People with more than 10 chickens

[Rooapalooza]

The most birds I've had at once was about 22, but 4 were ducks who were a part of the chicken flock, and 4 were roosters. I've also had flocks of mixed ages. More than number of birds, having just adults of one species, with mostly girls, makes things a lot easier.

Now I just have chickens (and quail, but they are their own thing). I still have 4 roosters in a flock of about 16. It's too many roosters, luckily they are good breeds so I plan on selling a couple soon. Chicks are a lot of work too, so I've finally set limits on my broodiest hens .

Anyway in terms of just hens, I don't notice a big difference in work between 10 and 20. Less than 6 hens is too few to justify the time and money put into having chickens, IMO. My ideal number is probably between 12-18 hens, with half being older and half hatched into the flock every few years. That's enough that there's always some eggs and usually enough to give away. It's not so many that keeping up with feed is overwhelming.

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

The most I’ve had was around 120, and I’ve paired it down to around 50 now. I can support hundreds more. I’m just selective as to what I want to keep.

I think having more chickens on large parcels of productive land is good if you keep chickens for food security as I do. My chickens reproduce and feed themselves with little intervention from me. As chickens used to do in centuries past before the hatchery system and the invention of internet backyard chicken lore.

 

[WthrLady]

I'm looking for honest opinions of your experiences. Is falling into the chicken math zone always better ( more breeds yay!) but maybe not? I know folks have different situations (selling eggs, need the meat , etc). I'm perfectly fine with extra eggs. Not using my birds for meat. I get too attached. I also greatly miss when my flock were chicks and being able to repeat that process every year would be awesome.

Basically urban owner here and I'm super jealous of you guys that can have as many as you want. Our city restrictions are not too bad but I have limitations to how many chickens we can own and have to monitor the noise. Boo!

I'm 34 working on a goal of someday owning a small home with a few acres. We are in Colorado and it is extremely expensive to obtain that kind of dream here, unless you go to a crappy part of the state. I don't want to leave CO

Wondering if it's really worth it just to collect more chickens My current home is in a very sought after market and near everything + we wouldn't have too much concern over keeping stable jobs if life happens.

NO limits here in open country either. Honestly, hens are noisier than roos. LOL.

I think it's easier to care for a LOT of chickens than just a few. You have to rotate in new/younger anyway to keep things going. Then once you have a large coop for many, what's the point in just having a couple with all that space?

 

[Peggsblueinc]

I live on 2.5 acres. I started with 6 hens but gradually ended up with 17. The more you have the more maintenance. As everyone has mentioned. I’m getting 10 on average eggs per day. I sell them and give away to family. My problem is I like to travel. Live live in a rural area not many people. So who’s going to take care of my hens when I’m gone. When there was only six I could leave and come back without to much cleaning and eggs. But know I end up having to hire someone to come and gather eggs and clean. Something to think about.

 

[Peggsblueinc]

I have a question. I have a couple of hens who give thin shelled eggs. They have oyster shell accessible at all times. Chickens are supposed to eat it when they need it. But they still have thin shells. What other supplement can I give them. Maybe something I can put in water? I need input.

 

[pintail_drake2004]

On my farm, I have 50 chickens-45 hens & 5 roosters. I conservatively get about 800-900 eggs a month. I sell them $2/dz in So. IL and $4-6/dz in Chicago, so I have plenty of buyers for my excess eggs. I typically raise 150-200 meat birds annually too. If you have the space, in my opinion, the more the better. Its a hedge against predation losses, as I free range. Though 50 birds sounds like a lot, it really isn't. My wife and daughter have given them all names, and interact with them all daily. As for the daily chores associated with the birds, automation is key. My homemade feeder holds over 100# of feed, and the automatic watering bucket with nipples is a time saver. I go through approximately 10-15# of oyster shells a month as well.
For me, I turned it into a business. If I'm going to keep chickens on the farm anyway, I may as well get the most out of it as I can. What I have done has been cost effective, and I literally have the birds pay for themselves (actually turn a profit) with little added effort.

 

[adstowe]

I have a question. I have a couple of hens who give thin shelled eggs. They have oyster shell accessible at all times. Chickens are supposed to eat it when they need it. But they still have thin shells. What other supplement can I give them. Maybe something I can put in water? I need input.

What do you feed them? Is it a layer feed? Do you have roosters or younger, non-laying birds? Are the 2 that are laying thin shelled eggs older and their eggs have just degraded in quality? Excessive calcium is not good for males or young (pre-laying) birds, so if if you have them, increasing the calcium across the board isn't a good option. We need more info

 

[Folly's place]

About the Instant Pot; have one, an 8 qt, new this year, and love it! This brand has a stainless steel pot liner, way better than the Crock pot. Mine holds a whole 7.5 to 8 pound chicken, perfect! And it makes yummy yogurt overnight, and all the other advantages of having both a big slow cooker, or a pressure cooker. Recommend it highly!!!
The 10 qt. pot is really large and heavy, get the 8 qt. instead, still plenty big.
Flock size; we generally have 35 to 40 birds over the winter, including several roosters, and then have more chicks in spring and summer. I have a hard time sending old hens to the pot, so have a few old retired ladies always.
We have 50+ acres, so plenty of room! Living in the boonies is the best!
Mary

 

[adstowe]

I love living in the boonies! We have 40 acres. It's all high mountain desert junk land, but it gives me all the room I need. Of course, with nothing appealing in sight my chickens don't make use of it. They rarely go more than 75 feet from the coop.

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I have 19 hens (including a house chicken) and a rooster, 10 runner ducks and a pair of geese.

House-chicken ? I had one that stayed in the house for health reasons when the coop did not have an extra-bed for isolated care, and I refer to her as my house-chicken. Sometimes she leaves the coop and instead of heading to the garden she just walks up the stairs and into the kitchen like she has 2 houses. (I LOVE it... but my spouse is less enthusiastic when he comes home to find her and I chatting in the kitchen)

It is like a really lovely neighbor stopping in for tea. We chat and have snacks together her and I, and catch up.