I want to get about 20-25 hens, 1-2 days old. I want them for the eggs, mainly but when they get too old to lay, I want to be able to use the meat. Is there any reason to have a rooster?
You can eat any chicken of any size at any age, but some just don’t have much meat on them. Bantams, leghorns, and the hybrid egg layers just don’t have much meat on them. Pay attention to adult weight when you order but I’d suggest any of the dual purpose breeds pretty much fit your goals. You might consider getting one of those egg layer specials most hatcheries offer. They are usually reasonably priced. They basically send you a few different breeds, whatever they hatch surplus that week, so you get to look at a few different breeds to see what you like or don’t like.
The only reason you need a rooster is if you want fertile eggs. Anything else is personal preference. Some people would not have a flock without a rooster, some are really pleased they don’t have one.
If they are free range during the day, will they stay around the yard if they are penned up for a few weeks when I first get them?
They will come home to roost at night so they will not ju8st wander off. How much they stay around the yard during the day depends on a lot of things; quality of forage, barriers, and just how much they like to roam. Each flock is unique and has its own dynamics. Just changing one chicken in a flock can change flock dynamics. Most of my flocks stay within 250 to 300 feet of the coop, but I’ve had some that would roam more than 500 feet.
How big of a coop will I need for that many if they're only in the coop during inclement weather and at night?
I wrote that space article so you already have my thoughts on that. I won’t give you a specific size because we are each so unique. I will mention that in most inclement weather mine are often outside. They like rain. Worms come to the ground surface where they are easy pickings.
Does each hen need a separate laying box?
There is a general rule of thumb that the minimum size nest you need is 12” x 12” for full sized fowl and you need one of those for every four hens you have. I made mine 16” x 16”. That fit my stud spacing so they were easy to frame up. I find I don’t need as many nests when they are larger. You could even go with one 24” x 48” community nest box that would possibly handle your entire flock. As with most things chicken though, I would not cut it too close. A little extra can help a lot.
Is one coop design better than another one?
If you look at the top of this page, you’ll see a tab that says “coops”. You can get an idea of how many different kinds of coops that we build. Which style is better for you will depend on your climate, how you manage your chickens, how important “pretty” is (in suburbia pretty may be important if you have neighbors that don’t want property values to drop and some people just like pretty), and so many other things. For that many chickens I strongly recommend a walk-in coop but how big or what style I haven’t a clue.
