Kendall brought home some blondes and redheads. He's a chick magnet I guess. I have to admit... how could you resist? :p 33 of 'em! One of the redheads.. One of the blondes.. slumberparty!
Nothing is better about chickens than getting them when they are little chicks. Are these layers or meat?
That was almost four weeks ago. Here are some pictures from a few days ago. These weigh around 4lbs now. They are broilers (cornish x). The little redheads are still little but growing fast. They are layers. (golden comets) The one little cockerel in this photo is just starting to finally get feathers. He looked like a dodo bird for quite some time. He thinks he's king of the pen tho'. It's funny to watch them do their chest bumps. It's good that the broilers get so big and kind of homely so fast. It would be hard to butcher them otherwise. The broilers all waddle over to see me and the little comets run in a pack like little velociraptors amongst them. It's amazing how entertaining chickens can be.
I remember you had barred rocks, do you still have them? Are you going to separate the broilers from the layers when they can stay outside? Do you skin them or pluck feathers? Sorry for the questions, just interested in how someone else does it. I want to build a large chicken tractor (large enough for 25 broilers or so) and start raising them but probably won't do that until next spring. I am currently building a new coop for my layers (17 hens and one very cool roster) but I will be replacing them next spring also. I thoroughly enjoy having chickens and, yes, it is amazing how entertaining they can be LOL :D .
No problem about the questions. :D The little comets will get their own pen. I'm going to build them a hoop house out of two cattle panels and welded wire on skids that I can move around the yard. Too many hawks and loose dogs to allow free-ranging. Then there will be a seperate temporary pen for the broilers. (tho' honestly, they're not going to be here much longer. At the rate they're growing it will be two weeks max.) I've always plucked the broilers and skinned out old layers. I still have my barred rocks and Rhode Island reds. However they are too old to lay very well anymore. I get 3-4 eggs from 7 hens. (more often 3 than 4) I expect by next year it would drop to 1-3. I know there's at least one hen that hasn't layed in months. I'm just too much of a softy to do her in. When the new pullets start laying the old hens will have to go. These chicks came from the feed store and the only 'pullets' they had were the golden comets. What kind do you have?
yeah christine! thats what im talking bout SOME YARDBIRD!!!!!!!!!! how much do they cost when they are chicks? what would you say the overall cost is for one that you will eat... chick all the way to dinner table?
I have 15 barred rock hens, 1 barred rock rooster, 1 rhode island red hen and one hen that is half barred rock and half araucuna (black with a green tint to her feathers, she's beautiful). Half the hens and the rooster we hatched ourselves, well the incubator did LOL, and the rooster is named Red because he had a red ankle band and he was the one we kept out of all the males we hatched. Some of the hens (5ish) and the rooster will be with us as long as they want (they have special life passes LOL) but the rest will become soup at some point, probably next spring. We want to get a bunch of new hens next year, grow them and then, when they start laying, incubate and hatch out more of our own from the rooster. Yeah, the hoop house/tractor deal is what I am gong to do next year for the broilers. We don't pluck, just skin out but I have been thinking about making a plucker since we want to grow more to eat. There is a very good magazine called backyard poultry that has all kinds of great ideas concerning chickens. It also discusses health issues, nutrition, different breeds, etc. I don't know if you do it but save all of the fine, little feathers from the pelvic area when you pluck because they make awesome windcheckers. You can even tear the little downy feather up and get some real light windcheckers that give great indications of what the wind around your stand is doing.
Who said you can't live with 'em, and you can't kill 'em? :D Looks like maybe both will be accomplished here with these new girlfriends! Funny timing on this thread... more and more of our friends are getting chickens, and I've been taking an interest in it.. we just couldn't do it living in a subdivision on the back end of a golf course.
Ya, I didn't think I'd fool John. Even when I ask him about his shaft length he knows I'm probably talking trolling motors or arrows. Isaiah, for a small batch of chicks like this from the feed store... comparing price per pound for homegrown chickens and supermarket chickens is like comparing the price of venison burger and beef burger. :D But.. if I bought chicks straight from a hatchery they'd cost about a buck each with shipping. It takes about 12.5 lbs of feed to get the broilers up to 6-7.5 lbs live weight. (4.5 - 5.5 lb dressed weight). Feed costs somewhere in the .18 to .28 per pound neighborhood depend on what brand, sales and such. So.. it should cost about 2.25 - 3.50 in feed. Plus the buck for the chick. So about 3.25 - 4.50 per bird at butchering time. ....then you have to add the housing/waterers/feeders/bedding... if you don't already have that stuff. Cheaper to buy chicken on sale at the supermarket. But home grown chicken does taste better. For one thing it's not all injected with 'solution' like the store birds.. which makes the meat all mushy and weird. plus.. they're entertaining...
yeah for sure, if i had the space i'd look into it! and prob just satisfying knowing you raised what you're eating!
