I am thinking about getting a few chicks so I can gather eggs but I know nothing about raising them. How big of a coop do I need for just a few of them? Do I have to have a rooster for them to lay eggs?
I am thinking about getting a few chicks so I can gather eggs but I know nothing about raising them. How big of a coop do I need for just a few of them? Do I have to have a rooster for them to lay eggs?
I'm no expert... But far as I know you only need a rooster to fertilize the eggs to hatch chicks. The hens will lay eggs regardless as far as I understand it. Heard they need a proper light cycle to keep laying though... As for size... up to you, they seem to be very small for just a few chickens, the ones I've seen.
A rooster would help but he's not really necessary. If I had chickens, I would get at least one. As far as the size of the coop, I would start with a 10x10 and see how many chickens fit in there comfortably.
Have you ever though of letting your chickens free range? We have a flock of free range chickens, and we can't keep up with the demand for eggs from our chickens. We started out with a chicken coop, but now our chickens roost in the rafters of our barns, so we converted the coop to one of the buildings we use for our goat kids.
Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."
I don't think you have to have a rooster to have chickens laying eggs? I can remember having chickens as a kid and we didn't have a rooster. I don't know why we didn't. I remember they were really smelly, dirty animals though. Be sure to be ready for the dirty coops.
No, you don't need a rooster for the chickens to lay eggs, but without a rooster, the eggs will not be feritle.
Rich
"What a long strange trip it's been."
MaggieMay, everyone is correct, you do not need a rooster for your hens to lay. What you should keep in mind is that a rooster can sometimes get pretty mean tempered. If there are going to be kids around, you may want to pass on getting that rooster.
AbO 2012
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