Starting a whole new Laying Flock :D Some Questions ;)

[Justino]

So my grandma just gave me the okay to start a laying flock at her house because we are gettin more buyers of eggs than we have LOL so probably next weekend ill be making the coop over there

I havent decided on the breeds i want to get but i want ones that you can tell are are a girl from a chick (like with sex links) , are good layers of any colored eggs, and are not broody. Are there any other chickens like that? and what other colors do Sex Links come in?


And 4sq feet per bird is a good guideline for how many to get right? what if they have daily access to a run every day?


Also, i know i have waaaay too many egg boxes in my coop at my house

but roughly how many nest boxes should i have per bird?


Thanks for all of your help

I cant wait to get this goin

 

[JennsPeeps]

Black sex-links and barred rocks fit your criteria. We've had both and liked them. The BRs can be loud & bossy but we like their personalities.

We've also got 2 australorps and a buff orp (among others) who havne't started laying yet. All of them are VERY nice birds but don't meet your criteria of being sex-linked.

BTW, sex-links are only sexable in the first generation. If you want to breed your own sex-links, you can't breed the offspring.

 

[Omran]

If you are looking for eggs, then RIR are really very good hens, my rir hens work like an egg machine and they don't eat you up with the feed bill

4 sq is right even if thy have a big run, just in case you hae to lock them in for a reason or other.
nest boxes maybe 1 per 4 hens. I have 8 boxes and only two get used.

 

[Justino]

Thanks you guys, we think we are going to get black n red stars, maybe 4 of each, then let the 3 kids n me pick 1 other breed

we are hoping for 12 good lil hens

 

[Justino]

Quote:
yeah but if i got sex links from the feed store theyd be for sure girls

at least acordin to what the workers there says

 

[Judy]

4 sq ft per bird in the coop, 10 sq ft per bird in the run, and one nest box for 4 hens, are the rules of thumb usually used here. For 12 hens I probably wouldn't build more than 2 nest boxes, though; as stated already, they tend to just use one. Also, in case you are wondering, 8" to 10" roost space per bird, the wide side of a 2x4 is ideal.

 

[Justino]

Quote:
oh thanks

mean i just cant wait to get this thing started

im very exited

 

[Ec_Prokta]

For the nest boxes, about 1 every 2 birds would work.

For the chickens, Red Stars are very good egg layers! (My chickens, Carbon, Sailor Moon, and Turtle are massive egg layers!)

 

[thedeacon]

You also need to concern yourself with how long the hens will lay consistently. Some sex-linked slack off after the first year but the others will be good layers for 2 or more. I don't like replacing hens every year. Either have to rehome or send to freezer camp and raise babys for replacements. I prefer BO & RIR as they will lay all summer and winter.