Raising chickens

TPP wrote: Our chicks are getting huge, got the small coop yesterday (we' others got it for me) Thanks Aagin....
O BTW, puppies are really gentle, and Kimba is just afraid of them, but she's just a large rat anyway!

You know these lil easter chicks they sell are not bred for egg laying? Sure they may sporadically lay some anemic little white eggs but you have to get birds specificly bred for egg production if you wanna do it right. Those are good for the begginer like you TPP, but i'd order some producers and butcher those in early may. Thats my advice

Oh and BTW TPP- Don't build the coup in the house..In fact get it far away from the house..They smell and a long morning walk for eggs was a big part of the adventure for us

We'll be getting chickens as well - been talking with people who know what they are doing, only chore will be building a run that is fox proof enough, since we seem to live in fox central.

Chickens only smell if you don't keep their area clean - and then you're smelling the crap. I grew up around chickens, they were all over the place at the museum where I worked, and other than the standard feather smell of a chicken, there's no smell. Unless you leave them dirty. Which is just stupid as hell anyway.

If you get too many roosters, they're always good for the soup pot.

Sounds like a smart idea if things go to hell, but I think I will continue to use Kings for my fryers and eggs. We used to raise wild turkeys and pheasants, but you are right about the varmints. Our poultry lean-to was quite popular. Luckily the big turkeys were pretty good at defending themselves.

Local_Historian wrote:
Chickens only smell if you don't keep their area clean - and then you're smelling the crap. I grew up around chickens, they were all over the place at the museum where I worked, and other than the standard feather smell of a chicken, there's no smell. Unless you leave them dirty. Which is just stupid as hell anyway.

Lol

Chickens smell MsMam..And I don't care if you put diapers on them, they smell and believe me- you're not going to be picking up chicken s*** everyday- If you had to do that, and spend $25 a week on feed you'd just buy your eggs at the store.. LH doesn't know what she's talking about again.

They're not gonna be in the house? I have them now. I am trying to make sure I can care for them. Jeez.

I'd love to have farm girl back, but I am betting you wieners ran her off.

MsMAM wrote: They're not gonna be in the house? I have them now. I am trying to make sure I can care for them. Jeez.

I'd love to have farm girl back, but I am betting you wieners ran her off.

Hey, we recently enjoyed eggs from farmgirl's chickens, and pancakes made with milk from a cow she co-ops with. Yummy!

And I saw the chickens free running too. They have a very nice coup, but also stick around the home when released. Good chickens! I'm sure they eat a lot of bugs on the grounds too. Not that I'm ready to raise chickens, but I do see someone who knows what she's doing with the chickens.

I've had farm girls salsa from paca. I know she knows some stuff.

Chickens do smell so you need to build the hen house outside

Super Malta wrote: Chickens do smell so you need to build the hen house outside

Local Historian says they don't smell..If you spend hours a day cleaning up chicken s**t.

Don't do like TPP and build the coup in the house MsMam...Thats insane not to mention incredibly white trashy