Normal Flock Size?

[CountryGal517]

We've just started our own little flock. Chicken math quickly set in. First it was 2 hens and a rooster, then my husband found 6 more golden comets which are hard to come by, and had to have them and now we are waiting on 3 more chicks and 2 ducklings to add to the mix. I really think your starting size just depends on your coop/run size and what your plans are. Are they layers or meat birds or both? Do you know people who would want fresh eggs if you end up overloaded with them??

Good luck starting your flock, BYC is a great place to start

 

[celeste110311]

I raise for standard and also hybrids for eggs. Selling the eggs always helps cover feed costs..

 

[bantambury]

They are so pretty! Great photos too!

thanks!

 

[bantambury]

I really think your starting size just depends on your coop/run size and what your plans are.

I fully agree %110 with you. my limit to my coop is 15, but that's also why I am building another small one in order for my coop to be comfortable for my birds.

 

[piglett]

As said their is no "average" depends, i started with 4 standards and stayed that way for a year! yep, chicken math didn't happen. Now we have silkies and i am adding a few large fowl hens at the end of the month.

I am completely rural, can have whatever i please, heck i own 8 roosters

really all about your goals, i think it's important to start easy, jumping in head first can overwhelm. Especially as feed bills, work level rises and weather becomes unpleasant.

i have 8 or 9 myself & there is a house about 200 feet from my coop

but the guy who lives there stays drunk/high most of the time so he doesn't count for much in my book

if he can fire up his snow machine with a race pipe on it at midnight then i can have as many roosters as i please

i never say a word about the things he does , he never says a word about the things i do

so i guess we have an understanding

 

[dabbler939]

I started my flock last year with 15. I tried several different kinds and got baby chicks. I grew them up. Now this spring I have determined which two breeds I want and am planning on hatching some eggs. I have a rooster that I recently purchased in one of the breeds and am getting eggs to start the other breed. They should be laying size by late fall and then I will sell the hens I do not plan on keeping. I plan to end up with about 30 having around 15 of each breed.

 

[Utard]

I started with 11 had 3 males and one was a PITA (gave her away).

Now I have 7 and I get 6 eggs every day.

So the first thing you have to ask yourself is how many eggs do you want? If you and any other family eat 6 eggs a day then 7 chickens might be for you?

However I am moving to the country soon and plan on having a total of 50. I will get 15 new ones this spring and 15 the next. Most likely 15 new ones every year. I plan on getting a different breed each year. Then after year 3 or 4 they will be meat chickens. But then again that will end up being only 1 chicken to eat every 3 weeks? Maybe I will need to do more?

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Its really all in what you want them for! I started slow, with a smallish flock.
I raised meat birds, CX about 30 years ago. My family always kept birds when I was growing up.
Had moved into town and with kids, work and life, forgot about it for a long time...
So when I retired to care for my aging parents it was time to keep birds again.
This time was my first time having chickens for eggs, and heritage breeds as well.
My SIL to be asked me one day if I'd like some chicks. I blurted out SURE!
And DH about fell over in horror. That was 2 years ago. We got 6 Chinese gosling, 4 Muscovy duckling and 6 GLW chicks.
Oh my, they were just a blessing for me! It was hard staying home after having worked for 30+ years.
I don't have a "business". Its just a change in the way we live and what we eat.
Today, I own well over 200 birds/waterfowl from coturnix quail, up to peafowl! And 5 goats, a cow, a pig... eieioooo!
And we have a small 5 acre micro-farm. Looking into the 44 acres next to us...

I am enjoying it so much we bought a new sportsman 1502 cabinet incubator this year!

My 3 poor LGs just were not enough room! Best decision I have made yet.
We sell the eggs, chicks and birds that we don't want to keep to help pay feed costs.
Process some of the birds for the table. I still have 3 of my first chickens, many of the waterfowl.
I had high blood pressure and took medication for it, not anymore! The exercise and activity caring for my critters helped me beat it.

 

[Joan71]

I got nothing except to reiterate start small. I was going to go big scale for meat purposes but as I've been trusted with my mom's 4 I'm finding that a big flock would be to many for me. We can't free range so they need to be catered to. Don't jump in the deep end if barely learning to swim.

This is very good advise. I have 4 girls which I got a year ago. I got them as chicks. So we had to learn how to care for them. We had to figure out when it got warm enough to put them outside for fresh air in a run. I don't recommend free ranging small chicks. The hawks and falcons here really sensed their presence real quickly. So I kept them in a pen with wire over the top and put a tarp part way over the top so the hawks won't spot them so quickly. If you are going to have to build coops and runs, be sure to do that before the chicks arrive. Be prepared for their arrival as you would prepare for a human baby. I had 4, we used the bathtub as their first home, moved them to a portable hutch when they started trying to jump out of the bathtub. Then they were moved to the enclosed back porch in the portable hutch until they were old enough to be outside over night in their new larger coop. As those chicks grow they require more space to be comfortable. The expense of building these coops and runs can run into some serious money unless you have lumber, etc already on hand. Depending on where you live, determines how much of a coop (warmth wise) you will need for their winter home. I would start small, you can always add more as you get the hang of having chickens and how much time it takes to care of them. This site has all the info you need under the Learning Center. I read everything I could before getting the chicks. Less stressful for you and the chicks. I think you will enjoy the experience more if you start small and then add as you determine how large a flock you really want. What you will do with all of those eggs? the poop, etc. If you plan to sell eggs, some locations require you to have your birds tested. Also, you might have to have a business license. The more birds you have the more money per month you will spend on feed, bedding, etc. I see you are in the mid west, so you will definitely have to winterize the coop for winter. Time flys by so having a plan and working your plan is very important.
My grandchildren wanted to add ducks this spring. I did my research on BYC and decided that the hens are enough for now. Good luck! this is not to discourage you from having your chickens, just a reality check, then go for it. J

 

[Epent12]

I have ±40 chickens and I let them free froam in my back(grave)yard, my back(grave)yard is about the size of 30x25m, and I let MOST of my chickens to freeroam day & night,