When do you start adding to your flock- contingency plan

[CabritaChicks]

Just spit ballin, I’ve got a rooster who was born on Easter and let’s just say… spring fever hit hard. He’s humping everything in sight (consensually, no aggression, everyone seems into it ). The flock’s a mix of Marans/Leghorn (rooster), Easter egger/leghorn and RIR and new hampshire red, and they’re all spoiled rotten, full-on pet status. Hubby jokes that he wants to be reincarnated as one of my birds-

Anyway, it got me thinking about my chicken journey. First came chicks, then I hatched eggs, built a dreamy little coop… you know how it goes. So my small by mighty flock of 7 rule the roost. While my husband was out of town recently, he overheard some guys at a bar talking chickens (yep, this is relevant, I promise). They said that after two years, they hatch some eggs and “phase out” their adult hens. (I had questions then about inbreeding- but I digress)

That got me thinking. I know a hen’s laying slows around 4-5 years, give or take depending on breed, diet, and care. So phasing them out at 2 seems kind of early? Or is that common for folks who raise more utility-style flocks?

So here’s my real question: When do you start adding to your flock, and why?
Do you hatch eggs every year just to maintain a certain age balance?
If you keep your flock small and your chickens are more like pets, do you just wait until something happens (illness, predator, etc.) and then add a new bird? Because adding just one or two means handling that whole “bully the new kid” problem as I definitely would raise them as pets again and watch tv with them- like my other chicks.

Just trying to get a better sense of what others do, especially those who keep it small but want some kind of long-term plan. Is there some sort of chicken math plan?
Thanks in advance!

 

[SkyAJK]

If you want chickens mainly for eggs, then you would need a specific reliable layers and succession to continue supply you with eggs.

Not all chickens lay eggs reliably to 4-5 years of age. I have 13 chickens of various breeds and only 2 are laying eggs, 2 a day is more than we consume.

My chicken math is to have more chickens and i am chicken addict so it does not matter egg or no egg.

 

[FrostRanger]

Most hens do start slowing down at around 2, some stop entirely by this point (although this isn't typical). Even if you don't plan on culling your old birds, adding a few young pullets every 2-3 years or so will make sure that you still have birds laying even if some have slowed down or stopped by this point

As for me, my flock is still young (only 1), I plan on waiting until they're 3 or 4 to add more birds. It really comes down to your needs and preferences when you add birds

 

[Mother of Chaos]

My plan, because we are limited to 7 chickens (7 animals, really, but hey): three pullets in year one, two in year two, two in year three. Never aim for exactly six, because then you would have to add a singleton.

My implementation: three in year one, two in year two in month four... This plan isn't going well! I don't plan to cull for non-laying, but I'm realistic enough to expect early death(s).

I'm glad you started this thread! This is (or should be) a real issue for city-dwellers and those otherwise limited by space constraints to a fixed and small flock size. We don't have chickens primarily for eggs, but it's nice to have a little rental income stream in this form.

 

[CabritaChicks]

Flock Planning Timeline (For Peeps Like Me!)​

Year	Hatch New Chicks?	Who’s Laying?	Egg Output	Why This Timing?
0	Start flock	All pullets	High (after 6 mo)	Everyone’s young and productive
1	No	All are 6–18 months	Peak production	Let them do their thing
2	Hatch 2–3 eggs	Original hens 18–30 mo, new chicks	Steady but declining	New pullets lay just as older hens fade
3	No	Older hens slowing, 2nd gen peaks	Balanced	Small but efficient flock size
4	Hatch 1–2 more	1st gen retirees, 2nd slowing	Still solid supply	Keeps the cycle going without crowding

I figure if I hatch my own, it keeps things fun and self-sustaining. Plus, I’m curious to see how those Marans/Leghorn/RIR hybrids turn out—egg color lottery, maybe?

Does that seem reasonable? Of course if I hatch my own... they are not linked- and soon enough it is incest

 

[FrostRanger]

Flock Planning Timeline (For Peeps Like Me!)​

Year	Hatch New Chicks?	Who’s Laying?	Egg Output	Why This Timing?
0	Start flock	All pullets	High (after 6 mo)	Everyone’s young and productive
1	No	All are 6–18 months	Peak production	Let them do their thing
2	Hatch 2–3 eggs	Original hens 18–30 mo, new chicks	Steady but declining	New pullets lay just as older hens fade
3	No	Older hens slowing, 2nd gen peaks	Balanced	Small but efficient flock size
4	Hatch 1–2 more	1st gen retirees, 2nd slowing	Still solid supply	Keeps the cycle going without crowding

I figure if I hatch my own, it keeps things fun and self-sustaining. Plus, I’m curious to see how those Marans/Leghorn/RIR hybrids turn out—egg color lottery, maybe?

Does that seem reasonable? Of course if I hatch my own... they are not linked- and soon enough it is incest

Sounds like a great plan to me, only thing I would be mindful of is the space in your coop and run

 

[ValkerieGunn]

For us we cull our birds late in the autumn after they are 2 which usually puts them at 2.5 years old. We hatch or get chicks every year. Depending on different factors we may sell some pullets if we have to many or they don't get along with the flock or cause issues. Cockerals again depending on certain factors either leave our flock or get kept for a year maybe 2 if we really like them. This year we had a lot of cockerals so we are trying to narrow down who to keep right now.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Good question!
I have a mental limit of 6-8 chickens. I truly do not understand the chicken math dilemma. That said, I will wait until my flock naturally drops to 50% of that limit before integrating more. I want an even balance of young and old to minimize bullying. My chickens are pets, so if they're not producing eggs, I'll just go to the store.

 

[Pigeony]

Egg production does start to slip past 2 years old, and you may find a flock of 7 won't meet your egg needs as they age.

If you love your particular birds and you want to carry on their specific genetics of the current flock by incubating, you're more likely to have success if you're doing that when they're no older than 2. 2 years old is kind of a turning point in egg viability; older birds can and do have chicks, but with older birds you may have faults in the egg production process start cropping up and they lay less and less each year. Meaning you have less eggs to choose from and of those eggs less will develop.

When I really like a particular bird, I like to make sure they leave offspring. I know chickens don't live long, it's my way of thanking them for their chickenly service. And that way when they do pass, they're gone but not forgotten because I have their children and grandchildren still running around.

With your situation, you wouldn't have to worry that much about inbreeding for a good couple generations because all your birds are diverse breeds. My suggestion is to get a simple, cheap 12-24 egg incubator and do around 2 full hatches a year. You can pick your favorites out of a bigger group if you had a good hatch and sell off the others. Or you may not have the best luck and hatch out too many roos, which is why I suggest two hatches rather than one.

Some incubator suggestions: Kebonnix, NurtureRight, and Brinsea. Kebonnix are cheap but reliable 12-egg incubators, NurtureRights are slightly more expensive 22-egg incubators, and Brinsea are the most expensive but a well-trusted company with quality products. With any incubator, I suggest you add an internal digital temp probe to confirm temperatures displayed are correct.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

For us we cull our birds late in the autumn after they are 2 which usually puts them at 2.5 years old. We hatch or get chicks every year. Depending on different factors we may sell some pullets if we have to many or they don't get along with the flock or cause issues. Cockerals again depending on certain factors either leave our flock or get kept for a year maybe 2 if we really like them. This year we had a lot of cockerals so we are trying to narrow down who to keep right now.

Do you ever make an exception to your culling by age guideline? For instance, a dominant or second-in-command hen who does a good job maintaining flock behavior? (I'm not criticizing your schedule at all; just curious if it gets flexed a bit.)