To buy or not to buy...

[sillyovrsilkies]

I currently have 9 Silkie chicks...(lost one)

I've got a 4x8 coop w/ 8 nesting boxes...what would be a good number of Silkies to keep one another warm during the winter? Out of those 9, I'm not sure how many are roo's...thinking about purchasing another st. run...any help w/ how many I should purchase?

 

[Tomhusker]

Not sure what you have for roosting, but you could handle another 7-10 in that coop, depending on which school of thought you follow for sq ft per chicken.

 

[sillyovrsilkies]

Quote:
There is a large roosting bar w/ 3 rungs...
This is my first time with chicks, so I'm not sure I've established a "school of thought" concerning sq. footage!

The guy I bought the coop from said it would hold 20 chickens...??
Of course I have the same concern as e/o that I don't want to end up w/ too many roos and not enough hens! I guess I could order 10 more and figure I won't end up with 19 chickens...