Keeping chickens in a run full time?

[MotherQueenXeno]

Just wondered if any of you do this as oppose to letting your chickens free range in your garden? If so, how many chickens and how much run space do they have? Thanks!

Yes, best to get same breed.

We had 4 chickens who free roamed in the garden then got shut in their (covered) pen at night. Never had a messy garden or foxes, but there are a lot of dogs on our estate.

I don't think they need to be the same breed, but worth getting similar sized/similar type birds. With a small flock I wouldn't mix normal sized chickens with bantams and I also wouldn't mix feathered head chickens or something like silkies with regular chickens. Bullying can be a problem so you want to avoid one hen being singled out. Hybrid chickens come in a range of colours so you could have a Black rock with a Speckledy (I forget the name) and a Warren/ginger nut ranger. So all different colours but still fairly similar and hopefully compatible.

I think it depends on the breed but when I looked it up to silkies it said not to put them with other breeds as they get bullied. With 3 I would get the same breed.

We have 5 chickens in a 50ft x 15ft fenced off area with a raised coop. I let them out for an hour or two each day to free range.

Do you live rurally, or not? The fox risk varies a lot depending on where you live and can be worse in urban areas. A compromise would be to have a smaller, secure run area, and then let them free range when you are around eg evenings/weekend/afternoons etc. There are occasional cats that will take chickens but it does not happen often enough to be worth worrying about!

We have 1 fully grown Frizzle Hen, one frizzle pullet, 1 silky frizzle rooster, 1 Isa Brown (boss hen) and one Rhode Island red pullet. They all get on well enough. Space is the key.

If I was able to give advice to my past self I would get three hybrid chooks to begin. If anything unfortunate happens the remaining two will be a very small flock until you decide to restock. You can add two more and any pecking order ishoos can be spread between the new comers. However, space seems to minimise any problems.

I wouldn't recommend a Silkie as a first chook. They are lovely but don't lay well, need regular hair cuts, get broody often, their nails need clipping as they have an extra toe, they need blow drying/keeping out of the wet. They are lovely though so I totally got Silkies as my first chickens.

I do love my chickens and enjoy their little chat as they wander through the garden. I hope you enjoy yours!

We have 3 Swedish Flowers (one of which is crested), two miscellaneous crosses (again, one crested), a white bantam Silkie hen, four black Silkie chicks and a white Silkie rooster. Oh, and a guinea hen. They're a very diverse lot, but there's no bullying. They have 70 square metres, and a shed, to get a bit of space when they feel the need. There's another enclosure within the run that we put newcomers in for a few weeks, so they can all see each other but not get into arguments, and that really helps.

@MotherQueenXeno

If getting three, is it best to get three of the same breed or does it not really matter? I am guessing some breeds are more compatible than others

Similar sizes to avoid bullying, but I always mix up the breeds - partly because it’s easier to tell them apart.

Thanks for all the replies, I never expected to get such a response and there's lots of good advice here.

I can't really assess how risky the fox situation is here. As I said before, we live in the 'burbs but there is open countryside just up the road, woods and fields full of rabbits. Something definitely killed my freinds chickens, in the daytime, so I think caution is the way forward. So the chickens can be in the garden with lots of room when we are there to supervise, when we are not there they can go in their 10'x10' run with lots of perches and fun chicken stuff.

The place that sells them near me has advised that any hybrids with the exception of Leghorns and Devon Blues should be happy with this set up. So, we will go for three hybrids which will definitely include at least one Warren thanks to the advice on this thread.

Send chick pics