Do I have too many baby chicks? Should I downsize now?

[Ivahribal]

Hello, I’m new here! Kind of! I had chickens for a few years until about 4 years ago, then many life changes occurred. Now that I have my own home in the country and land, I wasted no time in ordering baby chicks.

They all arrived in good shape, however the hatchery I used did have order minimums for each breed. Instead of waiting for another hatchery, I thought it would be ok, I can handle 20 chicks.
Well, I absolutely can handle that many chicks and definitely have the room for it, but they are 7 days old now and I’m wondering if this is too many for what I had in mind.

I don’t have any other pets, I’m not really a fan. I do love chickens though and am pretty sure they are my spirit animal. Of course the eggs are my logical reason for why I must have them, but truthfully these girls and my little guy are going to be loved and cared for to the end of their days.

So here is my question, should I rehome some of these chicks? I want them to be happy. I’m not sure from experience but it seems like I’m having a harder time bonding with this many chicks. I feel like a flock this large will be hard to keep bonded with me in the future, and that they may enjoy being in a smaller flock as well.

I have 7 australorps, 3 buff orpington, 5 silver laced Wyandotte & 5 barred rock. I also have a few other breeds I really want to own in the future.
Any advice, experience, etc is very appreciated!

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Exactly how many chickens do you have altogether and how much space do you have altogether, for them to reside in?

 

[LadiesAndJane]

If you have sexed pullets, then keep the ones you want, and have room for, and sell the rest. Make sure you sell them in groups of 2-3 miminum. I use Craigslist to sell any surplus chicks I have and they usually sell quickly. There are some strange folks out there though, so use caution.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

My motto is you can never have to many chickens

 

[humblehillsfarm]

If you have an appropriate sized coop and run/free range area, I don't see why you shouldn't keep them. Did you order straight run? Managing roosters and affording feed would be my next concern after space.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

My third concern is, what do you want to do when they age out of laying eggs? I like adding 3-7 chicks a year to keep up egg production in the winter, but everyone is different.

 

[Ivahribal]

Exactly how many chickens do you have altogether and how much space do you have altogether, for them to reside in?

I have 20 baby chicks. I have two brooders that we built which are about 5ft x 3ft. They currently are all in one of the brooders we built. Im on 15 fenced acres and currently in the process of having a slab put down so my boyfriend can start building the coop. The coop I have drawn out is 14ft by 10ft for the main structure and the covered/run area goes out another 12 feet. But they will be free to roam most of the time. There’s really no issue as far as space, it may be slightly crowded at night but I have plenty of room to make other arrangements.

I just wonder if this is too many hens for one rooster, if they won’t bond with me like my small flocks in the past did, if chickens generally enjoy being in smaller groups etc.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

IF you have the space, a flock of 20 is easily manageable. The question is more what you plan to use them for - what are your expectations??? If you just want two eggs a day, you have too many chicks, and no need for a cockerel. Now, if your neighbors will help out, then 20 chicks, depending, could be producing upwards of a dozen eggs a day during peak, or just a few at end of season.

If you don't plan on growing your own replacements, from your own flock, again no need for a cockerel. If you plan on meat birds, suddenly cockerels make more sense... If you got a straight run, and plan on having birds as pets, then unless you rehome, a mixed gender flock of 20 will have behavior problems from too many cockerels and will quickly grow in size if you incubate or have a broody Australorp...

So don't ask if you have "too many", first ask why you have them at all? That will help inform how many, and of what, you will need.

 

[Cecisflock]

1 rooster and 19 hens most likely wont be overwhelming for him, he will just pick a few favorite hens

 

[The Cave]

Technically a 14x10 coop can fit 35 birds (4sq/f each bird)
Tips for happy birds:
Lots of roosting room-different heights, multiple food areas at feeding time, fresh water as often as possible I do mine every day-2 days.

I would watch out for your rooster count. They say 1 rooster to 10 hens. So if you end up wanting to keep roos I would pick 2 max. I would also try to get them in same brooder, birds that grow up together tend to have less issues when it is time to move to the big coop