So we lost a chunk of our flock

[BrandyMom2AFew]

Last night a neighborhood dog got in the yard and took out two of my buffs. So we were going to have 9 ladies, the coop I am building is 6'x8' and they will have a run of 10'x20'.

Should I replace the two that have perished or be happy with a flock of 7?

 

[Smiles-N-Sunshine]

Sorry to hear that!

Of course, only YOU know what the best number of hens is for your situation. If they're mainly for eggs for a small family, seven is probably too many.

At our place, we start a new batch of chicks every spring, to make up for losses and to ensure we have fresh layers waiting in the wings. (Sorry, bad pun.) So, you could be happy with the seven and get more next year. Just a thought.

Bryan

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

i am so sorry for your loss!

It's really a personal decision as to how many chickens you want. i always thought the more the merrier, until i got up to 100 chickens (including baby chicks). Then i realized i had my limits. i'm down to 43 now, but most of them are bantams, so that's really more like 20 chickens.

It can be tricky adding new chickens. The pecking order can be very rough, so it will depend on your chicken's personalities and how old they are. Are your chickens laying yet? You may want to wait and see if you get enough eggs, then decide later.

Again, i'm so sorry for your loss. Hope you have bolstered things so that dog can't get in again.

 

[BrandyMom2AFew]

Oh sorry the older gals outside are 12/13 weeks so not laying yet, and I have three 3 week olds in the brooder still.

As for eggs, we are a family of 3.5 (the .5 is nursing so she doesn't count), plus our extended family of another 5-7 people.

 

[knjinnm]

Quote:
Do you mean it was after dark when the dog, why was it loose, killed your birds? Did the dog get into your coop? If so how?

 

[BrandyMom2AFew]

Well specifically they were free ranging at around 4pm I usually put them up in their coop and run at 5:30-6.