# Chickens



## ChickenFarmerAdam (Jun 24, 2014)

Should I get 60 more chickens in order to get 2 flats of eggs? I have a horse barn turned into a open air shed that is about 20x6. If not how many do you think I should have.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Not sure what you're asking. What do you mean by "flat?"

Get how ever many chickens fit your needs and is still manageable for you. I had over 100 when I was still show breeding. It finally got to be too much and I got out of it. But show birds are more work than having them for other purposes.


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## ChickenFarmerAdam (Jun 24, 2014)

Ok thank you robin


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## nj2wv (Aug 27, 2013)

Not every chicken lays an egg every day so if you want that many eggs a day then you need more. Also if they free range , some may lay in other areas.


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## profwirick (Jan 24, 2013)

Mine are just not good layers. Out of five hens, I get one or two a day, all year, even at age one/two. I got three little Barred Rocks to crank up eggs for our family use, but the little silkies will live out their days just being funny friends to have around.


Sent from my iPad using Chicken Forum
Mary Wirick, aka. Treehouse, Profwirick, Ma Wirick???


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## CrazyWVChick (Nov 24, 2014)

Lol Amen to Silkies being funny friends!!! My girls lay very regularly everyday, when they aren't being broody! I have three little ladies that are broody now! Diamond is a very pretty, little, fluffy, white, subservient hen. Emerald is a snappy, hyper, tiny, slightly more dominant hen. Crystal is the sweetest, teensiest, amazingly friendly paint Hen. All of them are currently broody Diamond hatched her bitties last week (shhh don't tell her but they aren't really hers, they are barnyard mixes). There were two hatchlings but Diamonds mate Earle pushed one of them out of the nest and the poor baby froze t death. Emerald is sitting on two of her own eggs (she and her mate are both blues) she has about 13 days before hatch. Crystal is sitting on three of her own eggs, they are just two days in. Why on earth are all three broody this time of year?! They are all in separate coops with their mates, in different areas of the yard so close proximity to other hens hormonal changes can't b the issue...does anyone have any ideas?


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## CrazyWVChick (Nov 24, 2014)

This time of year, between molting and shortened days I'm only getting 4-6 eggs a day from 30 chickens!!! When they are all laying there isn't room in my fridge for anything BUT eggs!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

CrazyWVChick said:


> Lol Amen to Silkies being funny friends!!! My girls lay very regularly everyday, when they aren't being broody! I have three little ladies that are broody now! Diamond is a very pretty, little, fluffy, white, subservient hen. Emerald is a snappy, hyper, tiny, slightly more dominant hen. Crystal is the sweetest, teensiest, amazingly friendly paint Hen. All of them are currently broody Diamond hatched her bitties last week (shhh don't tell her but they aren't really hers, they are barnyard mixes). There were two hatchlings but Diamonds mate Earle pushed one of them out of the nest and the poor baby froze t death. Emerald is sitting on two of her own eggs (she and her mate are both blues) she has about 13 days before hatch. Crystal is sitting on three of her own eggs, they are just two days in. Why on earth are all three broody this time of year?! They are all in separate coops with their mates, in different areas of the yard so close proximity to other hens hormonal changes can't b the issue...does anyone have any ideas?


If your girls are under two years its not uncommon for them to go broody several times a year. Once they have some maturity they reduce the number of times they go broody by a ton.


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## OldBrickHouseFarm (Sep 30, 2014)

ChickenFarmerAdam said:


> Should I get 60 more chickens in order to get 2 flats of eggs? I have a horse barn turned into a open air shed that is about 20x6. If not how many do you think I should have.


If your purpose is an egg farm, then you need to manage it like an egg farm and opinions based on flocks of 4 birds, while valuable, aren't going to get you the egg production you need. 
Having an egg farm for profit requires one to keep egg hybrids, leghorns, anconas, jaers or similar breed. 
The number of birds you need to meet your sales goals depends on their age and if you rotate flocks. 
Another big factor is feed/egg conversion. Once housing is in place, feed is your biggest cost. 
If you have enough birds to buy feed in bulk or at least by the ton, that will cut your costs dramatically.

We used to keep a flock of Leghorns for egg sales to augment produce sales.
I worked at mills for some of the largest egg producers so how they operate is how you can derive methods for your process.


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## TheChickenGuy (Jan 29, 2014)

profwirick said:


> Mine are just not good layers. Out of five hens, I get one or two a day, all year, even at age one/two. I got three little Barred Rocks to crank up eggs for our family use, but the little silkies will live out their days just being funny friends to have around.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Chicken Forum
> Mary Wirick, aka. Treehouse, Profwirick, Ma Wirick???


Do you give them supplementary light?


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