Poll: How many chickens do you have?

[LizzzyJo]

Thank you! The extra eggs idea is great! I have like 25 eggs right now!

Yes, it works out beautifully. Our shelter/soup kitchen loves to take fresh eggs and vegetables, so in the summer they get SO many eggs, kale, and tomatoes and zucchini from us their heads begin to spin.

I can't imagine how rare it must be for those suffering from homelessness to get fresh vegetables and eggs.

 

[LizzzyJo]

I had 3, down to 2 due to a sexing error, but planning to add 2 more in the spring. I would love a rooster, but that can't happen in the 'burbs.

Don't worry about not having a roo - very often the are more trouble than they're worth

 

[WallyG74]

16 hens, 1 rooster. I’d like to get my hens up to a nice solid 20 this year. I also plan to hatch for eating and selling. I’m adding a much larger run/yard area and another coop for those that won’t be hanging around for long. This coop will have all the things I didn’t think of the first time! It will be a fully functioning coop in case it has to house extra hens that I may or may not decide to keep. Chicken math will sneak up on you very quickly.

 

[Cattle dog Mom]

I always think about getting a big tom turkey for entertainment, but he wouldn't fit through my coop door! lol.

It's also very likely that he would seriously injure of kill your hens trying to breed them. (This is my pencilled blue palm jake.)

 

[Aunt Angus]

Just warn your neighbors if you have any!

Right?!?!

I live in Farmland. Here in Farmland, the neighbors sign a document acknowledging that they have to put up with Farmland noises.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Right?!?!

I live in Farmland. Here in Farmland, the neighbors sign a document acknowledging that they have to put up with Farmland noises.

Agreed! Or, as my neighbor puts it - "you do whatever you want to do with your own slice of heaven"

 

[aart]

Right now I have 13 females and 1 male.
Ages from 11 months to 4 years.
Will be getting and/or hatching some new chicks this spring.
Might replace the current male with one of the new cockerels.
Will pare it back down to 18 or less before next winter.

 

[aart]

What breeds do you keep?

The last few years I mostly have the BCM cock and CLB hens and their OE offspring.
Older birds are a few EE's and Welsummer x EE offspring.
New birds will be BCM and (real) Ameraucanas(7 year dream finally fulfilled).

 

[Misfits Farm 92]

My roo to hen ratio needs to be worked on. I have to many cockerels. It's probably about 4 - 5 hens per roo but what I see most if the time is actually the roos grouping together to manage a flock of hens. There are two main groups but I've seen some shifting in the pecking order recently. One group is a group of the large fowl adult hens run by Dragon as the main roo and also Blacky who is my mother's old swedish black rooster. The other group has all the young ones hatched this year in it. Copper and Biscuit are the main roos but Boo Boo, Stunning, Gold Lace, Scarlett, Frito, Dorito, and and the unintelligent faverolle rooster are in that group too. Darlene, Raven, and Red are a few hens who have left the main flocks and prefer to follow the humans around like dogs!

 

[Misfits Farm 92]

My roo to hen ratio needs to be worked on. I have to many cockerels. It's probably about 4 - 5 hens per roo but what I see most if the time is actually the roos grouping together to manage a flock of hens. There are two main groups but I've seen some shifting in the pecking order recently. One group is a group of the large fowl adult hens run by Dragon as the main roo and also Blacky who is my mother's old swedish black rooster. The other group has all the young ones hatched this year in it. Copper and Biscuit are the main roos but Boo Boo, Stunning, Gold Lace, Scarlett, and and the unintelligent faverolle rooster are in that group too. Darlene, Raven, and Red are a few hens who have left the main flocks and prefer to follow the humans around like dogs!

I won't be keeping all those chickens but people prefer to buy them during spring (after they've made the feed bill go higher all winter!)