chickens

[dixie_belle]

I have decided to raise a few chickens. Having said this, I should add that I am a city girl who moved to the country last year. My only experience with chickens thus far has been kitchen related (if you know what I mean!) But, hubby has promised to build a small chicken tractor that I can move around the yard. I understand that some chickens are more friendly than others and I kinda want them not only as egg layers but as pets so any hints on what type of chickens to get? We only want enough to provide eggs for the two of us. I don't plan on eating them. They will be pets with names who will be buried when they die of old age LOL. (I would have made a terrible ranchers wife as I would name all the animals, they would all die of old age and be buried in the back. I know my limitations) But getting back to the chickens....I don't want a rooster as I work nights and I would not be able to sleep with him crowing during the day. So, couple of questions:

1) what kind of chicken do I buy?

2) must i get them as babies if i intend to handle them as an adult?

3) do i have to have a rooster if i want eggs?

4) what is the average lifespan of a chicken?

5) is two chickens enough for eggs for two people?

If you can think of any other information that I need, feel free to pass it along. I am just starting my research now.

Shelley

 

[Sterling]

1) what kind of chicken do I buy?

I would research online different breeds. Even mixed breeds make good laying hens. Do you want white eggs...brown eggs....green tinted eggs...depends on what you're looking for and what type of chicken you want.

2) must i get them as babies if i intend to handle them as an adult?

I handle my chicks from the day they are hatched to make them more people friendly. You may come across some that are already started and tamed down. The chickens I sell here on the farm are handled everyday regularly as chicks so are used to people handling and picking them up. I get a lot of 4-H kids out this way buying for their farm projects because they are tamer. I have found some of the friendliest chickens in Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Salmon Faverolles, and Jersey Giants.

3) do i have to have a rooster if i want eggs?

No, a rooster will fertilize the eggs...you must have him if you want chicks. But hens will lay eggs regardless.

4) what is the average lifespan of a chicken?

I've had them go over 8 yrs. old. As they get older the quality of the egg diminishes however. Some farmers will cull hens after 2 - 4 yrs. old.

5) is two chickens enough for eggs for two people?

Figure that a hen will lay one egg a day if she's hardy. Some will stop laying in the colder weather. So yes, a couple of hens even 3 would be great for 2 people.

Good luck...chicken keeping is a very fun hobby.

 

[jayne]

1) what kind of chicken do I buy?

Oh my, this is a wide open question! I have tried lots of different breeds in my small flock, and I can only tell you my favorites. I used to think my Barred Plymouth Rocks were my favorites as far as friendliness goes, but then I got some Buff Orpingtons and they are soo sweet. BUT, then I added a couple of Rhode Island Whites (not the same breed as the Reds) and these guys are currently my favorites for friendliness and daily laying ability. I do think they're a lot more difficult to find than the rocks and the orpingtons, though.

2) must i get them as babies if i intend to handle them as an adult?

I used to think so, but now I don't. My last 6 chickens I bought as unhandled 4 month old pullets, and they are the friendliest of the bunch, even moreso than those I raised from chicks. Once they know you're the scratch/kitchen scrap/worm deliverer, you'll be their best friend. My RIWhites actually jump up on stuff to be closer to me all the time, so I can even hold and pet them, unlike most of the others.

3) do i have to have a rooster if i want eggs?

No rooster needed, and with just the few hens you want, it would be too much 'loving'. Skip the roo.

4) what is the average lifespan of a chicken?

I hear people say that they have some go 10 years, but I don't seem to be able to keep them much longer than 6. The unfortunate thing about chickens is that sometimes they just die, and sometimes there are illness you have to deal with. Infectious coryza wiped out 1/2 my flock a couple of years ago, and it was heartbreaking. It did, however, allow me to get new, younger birds. I guess the moral of this message is that you'll grow attached to them, and sometimes they die. Ugh.

5) is two chickens enough for eggs for two people?

Two is good, but I think three or four would be better. Kind of depends on the size of your chicken tractor, too. I see a ton of different designs for chicken tractors being sold on Craig's List, so make sure to look there too for ideas. You might also want to consider, depending on your climate, how you would run electricity to it if you think you might need a heat lamp or even a water heater (to keep the water from freezing). It's just the two of us too, but I have 13 hens because I love them and love giving the eggs away. During the winter we barely get enough eggs to keep us going (plus I'm baking a lot during that time, too) but now I get 8-9 a day so I give a lot away too. Don't forget that eggs are great protein, so if you have a bit more than you think you need, you'll start making quiche and frittata's more frequently in place of other proteins that you would have bought. Also, there is no correlation with the cholesterol you eat and what builds up in your arteries, so don't worry about upping your egg consumption.

If you can think of any other information that I need, feel free to pass it along. I am just starting my research now.

Frankly, I love keeping chickens so much, I find it hard to believe that more people don't get involved if they have the space, time and their neighborhood allows it. The city of Seattle even allows a few hens (no roos) and many communities are rethinking the value of having a few backyard hens. They (chickens) are also great recyclers, eating most of my kitchen scraps so I now have very little organic waste (I don't feed things that come from onions, avacados, potato peels (all supposed to be bad for them) and citrus as they don't like it.)

 

Quite a few of us have chickens here and love to talk about them, so please feel free to ask questions. You might also search for chicken on this site and see what else we've talked about. Have fun doing your research! ~jayne

Shelley

 

[little lady]

Well you sound alot like me. I have tried several different breeds and they vary and each chicken seems to have its own personality. I have had buff orphingtons and loved them for thier calmness, easiness to handle and good layers. I currently have a couple different kinds of chickens roaming the farm, Araucana(she lays bluish green eggs) I got her as a chick and she has the coolest personality. Miss Peepers likes to sit on our heads(but not all visitors like this now that she is full grown) as well as ride on the horses and goats backs. I also have a bantam rhode island red hen(Penny) that is an awesome egg layer and very sweet. We currently have 5 hens and they are all now between 3-5 years old and keep us overflowing with eggs in the warmer months. Like others have said you do not need a rooster for hens to lay but some breeds are more setty than others meaning that they will want to set on eggs to try to hatch them thus not laying while setting. So that may be something to consider. There are several websites that sell chicks and on their websites they have information about each breed, check those out. I really enjoy our chickens roaming the yard, clucking and even the rooster. Oh and roosters crow all the time. Have fun with your chicken project!

 

[Katiean]

I have Buff Orphingtons and what I have found to be a problem is as they get older, they get hip problems. When I say older I am talking 10-12 years old. They are good layers. But, do get broody (want to sit their eggs). I have a few Wyandots. I have them in silver and buff. The problem I have with them is that their eggs are too large to fit in our egg cartons. These hens are smart and sweet. Then I have Some reds. They called them production reds when I bought them. They are not the sweetest hens. They are not aggressive. But, they don't want to be handled. We had a white wyandot that raised some ostrich and emu chicks for us. She had no idea she was a chicken. She didn't scratch for food like a chicken. She didn't hang out with the chickens. She NEVER roosted like a chicken and she would sit in the afternoon ostrich circle. She was 3 when we lost her. She also liked people.

 

[Riverrose28]

I miss my chickens, we still have ahen house with all the trimmings, but no chickens. When my kids were littlr we had road island reds. The roosters would start crowing around 3:00 in the morning and I could hear them on the stall baby monitors. Love that sound. My youngest daughter, now 30 years young, had a pet she named Sabrina, and would actually carry her around and even would put her in the swimming pool. A fox got her. Now our county has a law, $80 per free ranging poultry, all poultry must be caged or in a covered yard. We also used to have peacocks, no more, too much road traffic. Then we got bantums, cushons, not sure of the spelling, looked like curly chickens, so cute. miss them all, raised the chicks in the house and even still have an incubator for hatching out the eggs, so my kids could watch. Have fun with your chicks. Maybe someday We'll build a yard with a roof, so they can't get out. don't want to be fined, $80 a piece for them getting out. I also miss the fresh eggs, but Government took care of that too, if we wanted to give some away they had to be inspected and fees were too high. I just gave up. I would agree that three or four hens will give you enough eggs for the two of you, but also check out your county requirments so you don't get in trouble.

 

[dixie_belle]

Still doing research but I like Marans, Araucana, Aystralorp, Jersey Giant, Orpington and Plymouth Rock. I have also ordered "Raising Chickens for Dummies". It should be here in 5 days or so. Hubby is doing his own research on chicken tractors so by the time the coop is ready, I should have all the information I need to get 3 or 4 birds. And, I understand there is a flea market near hear (we are in rural Kentucky) where they actually sell chickens, both as chicks and as egg layers. So we'll do our research and then go to the flea market to see some coops and chickens. It may be that we can buy a coop already built for slightly more than it would cost to build one. But if not, hubby is really handy and will build one without any problem. I'm VERY excited because I've always loved chickens and I think it will be really neat to have some of my very own.

 

[susanne]

I love our peepers!

Like you, I consider them pets with a bonus (eggs). We had three hebs and one accidental rooster, but we lost two and need to replenish our flock. I'm not certain what breefd we have/had, except that we had one Polish Banyam, who was adorable. Her eggs were tiny, but delicious and rich.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I'd love to see some photos of anyone's chicken house, preferably a small one. We're in the planning stage now. We plan to start with maybe 6 at first.

We are deciding about a wire floor or wood at this point. It has to be off the ground because of water runoff from mountains.

We've used a home made wooden chicken house with a wire floor, a handmade adobe house with dirt floor (a work of art), and a dog house (fitted with a closet rod roost and a pile of straw for nests) in the past!

We always liked barred rocks in the past, but the experiences of chicken raisers here has opened more options.

 

[Davie]

I love my chicken and all my co-workers love the extra eggs. I can't use pesticides because of my past cancer treatments so the birds are my pest control and part time stall cleaners. At the present time I have some 8-9 mixed breed bantams of which 4 are roosters (4 black & white and 1 that looks Rhode Island or game cock) and 5 Rhode Islands + 3 gineas (1 liliac, 1 standard, and 1 white). My bantams are prolific sitters especially the one little girl who is responsible for the roosters--she always hatches at least one. One of my young pullets that had just started laying real well, hid a nest from me and showed up with 5 new babies--2 of them are bantams--they look so tiny compared to the other three.

I just went out and bought a bunch of new babies, 10 assorted bantams, 10 barred rock pullets, 5 chicks that are an African Variety, 13 Buff Orffingtons (no pullets, just straight run so hope I don't have all roosters)and 2 Rhode Islands.

It is so fun to watch them. Right now they are in the hen house in the brooder pen with a heat lamp and lots of food to eat.

 

[CharlesFamily]

I'm glad this topic was started! We have been thinking about getting some chickens - only 2 or 3 as we can't have many.

I saw this on Craigslist. What are your opinions?

We live in town, but are grandfathered in for livestock, so I couldn't just let them free range. I like that this is small enough to easily move from place to place - but I don't know enough to see any cons. Please feel free to let me know!

Thanks!

Barbara

 

[jayne]

I think these chicken tractors are great for a few chickens. It's so nice to be able to move it around and give them new grass, plus allow them to leave their droppings in new areas. The only thing I would check was to make sure that there is a way to lock them in at night, because a strong predator (raccoon?) could surely get under that open area and into the coop and wipe your sweet girls out. Other than that, it looks like a good one.

Keep us up to date with your project and when you get your new girls!

 

[Oakbrooke Farm]

We have 8 French Black Copper Marans and will be expecting our first chocolate colored eggs in about a month. We have had them for 5 weeks now and they spent their first 4 weeks here living in the horse trailer while their mansion was being built. Here is a link showing the mansion (as hubby calls it) Marans and their mansion

 

[susanne]

What an awesome coop! Forget the chickens, I'd move in.

 

[MindyLee]

I have the olive egger hens and a black copper maran rooster.

I get some of the KOOLEST eggs ever! Either dark olive green eggs with black speckles or dark chocolate brown eggs with lighter brown speckling.