We have about 75 chicken currently. My experience is the Game birds (Old English Game) or fighting chicken are the easiest to keep. They are by FAR the smartest and have the best survival instincts. The hens are EXCELLENT mothers who are jealously defensive of their chicks.
They require no coop and will roost in a good size cedar tree which is their favorite roost for cover and protection. They will find and build nests right under you nose and you will never know they are there until you really start looking for them in earnest.
We also have some Black Jersey Giants which are good egg layers but fairly stupid and have poor survival instincts. The ones we have, we trained to roost with the game birds and they have survived.
All the these birds need is a few small baskets or small coops for laying eggs in during the day or you can watch and learn where the hens lay their eggs and get them at the end of each day. They will lay eggs all over the place.
We also have 14 ducks. Ducks are fairly neat and don't constantly crap all over the porch and everywhere you don't want them to. They are pretty much look after themselves once they are mature and just need a bit of feed and water. They prefer a nice pond but that is not required. They lay eggs that are good for baking cakes and bread. The eggs are very rich and many folks don't like them unless they are mixed in with chicken eggs for an omlet or something similar.
We have about 100 chicks due in in a few more weeks, most of which are hens and perhaps a dozen feather footed roosters.
If you don't want barn yard drama and stressed out hens, keep only a few roosters. Roosters are a HUGE pain in the butt and aggravate the hell out of you, especially when they decide they want to start crowing at 2 am in the morning. Too many roosters are destructive on the hens and they will not let the hen eat or drink water and end up becoming predatory until you either turn them into oven roasters and get rid of them. They also fight, especially the game roosters. The game roosters only fight when their is a sudden change from warm to cold or vice versa weather for some reason. If you don't keep an eye on them CLOSE, you will awake to a yard full of dead roosters. Game rooster fight to the death. That is how they have been bread for centuries to do. If you keep and eye on them and don't get too many, you should be fine.
If you decide to go with the more domesticated breeds of chickens for egg laying and such, you will definitely need a coop for them to roost in at night like Galen said.
Aside from the game chickens, have been buying my chicks from McMurray Hatchery and had VERY GOOD results. Buff Orpingtons are a good solid egg laying and meat breed. So are are Red Stars and Rhode Island Reds.
McMurray Hatchery - Our Best Egg Layers
McMurray Hatchery - Buff Orpingtons
I STRONGLY recommend having the chick inoculated as McMurray offers to do. Chicks are VERY suceptible to Coccidiosis which can whip out a batch of chicks. I have never lost an inoculated chick. It doesn't cost much and it is worth every penny.
You will need some brooders to raise the chicks in and then a larger holding pen for when they get larger. If the chicks get too crowded in the brooders, they will peck and each other and you will start loosing birds.
Tractor Supply Center has a sale on brood pens for chicks:
Ware Manufacturing HD Chick-N-Hutch - 2100173 | Tractor Supply Company
We use these and they work GREAT. Easy to clean out and the birds are happy not to stand in their droppings.
I can post some plans for a larger pen that a friend sent me for later if you like.
You will also want to manage the size of your flock. Just to give you an idea of how much chickens can eat......we go through about 50 lbs. of scratch feed every 4 days. This is in addition to free ranging them. They require some feeding but will most of their own food. If you don't feed them, they will plunder you dog and cat food like locusts. Chickens are great table scrap and garbage vegatable waste disposals too.
Linear Mode
