New To Chickens!! Help!!

[flyercity]

Hi, My wife and I are very interested in getting into chickens and we have tons of questions. We are lucky enough to be buying a home with a sturdy 8x8 coop inside a 20x20 pen. It has 8 nesting boxes inside. We went to the Boston show in North Oxford yesterday and had a great time looking at the entries and flea market. A few dumb questions, How many chickens could we have in that size coop and pen? What types of chickens are good layers? Do all breeds of chickens get along together? We were looking at the Leghorns for layers, but the Silkys sure are cute!! I was thinking a couple would be good for my granddaughters 4-h.
Thanks for any help.

 

[Just-Like-Hatching]

First, Welcome to the BYC. Second make sure you read the chickens 101 on the home page. Lots of great info there.

 

[Daycare Mom]

Your best bet is to do a search on all the questions that you have. More than likely that will answer all your questions.
Congrats and be careful chickens are more addictive than you can imagine!!!!

 

[justusnak]

Hi, and welcome to BYC. I am sure you will be able to find a lot of great help here. As for your questions.....

an 8x8 coop can easily hold 16 full sized chickens. ( 8x8 = 64 sq ft each chicken needs at least 4 sq ft...64 divided by 4 = 16.)
As for the run....20 x20 thats 400 sq ft. Each full size chicken needs at least 10 sq ft. So, the 16 would have ample room.

As for the breeds. Well...there are so many different opinions on that. I have several breeds.
The Buff Orps...docile...good layers, and tend to want to go broody easily. ( want to hatch chicks)
Rhode Island reds....good layers...not as friendly...rarely go broody.
Barred Rocks...great layers....very people oriented...not sure of the broody instincts....mine are still young.
Easter Eggers....people oriented...tend to be low on the pecking order when in a mixed flock..lay well...not sure of thier broody..mine dont seem interested.
White Leghorns...great layers...very flighty...so far...non broody.
Banty Cockin Frizzles good layers of small..almost tiny eggs...friendly...very broody.
I dont have Silkies...but I hear...good layers....small eggs..friendly..and very broody.
These are just a few of MANY breeds out there. I have a banty cochin Frizzle in with my Buff orps. She gets along just fine...and is pretty high in the pecking order.
I hope you find the chickens that suit you the best....and enjoy them! My advice...start with a pair...of a few different breeds...see which ones you like...rehome the ones you dont.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I agree. You certainly have enough nest boxes 3/4 birds per nest box. 3birds x 8 nest boxes= 24 birds, and you'll find the birds tend to use certain nest boxes. I have had 3 birds in one box at one time, but usually several birds will use mainly a couple of my nest boxes. I'll find some eggs in the other boxes.