- Oct 8, 2008
- 450
PapaDave said:The golden girls? WOW.
Nice chickens. We've still got a couple of Americana's (I think that's what's left). They lay sort of a green/blue egg.
Our blacks liked to roost in the pine trees next to the garden at night when they were still around.
If you have coyote, fox, or coon around, get them (the chickens) inside a secure enclosure, or they'll be a night time snack for those guys.
We had a coon come and kill some of ours last year, until I solved the problem.
PAJerry said:We've had them for 2 years now and can't imagine being without them. Not a lot of work and the eggs are way better than store bought. Get them some good commercial feed but they also like any kind of weeds, table scraps, etc. Backyardchickens.com is the best info site.
BucksCoBernie said:PapaDave said:The golden girls? WOW.
Nice chickens. We've still got a couple of Americana's (I think that's what's left). They lay sort of a green/blue egg.
Our blacks liked to roost in the pine trees next to the garden at night when they were still around.
If you have coyote, fox, or coon around, get them (the chickens) inside a secure enclosure, or they'll be a night time snack for those guys.
We had a coon come and kill some of ours last year, until I solved the problem.
It was a last minute purchase so I havent built a house for them yet. They are protected by the dog pen fencing and I put a roof over it to keep the hawks and anything else out. They've taken up residence in a dog house. I lined it with some straw and put a board over the entrance at night to keep them safe. I might just modify the dog house and turn it into a house for them. Ill add a front door and a nesting box. Its plastic so its easy to keep clean. I should start getting eggs in about 9 weeks.
Highbeam said:PAJerry said:We've had them for 2 years now and can't imagine being without them. Not a lot of work and the eggs are way better than store bought. Get them some good commercial feed but they also like any kind of weeds, table scraps, etc. Backyardchickens.com is the best info site.
Same here. I've had 6 hens for about 3 years now. They do their job. Always plenty of eggs. We have the buf orps and RHode Island Reds.
We were at the feed store yesterday looking at their chick selection. I am about to buy 8-10 more, but this batch will grow for 8 weeks and then go into the freezer. You think eggs are bad, the meat section of your supermarket is filled to the brim with all sorts of antibiotics and hormones. We want to try out the meat chicken thing and see if we like the whole process.
Chickens are cheap to buy, hens are quiet, cheap to feed, don't take much room, and are very good at converting feed into food.
Not to mention hormones, antibiotics, total confinement away from sunlight and the chlorine baths they give the end product in order to sanitize the meat and make it safer for the public.The other thing is, that MOST grocery store chicken is sold in packages containing up to 15% salt and flavouring agents (they also often bathe them in papaya enzyme- a meat tenderizer).
VCBurner said:Not to mention hormones, antibiotics, total confinement away from sunlight and the chlorine baths they give the end product in order to sanitize the meat and make it safer for the public.The other thing is, that MOST grocery store chicken is sold in packages containing up to 15% salt and flavouring agents (they also often bathe them in papaya enzyme- a meat tenderizer).
Sorry, just had to comment on that!
About the chickens, we raised a flock of 16 chickens we purchased in May of 2008. By fall of 2009 we had almost 40 birds. Egg laying hens, roosters, guinea hens, ducks and three goats! We were in way over our heads. So I sold all the livestock last fall. I miss the eggs, around here we were paying ~$12/bag of feed for the hens. The eggs are not cheap to produce by any means. By the time you add the cost of the birds plus feed to raise them from chicks you're in by more than you'd spend on eggs. One thing is for sure though, the eggs are excellent. As a hobby and to produce good quality eggs for your family it's worth the work and money in my eyes. But, in my experience it costs more to produce the eggs than you'd pay for in stores. That being said. I'd say your best bet is to get a book on raising egg layers that can be purchased in most of the feed stores. The books I bought were very helpful. Chickens are fun but can be a lot of work. I have a coop to finish in the back yard and some fence to enclose an area for a new flock I'll purchase this year. This time I'll stick to 6-10 chickens just to get some eggs for my family and neighbors who will help take care of the birds when we go away some weekends. Have fun with your hens, I miss mine!
Worrying about predators is a must if you want to keep those chickens. We lost quite a few to racoons, foxes, coyotes, hawks and fisher cats. Chickens can't see at night so are easy pray for the nocturnal hunters. The hawks also love them. I'd recommend fencing all around and some even recommend burrying some chiken wire around the base to keep anything from digging their way in!
SE Iowa said:Highbeam said:PAJerry said:We've had them for 2 years now and can't imagine being without them. Not a lot of work and the eggs are way better than store bought. Get them some good commercial feed but they also like any kind of weeds, table scraps, etc. Backyardchickens.com is the best info site.
Same here. I've had 6 hens for about 3 years now. They do their job. Always plenty of eggs. We have the buf orps and RHode Island Reds.
We were at the feed store yesterday looking at their chick selection. I am about to buy 8-10 more, but this batch will grow for 8 weeks and then go into the freezer. You think eggs are bad, the meat section of your supermarket is filled to the brim with all sorts of antibiotics and hormones. We want to try out the meat chicken thing and see if we like the whole process.
Chickens are cheap to buy, hens are quiet, cheap to feed, don't take much room, and are very good at converting feed into food.
What kind of meat chickens are you going to get? We tried jumbo cornish last year. What a suprise! They would habitually eat until their stomachs would swell and they'd "pass-out" and sleep for 20-30 minutes. Then they would wake up and start all over again. We bought egg layers at the same time. You just won't believe how fast they grow on a daily basis. One word of advise...don't grow them a full 8 weeks. We raised ours in confinement and figured the meat would be tender. I butchered them at 8 weeks old and they were beginning to get a little stringy. Next time I am going to start butchering 1 bird every 2 days after they reach 5 weeks old to see when is the optimal growth time. The other thing is, that MOST grocery store chicken is sold in packages containing up to 15% salt and flavouring agents (they also often bathe them in papaya enzyme- a meat tenderizer). One last thing. Scalding, plucking and cleaning even 12 chickens was a lot more work than I expected. Good luck!
In the future, when I try this again I also plan to raise the chickens from eggs in incubators. That way I can hatch out small #'s of birds each week (2-3) in order to have fresh chicken every week.
WES999 said:One question:
Do the chickens have large talons? ;-)
I agree with you 100%!! And i quote my own reply: "As a hobby and to produce good quality eggs for your family it's worth the work and money in my eyes."trump said:VCBurner said:Not to mention hormones, antibiotics, total confinement away from sunlight and the chlorine baths they give the end product in order to sanitize the meat and make it safer for the public.The other thing is, that MOST grocery store chicken is sold in packages containing up to 15% salt and flavouring agents (they also often bathe them in papaya enzyme- a meat tenderizer).
Sorry, just had to comment on that!
About the chickens, we raised a flock of 16 chickens we purchased in May of 2008. By fall of 2009 we had almost 40 birds. Egg laying hens, roosters, guinea hens, ducks and three goats! We were in way over our heads. So I sold all the livestock last fall. I miss the eggs, around here we were paying ~$12/bag of feed for the hens. The eggs are not cheap to produce by any means. By the time you add the cost of the birds plus feed to raise them from chicks you're in by more than you'd spend on eggs. One thing is for sure though, the eggs are excellent. As a hobby and to produce good quality eggs for your family it's worth the work and money in my eyes. But, in my experience it costs more to produce the eggs than you'd pay for in stores. That being said. I'd say your best bet is to get a book on raising egg layers that can be purchased in most of the feed stores. The books I bought were very helpful. Chickens are fun but can be a lot of work. I have a coop to finish in the back yard and some fence to enclose an area for a new flock I'll purchase this year. This time I'll stick to 6-10 chickens just to get some eggs for my family and neighbors who will help take care of the birds when we go away some weekends. Have fun with your hens, I miss mine!
Worrying about predators is a must if you want to keep those chickens. We lost quite a few to racoons, foxes, coyotes, hawks and fisher cats. Chickens can't see at night so are easy pray for the nocturnal hunters. The hawks also love them. I'd recommend fencing all around and some even recommend burrying some chiken wire around the base to keep anything from digging their way in!
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VC
It ALways cost more to get a better product, the chemical loaded chicken and eggs from the grocery store are not worth the few dollars less in exchange for your health.
Ncountry said:.Then the days came that the roosters matured and started trying to bully her around . We had chicken for dinner twice last week.
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