How Many Chickens to Raise

How many chickens should I raise? The best advice is to start out small, and build your chicken flock as you gain more experience. While raising chickens is not as complicated as rocket science, you will undoubtedly be better at it with each year of experience.

If this is your first time raising chickens, you may not want more than three hens to start. A few hens will produce almost a dozen eggs a week, and they will help teach you the ropes so that you can add to your flock in the next spring season.

If you decide to start with only a few chicks, the only drawback is that you will be limited by the number of hatcheries that support such small orders. Many hatcheries have minimum orders of 15 or more birds.

Aside from the level of experience you have raising chickens, the other primary consideration is output. How many eggs are you hoping to produce? Or, how much chicken meat would you like to put in your freezer?

Egg Layers:

The number of eggs your hens produce will vary by breed. But if you assume a good egg layer breed or even dual-purpose breed can produce three eggs per week or more, then simple math tells you four hens gets you a dozen eggs per week. And, chances are you will have extras to share with your neighbors.

More info available in Article on Egg Layers

Type of Chicken		Egg Production					Bird Size			Good Brooder	Cold Hardy
Class	Breed	Below Avg	Average	Above Avg	Egg Color	Egg Size	Below Avg	Average	Above Avg
Class	Breed	< 3 per week	3 – 4 per week	5+ per week	Egg Color	Egg Size	< 5 lbs	6 – 7 lbs	7+ lbs
Continental	Campine		X		White	Medium	X				X
Continental	Hamburg		X		White	Small	X				X
Continental	Lakenvelder		X		Cream	Medium	X
English	Redcap		X		White	Medium		X			X
Large	Minorca		X		White	X-Large			X
Mediterranean	Ancona			X	White	Large		X			X
Mediterranean	Andalusian		X		White	Large		X
Mediterranean	Catalana		X		Cream	Medium		X
Mediterranean	Leghorn (Non-White)		X		White	Large		X
Mediterranean	Leghorn (White)		X		White	X-Large		X			X
Mediterranean	Sicilian Buttercup	X			White	Small	X
Mediterranean	White Faced Black Spanish		X		White	Large		X
N/A	Easter Eggers		X		Green Blue	X-Large		X			X
N/A	Fayoumi	X			Cream	Small	X			X
N/A	Marans		X		Dark Brown	Large			X
N/A	Penedesenca		X		Dark Brown	Medium	X
Other	Ameraucana		X		Blue	Medium		X			X
Other	Appenzeller Spitzhauben		X		White	Medium	X				X
Other	Araucana		X		Blue	Medium	X			X	X

Meat Birds:

If you are raising meat birds or even dual-purpose breeds for their meat, then the math is a little different. The most common meat bird is the hybrid Cornish hen. If you raise it as a “fryer” you will butcher after about 8 or 9 weeks and the yield will be 3 to 4 lbs. If you give it another 4 weeks and butcher it as a “Roaster”, you should expect a yield of 8 to 9 lbs. For meat birds, the math depends on how big your family is, how many meals you want to have and how long you raise your flock before butchering.

Dual Purpose:

Probably the most common type of breed to have in a backyard is one that can be raised for both egg production as well as meat production. While these breeds do not produce as many eggs as the egg-layers nor as much meat as the meat birds, they do offer a nice middle ground.

One of the major advantages to the dual-purpose breeds is that any excess males will have decent breast muscles and may be butchered for meat. In contrast, if you are raising egg layers, the male chicks are unlikely to develop an appreciable amount of muscle as they mature, so butchering does not yield much benefit.

More info available in Article on Dual Purpose Birds

Type of Chicken		Egg Production					Bird Size			Good Brooder	Cold Hardy
Class	Breed	Below Avg	Average	Above Avg	Egg Color	Egg Size	Below Avg	Average	Above Avg
Class	Breed	< 3 per week	3 – 4 per week	5+ per week	Egg Color	Egg Size	< 5 lbs	6 – 7 lbs	7+ lbs
American	Chantecler		X		Brown	Large			X		X
American	Delaware		X		Brown	Large			X	X	X
American	Dominique		X		Brown	Large		X		X	X
American	Holland		X		White	Large		X		X	X
American	Java	X			Brown	Medium			X	X
American	Jersey Giant		X		Brown	X-Large			X		X
American	Plymouth Rock		X		Brown	Large			X	X	X
American	Rhode Island			X	Brown	X-Large			X		X
American	Wyandotte		X		Brown	Large			X	X	X
Asiatic	Brahma		X		Brown	Medium			X	X	X
Asiatic	Langshan		X		Brown	Medium			X	X	X
Continental	Barnevelder		X		Brown	Large		X			X
Continental	Crevecoeur	X			White	Medium			X
Continental	Faverolles		X		Cream	Medium			X	X	X
Continental	La Fleche		X		White	Large		X
Continental	Welsummer		X		Dark Brown	Large		X		X	X
English	Australorp			X	Brown	Large			X	X	X
English	Dorking		X		Cream	Medium			X	X	X
English	Orpington		X		Brown	Large			X	X	X
English	Sussex		X		Light Brown	Large			X	X	X
Medium	New Hampshire Red		X		Brown	Large			X	X	X
N/A	Star			X	Brown	Large		X			X
Other	Naked Neck (Turken)	X			Light Brown	Medium		X		X	X