So I did some math and, for anybody building an automatic chicken farm under the 16-chicken console limit, the optimal number of egg layers is 11. That is, if you have 11 adult chickens laying eggs (fed to a dispenser to produce chicks) then on average you will have 15.1 live chickens at any one time. This already factors in the 1/256 chance of popping 4 chicks from one egg, but still leaves a bit of headroom below 16 so if you do pop 4 chicks from an egg they are a little more likely to survive (on average 1.9 chicks will survive from a 4-chick egg).
Consensus on the internetz is that the 16-chicken limit is across the entire Overworld, so kill any wandering chickens that you see to keep your farm operating at peak efficiency.
I currently have 8 adults in my autofarm and I get about 7 meat & feathers every hour. That should go up to about 11-12 per hour once I have 11 adult layers.
Probably very similar, but I use water because I want the raw chicken. Adults are on top, eggs are spit by dispenser into the lower level which has a slab floor and water blocks above. Baby chickens fit below the water, and drown when they reach adulthood. Drops are collected by hoppers under the slabs. Design idea from a guy called Jendo on YouTube.
So I did some math and, for anybody building an automatic chicken farm under the 16-chicken console limit, the optimal number of egg layers is 11. That is, if you have 11 adult chickens laying eggs (fed to a dispenser to produce chicks) then on average you will have 15.1 live chickens at any one time. This already factors in the 1/256 chance of popping 4 chicks from one egg, but still leaves a bit of headroom below 16 so if you do pop 4 chicks from an egg they are a little more likely to survive (on average 1.9 chicks will survive from a 4-chick egg).
Consensus on the internetz is that the 16-chicken limit is across the entire Overworld, so kill any wandering chickens that you see to keep your farm operating at peak efficiency.
I currently have 8 adults in my autofarm and I get about 7 meat & feathers every hour. That should go up to about 11-12 per hour once I have 11 adult layers.
You use the lava and half slab chicken farm?
Probably very similar, but I use water because I want the raw chicken. Adults are on top, eggs are spit by dispenser into the lower level which has a slab floor and water blocks above. Baby chickens fit below the water, and drown when they reach adulthood. Drops are collected by hoppers under the slabs. Design idea from a guy called Jendo on YouTube.