Raising Chickens

[ravenmaniac]

I've been thinking about getting some chickens. I'd like to have them as a source of eggs. I have no idea what to do. What kind to get, how many, what to feed them, shelter, etc. Any suggestions or help is greatly appreciated.

[suki]

Go to your local agri cooperative extension agency and pick up free phamphlets on raising chickens. Ask them your questions after reading.

In general, if you get chicks, you will need a light and a brooder box for them, then a brooder house until they are big enough to live in a hen house. You will need a hen house with laying boxes. All the details are available online or through your local agency.

[cissylu]

my husband raises chicken and sell`s them at the flea market.

[mombottoo]

When my daughter got her chicks she used a laundry basket with a heat lamp until they were big enough to put into the area she & her hubby built for them. They built a fenced in pen w/coop and laying boxes...if you put up a fence make sure the wire is small enough so they can't get out. You'll also need mash (I think that's what it is called) and a waterer...chickens do drink water.

If you have a store similar to Tractor Supply or Quality Farm & Fleet they usually carry chicks and all the necessary supplies. Checking with your local Farm Co-op is also a good idea.

[qtkitty]

Also if your with in town limits make sure you know the laws on raising farm animals.. some allow it others don't.

If your not with in town limits then you will not have to worry about it.

If you live far enough out in the country and have plenty of land for them to roam you can let them roam your property.. definately keeps the bug population down, but they will do a number on your flowers if they get to them. They will also peck at veggie gardens. So keep them out of those areas so you don't think about a nice chicken dinner before your eggs start to come. But "free-ranging" gives the eggs a darker color to the yolk and sometimes harder shells, not to mention it saves you a little on feed since they are picking and scratching a little chunk of their own.

Also some people say that the chickens lay smaller eggs their first season laying.. others say chickens do not lay their first year... i think it depends on the type of bird. Also some chickens have some AWSOME looking eggs all different colors.. if you blow them out you can save them for easter ( HINT HINT ) sell them to make a little extra cash for their feed. Also if they start laying well then you can sell some eggs.

Also having birds that lay different color eggs you can tell which ones are laying and which ones aren't. If a bird isn't laying well for a month its time for a nice chicken dumpling dinner.

Ohh and make sure to get a water heater for during the winter... this will keep them laying farther into the winter months if not all winter.

[suki]

"If a bird isn't laying well for a month its time for a nice chicken dumpling dinner. "

Wrong! Sorry, but chickens often have periods where they don't lay. When they molt, they don't lay. If they don't get enough light, they don't lay. If their feed isn't nutrient rich, they don't lay. It doesn't mean they go to the boiling pot! Yes, eventually, as they age they do stop laying... but I wouldn't make that determination after one month. And, they'd be so tough at that age, I don't think I'd even boil them for stew...but, it is an option.

[M55FF]

people used to have chicken coops behind their houses back before 1900...
many of them were converted into sheds later.
The thing with raising birds is to be aware there are many diseases you can get from birds like bird breeders lung
so you will have to take all the precautions when around the birds as we know more than we did 100 years ago.
It would .....
Be sad to be killed by your own chicken.


do your homework
and make sure if you are going to do it your ready, so you can do it right
and not end up wasting your time and money.

[Laurie in Bradenton]

You will love the eggs. I live in the city limits and can't raise them myself but my girlfriends son has over 200 on this place outside town.
He rasies several different varities so we get a variety of different colored eggs.
But all have a much, much better flavor and color than store bought. His are free range during the day and locked up in the barn at night.
Try making your own noodles with your fresheggs and you'll never go back to store bought noodles. Things like egg salad and scrambled eggs are heavenly.
Check out Mother Earth News Site on back articles on raising chickens and coops. I used to have several books on raising them and making coops but all have been loaned out and never come home to roost again. lol
The Chicken Tractor tells about moving cages which can be helpful if you have a high hawk or preditior level.
Laurie in Bradenton

[goat21]

Geez. I've never heard that some chickens don't lay their first year. Different breeds will start their laying careers at earlier ages than others, but I've never had one of any breed "wait" until the second year.

Breeds bred for laying (such as the sex-link) will lay earliest. I've had them start at 4 1/2 months, but I've heard of earlier. Other breeds, such as the Aracauna (which lay green and blue eggs) and the Black Austrolorp, don't start laying until nine or ten months of age. Other breeds, such as the Rhode Island Red and the Barred Rock, start laying around seven or eight months of age.

Some breeds are better layers than others, too. Once again, your sex-link will be your most consistent layers-. Supposedly they've had the "broodiness" (the instinct to want to raise a family) bred out of them, but I have had them go broody on me. The Rhode Islands are good layers, as are the Barred Rocks. The Buff Orpingtons are nice, mellow birds (great to have around young kids) but aren't your best layers. A lot of people like the Aracaunas because of the novelty of the color of the egg shell but I don't think they're particularly good layers. Plus, EVERY Aracauna (and I mean EVERY) rooster I've ever had has been mean.

If you get your chicks at a feed store and are interested mainly in egg production, don't get "straight run." "Straight run" means that "pullets" (the girls) and the "cockerels" (the boys) are lumped together and chances are in a 'straight run," you'll end up with more roosters than hens. Ask for pullets. If you ask for twelve pullets, chances are you'll "accidentally" end up with a rooster in the bunch anyway. "Sexing" chicks, apparently, isn't an absolute science.

If you're wanting meat birds, in my experience, you're much better off getting Cornish X (there's others by different names) which are bred for quick growth. You can have birds in your freezer in two months or so and, boy, are they good. So much tastier and meatier than anything you'll get out of your grocer's meat counter.

Bantams are enjoyable and there's some really cute breeds you can get (like the "Frizzle"), but they also lay a much smaller egg. They are also good setters and mommas.

There are white egg-layers and there are brown egg-layers (my preference); it depends on the breed. The worst breed I ever had was years ago and that was the White Leghorn (white egg-layer). They were high-strung and nervous and tended to peck at each other and eat eggs. I decided they weren't meant to be "farm birds," where you have kids and dogs and cats running around. and I would never have another one. Besides, I just like the brown eggs.

You can start them in the house but, unless your house is extremely cold, I would just use a 100-watt bulb over them. An actual heat lamp is 250 watts and, trust me, you can end up cooking your babies. I used to work in a feed store and had a customer do that very thing with some chicks she bought from us. She didn't recognize the signs that the chicks were getting way too much heat and she ended up killing them. She bought some more chicks, replaced the heat lamp with a 100-watt bulb, and had no more trouble.

You will start your babies off on "starter feed." It comes in medicated and non-medicated forms. The medicated types have a coccidiosis preventive medication in them but some people prefer the non-medicated. You might ask your feed store what they recommend.

You can also buy "organic" feeds but prepared to pay more for it.

When your birds are feathered out and it's warm enough outside for them to go outside, you will have to have housing for them. They need a place to roost at night that's out of the weather and protected from predators. A lot of people are going with "chicken tractors" (a movable pen that can be moved around your place to take advantage of available grass and such). I could never use a "tractor" because I don't have enough level ground and I just don't see how they could work on anything BUT level ground.

Eggs from free-range birds are sooo much better, both in taste and in nutritional value.

Anyway, this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as information. For more complete information, you can "google" probably all you will ever need to know. You can get some ideas, too, that way about what kind of housing will work best for you.

There are also plenty of books out there. The Storey's "Practical Guide to...." books are pretty good. Your feed store may carry them or you can find them on-line.

Janis

[ellendanis]

We are in our 4th year of chickens - we are up to 38 or so now. Previous poster is right - you will LOVE the eggs! Our girls produce enough for us and enough to sell - which covers the cost of their feed.

The absolute best online resource is:

www.backyardchickens.com

Careful though - it's addicting!
Ellen

[M55FF]

I recall my great granparents when I was very small having a chicken coop... there was a tree stump in the yard near the coop and thats where they cut the heads off.
I never saw them cut heads off the chickens but I was told about it.

I couldn't do that and all the dander from the coup would make me choke... so its not for me.
Can you cut the head off a live animal ?
have you thought of that ?????

[brainyblonde]

people used to have chicken coops behind their houses back before 1900...
many of them were converted into sheds later.

I have one of those in my backyard! It is not legal to have chickens in my part of suburbia now, but I do have very rich garden soil in what was once the fenced pen!

[ravenmaniac]

I want to thank everyone who responded to this post. I appreciate all the advice I've been given. I want to raise chickens for their eggs. I don't plan on having a chopping block or stump next to my chicken coop so I can cut their heads off. When I was a little girl my uncle had a farm in Gettysburg, PA. He bred Quarter Horses, raised dairy cattle and chickens. My grandfather would take me up there on weekends and I would help with the animals. What wonderful memories I have. Me and my cousins would climb the apple trees, next to the Civil War home, and pick them so my grandmother, mom, and aunts could make pies and can applesauce. My grandfather also had a huge vegetable garden. I look back on those times and really cherish the memories I hold close to my heart. Any other advice is about chickens is appreciated. Oh, and I don't plan on having like hundreds of chickens. So I don't think I'll have to worry about my lungs. Hopefully they won't peck me to death, lol. When I do get my chickens, I'll keep everyone posted. I have more research to do.

[Holly]

I have had chickens for 10 years now and I have never cut their heads off.
Could I absolutely if we needed the
food. I don't make pets of my farm animals they are for my lively hood not pets.
About every 3 years we sell the older ones and get pullets.
In April we will be getting another 12 hens. ( Hopefully white leghorns this time )11 x 7 = 77 eggs a week. We should have enough to sell .
One thing is you do not need a mess of roosters 1 will do.
I have 5 and 4 are headed to the auction next month.
Good Luck

[Holly]

Didn't have a edit button again....
Chicken lay the first year but usually the eggs are smaller. Also a smaller breed lays smaller eggs also.
Best ones for laying eggs are red leghorns or barred rocks (jmho)