Chicken Keeping Rules of Thumb

A rule of thumb is a general guideline that offers a starting place, but does not strictly apply in every specific circumstance. Adjustments may be necessary when a rule of thumb doesn’t exactly fit your situation. Chicken keeping rules of thumb are helpful for such things as deciding how big your coop should be, how much feed to purchase between trips to the farm store, or how long before your pullets start laying eggs. These rules of thumb fall broadly into the following categories.

Feed

Feeder space — Provide enough feeder space so at least one-third of your birds can eat at the same time. Allow each mature chicken at least 1½ inches of space around a tube feeder or 1 inch of accessible space along a trough feeder.

Feed per week — A bantam chicken eats about ½ pound of feed per week. A light breed chicken eats 1½ to 2 pounds of feed per week. A heritage breed (dual purpose) eats 2½ to 3 pounds of feed per week. A heavy breed chicken eats 3½ to 4 pounds of feed per week. A layer pullet eats 20 pounds of feed in the first 20 weeks. A Cornish-cross broiler eats 10 pounds of feed in the first 6 weeks.

Feed purchase — Buy only as much feed as you can use within 6 weeks and store it in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight to ensure it won’t go stale.

Calcium supplement — A laying hen needs 5 to 6 pounds of calcium carbonate (oyster shell, argonite, limestone, or soluble calcium grit) per year.

Water

Drinker space — Provide enough drinking stations so at least one-third of your chickens can drink at the same time. Position drinkers no farther apart than 8 yards so chickens don’t have to go far to get a drink.

Water per day — A chicken drinks twice as much as the weight of dry feed it eats each day; a chicken that eats ½ pound of feed per day therefore needs one pound (= 1 pint) of water per day.

Facilities

Coop space — Allow 2 square feet per bantam, 3 square feet per lightweight chicken, 4 square feet per heavier breed. More is always better.

Roosts — Allow at least 8 inches of perch for each chicken, 10 inches for the larger breeds.

Yard space — Allow 8 to 10 square feet per chicken.

Pasture space — Pasture only as many chickens as you can rotate in a given area without reusing the same ground within the year.

Eggs

Point of Lay — Depending on breed, a pullet may start laying as early as 20 weeks of age (usually breeds developed for laying), or as late as 6 months (the heavier breeds). A pullet that reaches laying age in the middle of winter generally start laying the following spring; one that reaches maturity in the fall should lay throughout the first winter.

Laying and Light — Most breeds need at least 14 hours of light exposure to lay year around.

Laying Cycle — The average laying cycle is 12 months, followed by a molt.

Nests — Provide one nest for every 4 hens in the flock. For light weight layers, make nests 12 inches wide by 14 inches high by 12 inches deep. Heavier breeds need larger nests 14 inches wide by 14 inches high by 12 inches deep. For bantams, 10 inches wide by 12 inches high by 10 inches deep.

Egg collection — Collect eggs 3 times per day to keep them from getting soiled, broken, or frozen.

Number of hens — To have enough eggs to go around, keep 2 hens per household member.

Broody Layers — The more eggs you can expect from your chosen breed, the less likely your hens are to brood; the fewer eggs you can expect from your hens, the more likely they are to brood.

Hatching — Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch. Really small eggs may hatch a day or two early. Jumbo eggs may hatch a day late.