Questions first-time keepers actually ask

Three at minimum, because chickens are social and a bird kept alone does badly. Most beginners settle on four to six: enough eggs for a household, headroom if you lose a bird, and a match for the sizes the backyard coop market is actually built around.

Poultry.extension.org publishes 3 to 4 square feet per laying hen indoors and 10 square feet outdoors. Oregon State University Extension publishes at least 3 square feet where a run is available, rising to 8 to 10 square feet with no outdoor access. Six hens need roughly 18 to 24 square feet of coop floor.

No. Hens lay whether or not a rooster is present; without one the eggs are simply unfertilized, which makes no difference to eating them. A rooster is only needed to hatch your own chicks, and many urban and suburban ordinances prohibit keeping one because of the noise.

Penn State Extension publishes 95 F at chick level under the heat source for the first week, decreasing 5 F per week until normal daily temperature of 62 to 65 F is reached. Measure a couple of inches above the litter at the edge of the warm zone, not on the brooder wall.

Following the published schedule, roughly six to eight weeks. In practice most chicks wean themselves earlier by simply not using the plate as they feather out. When they have ignored it for several days and the room is above about 65 F, it can come out.

For almost every backyard brood, yes. A plate uses about 5 percent of the electricity — $2.22 against $46.22 for a six-week brood at the current US average rate — has no bulb to shatter over bedding, and lets chicks keep a normal day and night cycle. The exception is an ambient temperature below about 50 F, where a plate is not rated to work.

It depends on whether the hatchery vaccinated your chicks against coccidiosis. If they did, use unmedicated, because the amprolium in medicated feed can suppress the vaccine organism. If they did not, medicated starter is a reasonable precaution, especially on reused bedding.

Usually five to six weeks, once they are fully feathered and the coop's overnight temperature is close to what the brooder had come down to. Feathering varies by breed, so judge the birds rather than the calendar, and move them after dark then confine them for two or three days so they learn where home is.

No. Chicken wire is a light twisted mesh designed to contain chickens, not exclude predators. A raccoon can reach through its two-inch openings and a weasel can pass through entirely. Half-inch hardware cloth in 19 gauge is the material that works, on every opening including vents.

Yes, and winter is when it matters most. Chickens produce a lot of moisture through breathing and droppings; in a sealed coop that moisture condenses on combs and wattles and causes frostbite. Ventilation goes high, above roost height, so damp air leaves without blowing across the birds.

Generally no. Healthy adult standard-breed birds in a dry, ventilated coop handle cold well. Heating also creates a dependency that becomes dangerous when the power fails, and it does not address the moisture that actually causes frostbite. Ventilation and unfrozen water matter far more.

With energy. Insulated containers, dark rubber tubs and floating objects buy hours, not nights, and none survives a hard freeze. The reliable options are a thermostatic heated waterer — published cold ratings range from 10 F to minus 20 F — or carrying warm water out twice a day.

Grit is insoluble crushed granite that stays in the gizzard and grinds food; any bird eating anything other than complete crumble needs it. Oyster shell is a soluble calcium supplement at 33 to 38 percent calcium for laying hens forming shells. Offer both free-choice in separate dishes, never mixed into feed.

Most production breeds between 18 and 22 weeks; heritage breeds often 24 to 28 weeks or later. Day length matters too, so a pullet maturing in autumn may wait until the days lengthen. The most reliable sign is squatting when you reach toward her, which usually means days to a couple of weeks.

One nest for every four to five birds, published by University of Maryland Extension, mounted 18 to 20 inches off the floor and below roost height. Two boxes covers a flock of six. More rarely helps, because hens tend to settle collectively on one box and queue for it.

Not until you are about to use them. A freshly laid egg carries a natural coating called the bloom that seals the pores in the shell; washing removes it and the egg then needs refrigeration. Brush off anything dry instead, and wash only what genuinely needs it, in water warmer than the egg.

Remove the food. A treadle feeder that closes when no bird is standing on it, feed stored in a sealed container rather than its sack, and nothing left out overnight. Rats come for the feed rather than the birds, and trapping into an unlimited food supply is a permanent part-time job.

Part the feathers around the vent and under the wings, ideally after dark, and look for small moving specks or egg clusters at the base of feather shafts. A white cloth left under the roost overnight collects red mites, which hide in the woodwork during the day. Confirm before treating.

No. Hawks are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service states prohibits take without prior authorization. Federal depredation permits exist but are authorized only alongside ongoing non-lethal measures and require documented non-lethal attempts first. Overhead cover is the legal and effective answer.

The coop is the one large cost; everything else is small one-time purchases plus feed and bedding. Feed runs at roughly a third of a pound per bird per day, derived from published feeder ratings. We do not publish a monthly dollar total, because feed and bedding prices vary by region and season and a figure we cannot verify would be worse than none.