Virginia

[ki4got]

How old does a chicken need to be before they start laying eggs?

Buying a coop in the next couple days, found one we love!

Thanks

that entirely depends on the breed. some mature as early as 16 weeks, others may take up to 8 months.

do you have an idea what breeds you're interested in?

what coop are you getting? depending on its size, some breeds deal well with confinement better than others too, so it would also depend on how large your coop/pen will be as to which breeds might work best.

 

[ki4got]

I live near Roanoke (come up all the time) and have a Lavender Orpington I might part with. She'll be laying any time now if she's not already. PM me if you're interested. Between myself and ki4got, we can fix you up with a whole flock of Orps. How big is your coop going to be? Don't pay any attention to that "3 sq foot per chicken" thing - especially if you have a roo. They need a lot more room to stay healthy and happy... unless they free range all day every day and are only in the coop to sleep.

Are you in the city limits? I don't think you can have roosters inside the city. Roanoke county has different rules. You just have to remember that roos will crow... well... anytime they like. And they can be pretty loud - LOL!

Welcome to BYC and to Roanoke!

agreed... kinda. depending on your pen size, the coop might be negotiable. they say an average of 3-4 sq ft per bird for the coop, but i tend to go more along the lines of 10 sq ft per bird for the pen (not coop). the coop, as long as you have at least 12" per bird for perch space they should be fine in our area, especially if they're not confined to the coop all day long.

in places like new england, where they get feet of snow, not inches, then i can see a need for a lot more floor space per bird, for those times they're stuck in... for our area, i keep a minimum roost space in my horse trailer, and open the door each morning to let them all free range.

i've got 30+ feet of roosting space, but find the birds all pack themselves into about 15' LOL. this includes 5 dorking roosters, 16 dorking hens, 3 buff orpington hens, 4 easter eggers, i bantam and 2 lf wyandottes. all that's about to change though, since i've got a request for pure red dorking eggs, so all th roos are now going to range and i'll keep my red roo and 4 or 5 girls penned for the next few weeks until she comes to pick up her eggs.

hopefully by then i'll have my breeding pens done which should be good for 4-5 large birds each. (6x8 pen with 2.5x4 house with enclosed space underneath too).
here's my design i'm working on... each house is duplex, divided down the middle to accommodate 2 pens at a time. the plan is a bit incomplete, but there will be doors to walk into the pens to the sides of each house.

 

[jmarie]

How old does a chicken need to be before they start laying eggs?

Buying a coop in the next couple days, found one we love!

Thanks

As someone new to chickens who bought a coop... go bigger than you think you need (chicken math) and check out some the forums on building your own coop. I was able to build a coop twice the size for less than half the cost. Now if only my chickens would accept the new coop!!

 

[ki4got]

Quote: i'm confusing all my birds today, as i'm playing musical coop... all the birds got to free range today, but i blocked the house to the only pen i have, so when it comes time for bed they'll all probably hang out on the roosts waiting to get in. that's the goal at least. then i can put them in the horse trailer and pull the ones i want eggs from and pen them up for a bit... so i'll be having pure red dorking eggs soon (also adding a couple silver greys to the pen too, to produce some golden cockerels for a project - pullets from the cross will be pure reds). so once this next order is filled i'll be hatching everything i can and will also be bringing eggs/chicks to gilmanor most likely.

 

[canesisters]

 

[ki4got]

got a lot of people saying that. LOL

in the pen went my 3 reds (1 of each basic type, dark, regular and light), 2 silver greys and my tannish/colored project girl. (all dorkings btw) with Thing2, my best red roo.

 

[mabelino]

We're buying this coop tomorrow. He said it was 2 SF per chicken, so 8 chickens? I'm guessing, by what you're saying, its not that at all. We plan on having them free range all day(or most of it) because we have a very large, fenced yard.

http://roanoke.craigslist.org/grd/3613582317.html

We h ave no idea what type of chicken we want. I've read in the past there are chickens that are more friendly with kids (lap chickens?). I guess that doesn't really matter, lol. But I do have little ones running around!

 

[CountryMom5]

THANKS newfarmgirl! I just called Middleburg and Purcellville Southern States and am going to take the plunge into babies! I was originally wanting started pullets, but am finding they are expensive to order from a hatchery or I can't find the breeds I want. Middleburg has Black Australorps coming in two weeks!! Now to research and get the house ready for babies

 

[Bulldogma]

We're buying this coop tomorrow. He said it was 2 SF per chicken, so 8 chickens? I'm guessing, by what you're saying, its not that at all. We plan on having them free range all day(or most of it) because we have a very large, fenced yard.

http://roanoke.craigslist.org/grd/3613582317.html

We h ave no idea what type of chicken we want. I've read in the past there are chickens that are more friendly with kids (lap chickens?). I guess that doesn't really matter, lol. But I do have little ones running around!

It's really cute, but it doesn't seem to have any ventilation?? Check out this link for some more info on why ventilation is so important. Not to mention that coop could be very hot and stuffy in the warm months - especially if it is crowded with warm, breathing bodies. Just my thoughts...

 

[mabelino]

It's really cute, but it doesn't seem to have any ventilation?? Check out this link for some more info on why ventilation is so important. Not to mention that coop could be very hot and stuffy in the warm months - especially if it is crowded with warm, breathing bodies. Just my thoughts...

Thanks for your advice. I'm learning here! I asked him about the ventilation actually, that was my first thought. He said they use a similar coop and that because it is not manufactured wood, it still retains moisture and that as it drys, it will contract and give lots of gaps between the wooding on the side(he compared it to a barn) and that will allow plenty of ventilation and light. I asked if it needed an additional window and he said definitely not.

I'm open to opinions. We want the best for our chickies!