the self reliant homestead: chicken questions

[MetalSmitten]

as a sidenote, buff orpingtons are definitely nice birds, but their eggs are a bit small. just something to keep in mind. i get much bigger eggs from my other girls (red sex links, black mixes) but the hens themselves are smaller than the BOs. what i'm trying to do currently is keep a mixed flock - some specifically for eggs, and i'm raising some heavier breeds for meat production. be aware, a "dual purpose" chicken of any breed is not going to look like what you get at the store. dual purpose birds take much longer to grow out (than pure meat birds) and don't usually reach the same size, but the meat is often tastier. depending on how long you grow them out, the meat may be less tender than you're used to too, but simply changing your cooking habits will usually fix that. sorry if i'm saying stuff you already know

some of my BO's have gone broody. one was an excellent mother, one failed totally.

i've currently got dark cornish that i'm raising for meat production. i'll probably be crossing them with the BO's and some cochins just to see what i get. the good egg-layers are too small to give much meat, the better meat birds don't give enough eggs (or they're small). so i'm making two flocks.

sorry i'm just learning about better gardening myself, so i'm not much help with that one yet.

 

[BarredBuff]

I have to disagree about egg size, my girls lay big eggs.

 

[AL]

I have 15 hens (actually 2 are still pullets, not laying yet) and average about 7 eggs a day. I find my best layers are the Rhode Island Reds and the Golden Comets (red sexlinks). My Buffs are pretty reliable and my Australorp (was supposed to be a Jersey Giant) went broody until I had to break her because she was looking so horrible. She hatched a few, 2 drowned so she was left with Solo (who is a stew-pot rooster). My mutt roosters are the best meat potential, I think... they are huge at only 5 months old. The problem with these guys is they will have to be stewed / crock pot, cooked slow.
I have: RIR, BO, Australorp, Jersey Giant, Golden Comets, Barred Rocks, Brahmas (LOVE my brahmas), Easter Egger and Cochins (or that's what they are supposed to be). I cut down on the feed bill by letting them out in my backyard (fenced from predators and plenty of places to get away from the abundant hawks). I also use them basically as garbage disposals... kitchen scraps go either to the chickens or the compost pile.... and allow my neighbors to toss their scraps as well.

The size of your garden won't matter if it is more than you can / want to take care of .... so I would recommend start small. Buy a variety of things you like and see what you are successful growing. If you find yourself able to keep up with that, expand. You can always do container gardening for later season stuff if needed. (what I will have to do this year, since my garden is kapoot).

I have 3 rabbits and if SHTF I have a meat source, but I am not at a point where I can butcher furry things that I have raised (unless of course I get a little steer calf !!)

 

[GaFarmGirl]

I like what everyone else has said. Especially don't waist your time and energy growing food that you don't like to eat. There are some things that are not practical to grow unless you have lots of land too. For example, in my garden (it is 20x65) I have basic veggies but it is not practical to grow something like wheat.
If you are new to this and you have children make sure that they KNOW that those cute little chicks or bunnies are FOOD. They are not pets -- it is so hard for kids to not get attached to something that is really cute. Watch some u-tube videos of animals being processed on a homestead and see if it is something you are going to be able to do yourself. If you are going to get to grossed out then you might just want to buy your meat.
Also make sure that your whole family is on board with this. Things will go so much smoother if you and your husband have the same vision in mind.
Lastly I will say this. It is hard work. There are days that you will want to sit in the warm house and watch the rain from the window but there are animals that need to be fed. It is rewarding and there is a pride that comes with knowing that you did it all by yourself. That meal that is feeding you family was raised by the sweat of your brow.
Good luck with getting started on the trail to a more self sufficient life style! You have a wealth of information right here at your fingertips... just ask... someone is bound to know the answer!

work hard~ pray long~ live simple

 

[rty007]

Lastly I will say this. It is hard work.

I'd say, there's a reason there is a period there. Being ss is just hard freaking work, period. The rewarding feeling does not make your muscles ache any less. Or does not make you any less pi**d of after chaising a chicken or what not for god knows how long. I mean sure there are ways that you can make your life way easier. But that takes money or time to collect parts and assemble the project. And it is not always foolproof in case of your electricity going down. So there is a thing to consider too.

 

[Marianne]

Isn't that the truth.
But!! We've never worked so hard yet felt so good about it, too.

My Buff's laid big eggs, my California whites laid medium eggs. My friend's California whites lay jumbo eggs.

 

[TigerLilly]

Check out the links at the very bottom of the pages and read, Read, READ!!
I have learned sooo much just by checking out these sites and learning by reading.

 

[MetalSmitten]

I have to disagree about egg size, my girls lay big eggs.

iunno, my BO eggs are noticeably smaller than those from my other hens maybe there are different lines with different sized eggs. (qualifier: they aren't -small- eggs by any means, just not as big as eggs can get. BO's can make amazingly beautiful mixed breed chicks though.)

 

[BarredBuff]

I have to disagree about egg size, my girls lay big eggs.

iunno, my BO eggs are noticeably smaller than those from my other hens maybe there are different lines with different sized eggs. (qualifier: they aren't -small- eggs by any means, just not as big as eggs can get. BO's can make amazingly beautiful mixed breed chicks though.)

Im sure its a strain or variety thing. All my eggs are all relatively the same size....

 

[pinkfox]

oursmallest eggs come from our littlest easter egger (shes not a bantam but shes not the same size as our other ees lol)
our biggest eggs come from our bramah...but shes a HUGE hen! lol.
the other hens all lad about the same size, a nice medium-large egg...certianly arnt jumbos but there perfect eating size for me lol. 1 egg scrambled is a breakfast so it gives me about 2oz per egg.