Basic Newbie Chicken Questions

[Beekissed]

BOs are also eating machines! And they are so docile that they were getting bred more than my other gals...which leads to raw backs. Raw backs in a cold winter is not so desirable.

Might consider Dominiques in your list....pea combs, steady layers, cold and heat hardy, sweet gals, heritage breed.

I currently have New Hampshire Reds, White Rocks, Doms, Black Aussies, Black Stars and Red Stars.

I'm most impressed with the steady laying and big meatiness of the WR, NHR, Aussies. The Doms are a smidge smaller than these big meaties, but they are still great birds.

The production birds are great and lay pretty eggs but don't seem as hardy as the other breeds.

 

[valmom]

We have a very small flock (6 hens, one bantam rooster) of elderly EEs. I LOVE the blue eggs We insulate the coop (big for only 7 birds at 8x10) leave the ridge vent uncovered, and put haybales with hay on the floor in the coop for the winter for them to nest down into, and no one has frozen yet. I do like the small combs on the girls so I don't have to worry about frostbite. Keeping liquid water is an issue- we carry hot water out twice a day since we don't have electricity out there.

Sounds like an ambitious project!

 

[kcsunshine]

have you seen this chart on breed characteristics? it's pretty helpful.

i would also suggest Chanteclers for you. they are beautiful, calm birds that are breed for cold weather (they were developed in Canada) and lay well in winter, which most don't.

OK. If you insist.

I revised the previous list above, and am capping it at 49 chickens (42 hens and 7 roosters) because the cool chicken coop plans I just discovered online are for a max of 50 birds.

And yes, that list is very helpful. Thanks for posting the link.



John

John, John, John - you've got to make that coop larger - you know you can't stop with 49 birds

 

[Diavolicchio]

have you seen this chart on breed characteristics? it's pretty helpful.

i would also suggest Chanteclers for you. they are beautiful, calm birds that are breed for cold weather (they were developed in Canada) and lay well in winter, which most don't.

OK. If you insist.

I revised the previous list above, and am capping it at 49 chickens (42 hens and 7 roosters) because the cool chicken coop plans I just discovered online are for a max of 50 birds.

And yes, that list is very helpful. Thanks for posting the link.



John

John, John, John - you've got to make that coop larger - you know you can't stop with 49 birds

50 chickens is going to be the max. I'll have enough other things to manage in a given day.


John

 

[bibliophile birds]

One thing to consider when choosing breeds is the comb. Go with rose or pea combs, because the hens have almost no comb and the roo's comb is closer to his head. Less chance of frostbite than with standard combs.

this is a good point. we don't get ANYWHERE near as cold as you guys, so i didn't have to worry about frostbit too much. one of my Orp cockerels had a tiny little spot of it after several cold wet nights, so i slathered the whole lot in vaseline. that seems to have done the trick since its not staying that cold. John, you would definitely need to be more worried about frostbite. again, though, frostbite is more a problem with moisture (aka bad ventilation) than just cold temps (although that certainly is a factor).

John, John, John - you've got to make that coop larger - you know you can't stop with 49 birds

i'm with kc on this one. you just don't know what you are walking into. i started with 22 in Oct. i just put in an order for 50 more. plus a dozen ducks and 15 turkeys. and i plan on hatching some eggs over the summer.....

better to build slightly larger than you think you will need and not need it than build a nice coop that ends up being too small. your birds won't mind a bit of extra space anyhow.

 

[FarmerChick]

actually 50 chickens is nothing to handle in a day.

we have over 200 now (down from 300) and they take all of 20 mins to water, check, feed etc.


if you don't decide to make them your friends, don't knit them sweaters, don't bake them treat biscuits from scratch, don't name them and have b-day parties, don't have baby showers for them, don't decide to haul one off to the vet every 5 mins. because it lost a feather------then hey you sure can have alot of chickens and deal with them in a short amt. of time.

(of course being funny here--lol)


Do you have a goal for these chickens?

Such as---are they for you ONLY or are you going to expect them to be income for you?

You buy the breeds that are hardiest to your location.
You buy the breeds that suit your purpose --such as meat birds only, layers only, or that wonderful dual bird purpose.

Not alot of hard work in buying a chicken for the farm....but if you think before you buy and know WHY and WHAT you want from that purchase, then narrowing down the perfect breed is easy.

 

[greyhorsewoman]

4) What kind of egg production in a given week (I understand this depends a bit on the variety of hens, living conditions, nutrition, etc.) could I expect from 60 hens?

I don't think anyone really addressed this question. I know you've reduced your estimated hens to 42. They won't lay ANY eggs for about the first 20 weeks ... some longer. The initial eggs will be smaller (commonly referred to as pullet eggs). After the hens get up to speed, they will average an egg a day, but some breeds more like 2 eggs every 3 days. Forty hens could easily work up to 2-3 dozen eggs daily during peak laying period. (Have a plan.)

They will mature and go into a molt which an last 6 weeks in some, up to 16 weeks for others. They lay very infrequently, if at all, during molt. The second year will still be a decent production egg year, though slightly less than the first.

After that, most hens decrease laying with each year. Again, some breeds are better layers in the earlier years and drop off more rapidly, other breeds tend to lay a bit less but maintain good production longer. Of course, individuals exist within all groups. You should decide now how you wish to deal with drops in production. It can get very costly to feed 50 chickens and get 3-6 eggs daily over an extended molt period.

Also, plan on losing a few to various maladies ... baby chicks are quite volitile. Occasionally, layers get egg bound. Predators. Some breeds tend to go broody (and that halts egg production.)

3) Should I be anticipating any problems with having 5 roosters (aside from the noise in the morning) ?

Possibly. Depending on the space, roosters can tangle with each other. And they won't just crow in the morning. Seven roosters will probably compete with each other throughout most of the day, every day. And not all roosters are created equal. When they hit maturity, some are nice, some aren't. I had two cochins raised from the same hatch. One ended up attacking me mercilessly every time I went in the coop (he is gone now) and one never bothers anybody.

Definitely check out the sister site BACKYARD CHICKENS. Good luck !

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

7) How much time should I plan on spending in a given week to properly take care of this many chickens?

I have 86 chickens, downsized from 150....

Around here, feeding and watering alone takes an hour in the morning, and then again in the evening. But, I have 3 coops, 2 duck pens, and 5 cages of rabbits, so that's an hour of feeding/watering for all of those...plus bottle feeding two calves.....

I only fill feeders that are empty.

During winter, waterers have to be changed out every few hours if frozen.

Year round, waterers have to be checked periodically through the day.

A chicken will drink 3 x's it's body weight in one day....meaning, it drinks A LOT more than it eats in a day.

Then there is cleaning coops...I used to do a good thorough cleaning once a year, but nesting boxes need cleaned almost daily with the number of birds I have. And, I found my birds to be healthier if I completely clean out the old bedding and replace with new bedding 1-2 times a month (especially in winter if they're confined for several days...chicken poo adds up fast and SMELLS!)

Also, any wet bedding should be cleaned up and taken out so as to not be left to grow mold which can cause illness in flocks.

* Buff Ameraucana
* Buff Cochin
* Buff Orpington
* Cuckoo Maran
* Welsummer

(All Stardards; No Bantams)

I have had Orpingtons, while they are good layers, they were also the meanest chickens I had. They constantly harrassed the other chickens.

The best layers I've ever had were Brahmas. My hens did well over winter, but both of my Brahma roosters suffered from severely frozen feet....I mean, their feet literally froze solid....and died. I've never experienced any other chickens getting frozen feet like that. (We also had a horrible winter last year!)

Welsummers are nice and quiet, handle the cold seemingly well, except the Roos can be susceptible to frostbite because they have both big combs and big wattles.

My cuckoo marans are nice, too, and good layers and hold up well to the cold, with the exception of the roosters. My roo has some frostbite from last winter.

My cochins have done very well into the winter months.

Speckled Sussex are a good utility breed that hold up to the cold well.

also, are you wanting this many chickens for egg laying??? or are you hoping to breed the specific breeds you've mentioned?

If you are just wanting eating eggs, you really do not need the roosters. Unless you just want them or you are hoping to have babies in the spring.

If you're hoping to have babies, I'd suggest 2 coops, just incase you want to separate out one of the breeds and hatch pure babies.

Your roosters will crow at all hours of the day and night. Mine start roughly around 4 am daily, and continue crowing in rambunctious rounds off and on throughout the day.

Roosters will aslo crow at night if there is a predator, or if they are startled. If my roosters crow at a time of night that is unusual for them, we're usually checking it out.

 

[lorihadams]

I love my light brahmas, my barred rock is a faithful layer of beautiful pinky brown eggs, I hate my EE but that is a personality thing, I also have red sex links and they are sweet birds with a pretty consistent laying pattern. The breed chart on BYC is excellent. I also want more birds but you have to figure out what your goals are. Do you just want eggs for yourself or do you want to sell fertilized eggs (if so then they will need separate housing to keep the breeds pure), do you want to sell chicks, do you just want them for entertainment. I have 7 right now and I want to go up to about 20 cause I do have people wanting eggs but I can't keep up.

As far as housing goes...design what you think you'll need and then go a little bigger. I wish I had gone bigger but when I got started I had bantams and then switched to standards. Definitely need more space.

Check out BYC but take what they say with a grain of salt (some of the people over there are VERY opinionated).

 

[Diavolicchio]

Thanks for the great feedback, everyone. It's been greatly appreciated.

I think I'm going to lose the Ameraucanas for the time being and will go with the following six:


* Black Copper Maran / 8 hens + 1 rooster
* Buff Brahma / 8 hens + 1 rooster
* Buff Chantacler / 8 hens + 1 rooster
* Buff Cochin / 8 hens + 1 rooster
* Buff Orpington / 8 hens + 1 rooster
* Welsummer / 8 hens + 1 rooster

TOTAL: 54 chickens (48 hens + 6 roosters)


My guess is a few of those roosters (the loudest and worst behaved) will end up going to Freezer Camp, so I'll still end up with around 50 when all's said and done.

I think I'd like to build a chicken coop that's divided up into six sections, three on each side, with separate runs connected to each section on the outside. It would be much like a small version of the kennel where I board my dogs. Each has it's own comfortable space inside, a private run on the outside, and the freedom to travel between each as they please.

Would this be too confining for the chickens, not being able to regularly play and directly interact with the other breeds?

Also, is there a chart online that gives an estimated number of eggs per year that can be expected from the major chicken breeds under ideal conditions? Thanks.



John