Basic Newbie Chicken Questions

[Diavolicchio]

I've never had chickens before and have begun the process of educating myself about the basics by picking up a couple books on the subject. I wanted to ask a few of you chicken experts some basic questions, if you'd be willing to take a couple of minutes to respond.

I'm looking at getting 5 kinds of chickens, 13 of each kind (12 hens and 1 rooster) for a total of 65 chickens.

1) What size chicken coop would I need to accommodate this many chickens?

2) What size fenced-in yard space should I be allocating to all 65 chickens to be able to get their proper exercise and not be overly cramped? (I want to establish a permanent area and not use a floatable/movable one)

3) Should I be anticipating any problems with having 5 roosters (aside from the noise in the morning) ?

4) What kind of egg production in a given week (I understand this depends a bit on the variety of hens, living conditions, nutrition, etc.) could I expect from 60 hens?

5) I read somewhere that feeding your chickens calendula petals as part of their diet will give them beautifully bright orange yolks. Is this true, and is there anyone in this forum who's doing that?

6) Should I be concerned here in Maine (Zone 5 with winter temps that could briefly go as low as -20F on a rare occasion) with chickens freezing to death in the chicken coop in the dead of winter? How does one going about heating the coop in the winter to prevent this?

7) How much time should I plan on spending in a given week to properly take care of this many chickens?

8) I don't know much yet about the general temperaments of the different varieties of chickens, but I'm particularly intrigued with the five varieties of chickens I've chosen (mostly for egg color.) Am I up against any major nightmares waiting to happen if I've got the following five varieties all living together?


* Buff Ameraucana
* Buff Cochin
* Buff Orpington
* Cuckoo Maran
* Welsummer

(All Stardards; No Bantams)


Thanks so much for helping me lessen my chicken learning curve. I really appreciate it!

Buk-Buk-Buk . . . . Buh-GAWWWWWWWWWK!


John

 

[Henrietta23]

I don't have too many answers for you but I can share that while my Barnevelders are beautiful to behold, they are not great layers. They pretty lousy layers in fact. I have Welsummers and Buff Orpingtons as well. The BOs are great layers. The Wellies are better than the Barnies but no where near as good as the BOs.
The BOs are the friendliest of those three breeds in my limited experience.
All do well in our CT winters. But we don't get anywhere near as cold as that!

 

[bibliophile birds]

i'm far from an expert, but i'll tell you what i know.

you may want to start with fewer chickens at the very beginning. 65 is a LOT to keep up with. just with my 22 i felt like i had to work pretty hard to stay on top of things, mostly just observing that many for health issues. also, if you start with fewer of each breed it won't be a big loss if you decide one of the breeds isn't for you. i started with 4 standard breeds (5 chicks from each) and 2 silkie chicks (ornamental), and that allowed me to see that i really like some breeds and won't order more of another. if you are ordering soon for early spring you could start with 25 (the minimum for most hatcheries) and then always do another order or two throughout the summer once you know what you like.

1 & 2. space wise, you need, on average, 4 sqft per standard bird in the coop and 10 sqft per bird in the run. i would probably go with a little more in the run as the biggest issues come from overcrowding. with that many chickens, i would seriously consider some sort of movable pen, or at least a spare pen, just so the grass can recover and you give any parasites time to die off. this will keep your flock a lot healthier, and happier. access to good grass will also give you that good eggy flavor and orangey color.

3. with that many hens, the only problems i would anticipate would be very tired, yet very content, roosters!

6. there are lots of people on BYC that live in your zone and maintain uninsulated and unheated coops year round. cold isn't such a problem for chickens, but wind and moisture are your enemies. if your chickens are out of the wind and the coop is well ventilated (this is the hardest part), you can probably do without heat. if you really want heat, search BYC for cookie tin heaters. they are a great idea. also, terracotta pot heaters.

7. first 3-4 weeks, your time expenditure is going to be feeding mostly with a brooder clean-out at least once a week. you will probably also find yourself cleaning waterers about 5 times a day as chicks have an amazing ability to get shavings in the waterer in 2 secs flat. 4 weeks old through when they move outside, you will also need to add in some time to take the chicks outside for a little while. start at 30 mins and work up to 2-3 hours. after they move outside, feeding and coop cleaning shouldn't take you too long. of course, add on top of all the endless hours you will sit watching them or finding excuses to go play with them. believe me, they are mesmerizing.

8. the only breed you listed that i have are the Buff Orpingtons. i LOVE them. i've got 3 pullets and 2 cockerels (soon to have 1 cockerel and 1 Sunday lunch) and i can't wait to get a ton more of them in March. they are beautiful and huge and soooooo lovable. the girls love to sit in my lap and the keeper roo follows me around the yard "helping" with chores. they are great. i also have EEs which are 1/2 Ameraucana. beware that if you are ordering from a hatchery, the Ameraucanas are EEs. don't ask me how they get away with misrepresenting them, but they do. 3 of my 5 EEs are WONDERFUL. big and beautiful. the other 2 are going to be supper. since they are a mix, it's a total crap shoot what you will get temperament and size wise.

your problems with them living together will come if you are planning on breeding purebreds. semen can stay in a hen's oviduct for about a week (some claim up to a month) so if they all live together and you want to breed specific birds together, the hen(s) has to be isolated for a while before you can introduce the chosen roo and be sure the hatching eggs are pure. for now, this is my system. later, when i have a lot more birds, i will probably keep all the breeds separate. other than that, the breeds should get along just fine. particular birds, now that's another story.

also, i noticed you are looking at Marans and Welsummers for the dark eggs. just be aware if you are ordering from a hatchery that those birds rarely lay the dark dark eggs. they just aren't breed to that standard. that doesn't mean that they can't or that the eggs aren't darker than most, but you shouldn't expect it. buying from a breeder would be a safer choice if dark eggs are the most important thing. but insist on seeing eggs laid by hen that laid the ones you will be buying- egg color is an inherited trait.

good luck! chickens are so rewarding.

oh, and Happy New Year!

 

[Diavolicchio]

I don't have too many answers for you but I can share that while my Barnevelders are beautiful to behold, they are not great layers. They pretty lousy layers in fact. I have Welsummers and Buff Orpingtons as well. The BOs are great layers. The Wellies are better than the Barnies but no where near as good as the BOs.
The BOs are the friendliest of those three breeds in my limited experience.
All do well in our CT winters. But we don't get anywhere near as cold as that!

Thanks for the info. I'm going to nix the Barnevelders (since they're lousy layers) and go back with the Buff Orpingtons (which I'd deleted.)

Leah, you've given me a ton to digest. Thanks! I'll respond in detail tomorrow.

Happy New Year!



John

 

[bibliophile birds]

have you seen this chart on breed characteristics? it's pretty helpful.

i would also suggest Chanteclers for you. they are beautiful, calm birds that are breed for cold weather (they were developed in Canada) and lay well in winter, which most don't.

 

[Diavolicchio]

Given some of the feedback thus far, I'm going to scale back just a little bit and go with six hens and one rooster each of the following SEVEN varieties:


* Buff Ameraucana
* Buff Brahma
* Buff Chantacler
* Buff Orpington
* Buff Plymouth Rock
* Cuckoo Maran
* Welsummer

(All Stardards; No Bantams)

This will give me a total of 49 chickens: 42 hens and 7 roosters. I don't want to over-work the roosters.


John

 

[bibliophile birds]

good choice with the Brahmas, they are my second favorite in my flock. the males get BIG and the females are sweet and beautiful!

oh, just a word of warning: get ready to become OBSESSED.

 

[Diavolicchio]

have you seen this chart on breed characteristics? it's pretty helpful.

i would also suggest Chanteclers for you. they are beautiful, calm birds that are breed for cold weather (they were developed in Canada) and lay well in winter, which most don't.

OK. If you insist.

I revised the previous list above, and am capping it at 49 chickens (42 hens and 7 roosters) because the cool chicken coop plans I just discovered online are for a max of 50 birds.

And yes, that list is very helpful. Thanks for posting the link.



John

 

[freemotion]

My dad had chickens in St. David, ME until very recently, and they did fine. He did insulate his coop (recycled foam sheets), and used the deep litter method to create some composting. The water barely froze in there! And that is FAR north of you.

One thing to consider when choosing breeds is the comb. Go with rose or pea combs, because the hens have almost no comb and the roo's comb is closer to his head. Less chance of frostbite than with standard combs.

The other thing to consider with an uninsulated coop is frozen eggs.

Mine free-range on a two-acre pasture and have greatly IMPROVED it with their scratching in areas that needed work. But I didn't build the fence with chickens in mind, I built it with a foal in mind, that I didn't end up with. It is a stinkin' fortress. The only predators I have to worry about are from the air, so I cover my brooder pen with netting. Still had one small hawk get in once and cause some destruction.

My dad had a fox get into his chicken-wire fence and take 46 chickens in a day when no one was home. Use electricity if you are remote and have predators.

 

[Javamama]

Have you checked BYC? That's Backyardchickens.com - a sister site to sufficienself.

One thought, I have had brahmas, and though I love them, they are eating machines. Anything that big has to be. Something to keep in mind.
I really love Ameraucanas, but went with the Easter Egger because that's what I could get easily. Nice birds, lay well, quiet and don't eat much.