imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
What type of bird did you get?
I just picked up a new flock of 6 week-olds yesterday. I got 5 Golden Comets.
I'll get some pics up soon.
Farm Chicken Help. What type of Chicken to buy?
- Thread starter imaginative
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What type of bird did you get?
I just picked up a new flock of 6 week-olds yesterday. I got 5 Golden Comets.
I'll get some pics up soon.
Night Owl
Veteran Member
Production chickens, sturdy, gentle and will produce extra large brown eggs...in spring 2/day. You go to the feed store and ask where there production chicken chick are...they are red/brown about 3-5 lbs fully grown...good eating when they get too old to give good eggs around 2 years of age.
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
Loon
Inactive
We have light brahmas from last year's flock and added 12 silver laced wyandottes this year. We bought our chicks sexed last fall and by spring they were laying. They all are laying too much. One day we picked up 17 eggs from 18 hens! The one hen who didn't lay an egg was broody. She sits on the eggs and when someone comes in to lay she gets up and lets them lay then hops back on the nest. 
We were up to 16 dozen eggs in the refrigerator! I was boiling eggs and putting eggs in everything. Finally we made a big sign and put it out front and sold all the eggs in just a few days. I was so desperate for a while I scrambled three dozen eggs and fed them back to the chickens with some asparagus tips added in. They gobbled them right up. We do have a nice rooster who is a light brahma. We call him Big Bird. He stays busy trying to keep up with all the hens and protect them. We let them free range but I saw a red fox come running across the field and I took off after him in my RTV blowing my horn. I figure he's in the next county by now. We only let them birds out in the afternoon when we can be out watching them. I sure hope somebody gets that fox soon. They are so used to free ranging they cry when we don't let them out. They do have an outdoor run which is nice but they like to be out and pick out their own diet.
We were up to 16 dozen eggs in the refrigerator! I was boiling eggs and putting eggs in everything. Finally we made a big sign and put it out front and sold all the eggs in just a few days. I was so desperate for a while I scrambled three dozen eggs and fed them back to the chickens with some asparagus tips added in. They gobbled them right up. We do have a nice rooster who is a light brahma. We call him Big Bird. He stays busy trying to keep up with all the hens and protect them. We let them free range but I saw a red fox come running across the field and I took off after him in my RTV blowing my horn. I figure he's in the next county by now. We only let them birds out in the afternoon when we can be out watching them. I sure hope somebody gets that fox soon. They are so used to free ranging they cry when we don't let them out. They do have an outdoor run which is nice but they like to be out and pick out their own diet.
Freeholder
This too shall pass.
No such thing as a rooster who doesn't crow, unfortunately. I'd recommend ducks in your situation, to be honest. Some are better layers than chickens, duck eggs are larger, and they are much higher in most nutrients. There are charts on-line comparing the two, if you want to take a look. Ducks can be noisy at times, but at least the drakes don't crow.
Kathleen
Kathleen
naturallysweet
Has No Life - Lives on TB
I hope your not claiming to have chickens that lay twice a day. Because that chicken hasn't been invented.
mbabulldog
Inactive
We got 2 Americana's and 2 Rhode Island Reds. They're so cool.
We get 2 eggs/day on average; somedays we get spoiled with 3, but a good day is 2.
It's neat talking to them in the morning, or at night, when we get ready to shut them in for the evening.
Wish I could get more.
buttie
Veteran Member
Last year I got a dozen Cuckoo Marans from the feed store. One died the next day and another had a respiratory problem and died about 3 months later. So we now have 10 birds. Even though they were purchased as pullets a cockerel snuck in with the group. This spring I got a Hovabator incubator and on my first attempt to hatch what I learned were some of the more difficult eggs to hatch, succeeded in hatching 14 out of 15 eggs. So the flock is now up to 24. I think there are about 8 cockerels in this batch, so around Aug we'll have a chance to see how they are for meat birds. The young birds were introduced to the coup about 2 weeks ago and I was surprised that there was no fighting! The whyandottes I had before were pretty aggressive. Egg production has been fair as they seem to go broody pretty easy, but the eggs are some of the best I've ever had.
Night Owl
Veteran Member
yes I got 2 per day during the spring when they wanted to reproduce. They were the only ones that did, all other breeds only one a day.
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
These little creatures are now pretty large and started laying this week. Its amazing that 16 weeks ago they pecked thru their shells and now they are laying. Amazing.
AzProtector
Veteran Member
This. We have 30 and a rooster....eat some, use some for layers....this spring I built a couple more coops and runs to accomodate them all....
It really is amazing when you think about how fast they mature... the only thing more amazing than the hybrids that start laying at 4 months are the cornishX birds that reach 5# *dressed* weight at 7 weeks!!
My favorite breed is now the Slow White Broilers that Welp Hatchery sells. They are truly amazing birds... they are great meat birds, maturing about 2 weeks later than the CornishX... you can get 5# dressed birds by 9 weeks. But they also lay earlier than almost any other pure breed... maybe not the Golden Comets, but they've started laying earlier than any other egg laying breed, including Leghorns.
AND, they'll go broody- nowhere near as consistently as the Cuckoo Marans, but at least a couple hens will go broody every spring.
I still like the Cornish X for sheer efficiency, but the Slow Whites are a great backup... they breed true.
Summerthyme
My favorite breed is now the Slow White Broilers that Welp Hatchery sells. They are truly amazing birds... they are great meat birds, maturing about 2 weeks later than the CornishX... you can get 5# dressed birds by 9 weeks. But they also lay earlier than almost any other pure breed... maybe not the Golden Comets, but they've started laying earlier than any other egg laying breed, including Leghorns.
AND, they'll go broody- nowhere near as consistently as the Cuckoo Marans, but at least a couple hens will go broody every spring.
I still like the Cornish X for sheer efficiency, but the Slow Whites are a great backup... they breed true.
Summerthyme
No, you have to buy CornishX chicks. They are an "inbred hybrid"... the breeders keep two separate (male and female) lines, and then breed them back to each other to produce the VERY fast growing birds. You have to restrict feed on them, or they WILL drop dead of heart attacks before they reach butchering size. And while you CAN keep them to breed (by strictly rationing feed), they really aren't healthy birds. I kept a hen by mistake last year (confused her with a Slow White pullet). She has laid eggs all winter, but she walks weird... waddles, and sits down most of the time. They just really aren't designed to carry the weight they mature at...
Summerthyme
Summerthyme
Ha! Today was the beginning of my second Slow White hatch with eggs from my own flock placed in the incubator. It's only the end of Day twenty-one and have twenty-three out of forty hatched. The little goober's must like hot humid weather.
So about the first week of November they can go in the freezer-barring any chicken disasters.
The Slow Whites really are the most amazing "combo" bird. Lots of eggs and grow meat fast. My thanks also to Summertyme for sharing.
So about the first week of November they can go in the freezer-barring any chicken disasters.
The Slow Whites really are the most amazing "combo" bird. Lots of eggs and grow meat fast. My thanks also to Summertyme for sharing.
Congratulations! I don't have my own Slow Whites this year... my only rooster (yes, I DO know better... sigh) got taken out by something that was big enough to break off three fence posts, but NOT- apparently- big enough to carry an 18# roo away. And then I lost EVERY cockerel in the pen of Slow White and Americauna chicks when we got a heat wave. I've never lost chickens to heat. And I can't explain to this day why only the cockerels would have died... and why the rest never showed any overt signs of heat stress!!
Fortunately, in the eggs my youngest son and his wife hatched in my incubator (it's fun to watch them learning everything we did 30 years ago!) there was one pure Slow White cockerel. Unfortunately, he's apparently mean... but that means I'm getting him! I'll solve the "mean" problem quickly enough, I suspect. I've never seen a mean Slow White before.
With the prices increasing almost weekly (it seems) on mail-order chicks, I'm rethinking (again) giving up on the wonderful- but increasingly expensive- CornishX birds, and hatching all my own Slow Whites. I'll have to do some real pencil pushing... see if keeping enough extra hens (and possibly a couple extra roos) over the winter to provide fertile hatching rates would be any- much- cheaper than buying chicks. I THINK so... but I don't know. If it does look cheaper, I will consider investing in a decent quality incubator, and possibly think about expanding the flock enough to sell hatched chicks locally. A lot of folks are starting to have trouble paying $2 a chick or more for meat chicks, especially with the cost of grain to raise them...
Summerthyme
Fortunately, in the eggs my youngest son and his wife hatched in my incubator (it's fun to watch them learning everything we did 30 years ago!) there was one pure Slow White cockerel. Unfortunately, he's apparently mean... but that means I'm getting him! I'll solve the "mean" problem quickly enough, I suspect. I've never seen a mean Slow White before.
With the prices increasing almost weekly (it seems) on mail-order chicks, I'm rethinking (again) giving up on the wonderful- but increasingly expensive- CornishX birds, and hatching all my own Slow Whites. I'll have to do some real pencil pushing... see if keeping enough extra hens (and possibly a couple extra roos) over the winter to provide fertile hatching rates would be any- much- cheaper than buying chicks. I THINK so... but I don't know. If it does look cheaper, I will consider investing in a decent quality incubator, and possibly think about expanding the flock enough to sell hatched chicks locally. A lot of folks are starting to have trouble paying $2 a chick or more for meat chicks, especially with the cost of grain to raise them...
Summerthyme
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
I tried to get my chickens to go to church this morning. They put up quite a squawk and reminded me that 4-20 is their birthday and they were intending on just laying around the shanty all day because they are officially hens today
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AzProtector
Veteran Member
We raise the Barred Rocks exclusively for the versatility and hardiness as we get some whiz-bang temps in the winters...but they are noisy.
Jonas Parker
Hooligan
Err... Extra Crispy?
I have had Buff Orpingtons for years and love them ….BUT ….I live in the tropics and White Leghorns seem to do better here.
They eat less than the Buffs and they lay a lot more eggs. However they are "flighty" and want to fly all over the place.
I have to keep the feathers on one wing clipped to keep them inside the fence chicken yard.
Lost my old Buff rooster this week. He just disappeared . Must have weighed 12 pounds and was getting old . No feathers , nothing.
We do have a lot of mongoose this year stealing the eggs. He may have met his match.
They eat less than the Buffs and they lay a lot more eggs. However they are "flighty" and want to fly all over the place.
I have to keep the feathers on one wing clipped to keep them inside the fence chicken yard.
Lost my old Buff rooster this week. He just disappeared . Must have weighed 12 pounds and was getting old . No feathers , nothing.
We do have a lot of mongoose this year stealing the eggs. He may have met his match.
imaginative
keep your eye on the ball
My last flock included Barred Rocks and the darn things were always making noise. These Golden Comets are nearly silent- they hardly ever make any noise at all
Loon
Inactive
I order from a company that always offers a free fancy chicken if you want it. Of course it is always different from the others in color. I've noticed the other hens discriminate and won't be her friend. I have a two year old flock that are mostly white. They hang together. The one year old flock are mostly black and white and they hang together. Poor brownie is by herself all the time. The rooster will mate with her but that's about it. They roost separately too. In my run I have two large ladders on either end of the run. The white ones sleep on one side and the black ones sleep on the other side. Brownie sort of roosts near the bottom on the white side. I feel sorry for her. She's a great egg layer and sweet but if I order more hens I won't get that free one any more. There really is something to the adage that "Birds of a feather flock together".
PyratePrincess
Deceased
I must have broken every rule with my last batch of birds...granted there were only 5 (city coop) but I had a RIR, barred rock, araucana (she was sweet but dumb) a totally black, don't know what it was and a silkie. They all got along great with each other and me. The black one was my favorite. She used to hop up on the hammock with me, nestle beside me an sort of "coo".
I think our local place is down to just barred rocks right now so that's prolly what I'll get.
I think our local place is down to just barred rocks right now so that's prolly what I'll get.
Freeholder
This too shall pass.
Princess, when you have an assortment like that, they usually do get along great. It's when you have several of one kind, and one or a few of another kind, that you'll have problems with the 'birds of a feather' thing.
Kathleen
Kathleen
PyratePrincess
Deceased
Gotcha! Thanks for the insight
Like I said, it's been a while since I had birds-and this is a very different environment for them. Anyone know is chickens are jumpy around noise? Sadly, the ONLY place I can put the little ladies is right by the air conditioner (noisy) and the pool pump (noisier).~Pyrate~
Freeholder
This too shall pass.
They'll get used to that kind of noise. What startles them is sudden unexpected noises, like firecrackers going off, that kind of thing.
Kathleen
Kathleen