belle, and Henny Penny.

I had only planned to get three, as our coop is quite small, and *somehow* I left the feed store with four. The feed store guy convinced me that it would be good insurance, in case one turned out to be a rooster, or didn't make it, etc. And along with my 4-year-old, we were an easy sell. Now I'm really worried I should have just gotten three. Tell me it will be okay? Or, does anyone want a sweet little Ameracauna?!

 

[Nksg75]

Congratulations first off! They are adorable!!!

Welcome!! Yes, it will be fine!!
No worries!! See?
Just get to know them, have fun!! They are so much fun!!
I never understood why people liked chickens till I decided I wanted pretty chickens like Martha Stewart.
Well now I have 25 chickens!!
Hmm.... chicken math is REAL!!!

Seriously though, how small/big is your coop?

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, 'chicken math' is very real! I started with a very few too, and now have 41 adults, 25 chicks, and a couple dozen in incubation. No problem, right?!?
Build a bigger coop!
Mary

 

[Rosebuttons]

Congratulations first off! They are adorable!!!

Welcome!! Yes, it will be fine!!
No worries!! See?
Just get to know them, have fun!! They are so much fun!!
I never understood why people liked chickens till I decided I wanted pretty chickens like Martha Stewart.
Well now I have 25 chickens!!
Hmm.... chicken math is REAL!!!

Seriously though, how small/big is your coop?

Thank you!
My coop is about 9 SQ ft and the run is about 18 SQ ft. Maybe I could add an external nest box for more room in the coop? I could maybe add an extension to the run too...

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

Thank you!
My coop is about 9 SQ ft and the run is about 18 SQ ft. Maybe I could add an external nest box for more room in the coop? I could maybe add an extension to the run too...

Thats too small....

Do you have a shed you can convert? Can you buy a shed?

They will grow out of that in a few weeks.

Gary

 

[Rosebuttons]

Thats too small....

Do you have a shed you can convert? Can you buy a shed?

They will grow out of that in a few weeks.

Gary

I was afraid of that. We could build an extension to the run, giving them another 15-18 sq ft. I'm also wondering if I could find another home for one of them.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

9 square feet is barely enough for 2, and 2 is too few. You need a bigger coop.

Gary

 

[sean_wonder]

Really hoping to see them grow and hear your tales! Also I agree, each chicken needs four square feet minimum in the coop and twice that in the run. You'll need a coop with at least sixteen sq feet for the girls you have, so for sake of chicken math I'd buy/make one with room for three or four more chickens