2019 Chicken Thread

What varieties are you getting this year? Had a friend pick me up a few welsummers and some blue chicks marked as Plymouth rocks at TSC today.

I have a few easter Eggers and Buff Orpington ive had a few years. I think I’m going to get a handful of Mallard ducks to try out. Just bought a new house with a few acres so I got the room now. Other than that I’ll get my usual 30 Cornish Cross broilers for the freezer. Can’t wait for this winter to be done so I can get rolling on the poultry and fowl!

I'm on the fence between restocking after losing all but 3 least year. Or just doing away with the three we have left and going chickenless for the year. Suppose a smart guy would have decided before feeding them all winter.

Last years leghorns are impressive they lay a huge white egg and did well through the winter month, the buffs lay a smaller egg often a very small egg so they are not as impressive yet.

My first choice to get new birds would be white rocks from Hoovers, a larger white bird that lays a brown egg of good size and they are a hardy bunch.

i'd like to get some marans if I can find them locally.

otherwise, probably some Dominiques - my old girls are slowing way down on eggs so I need to get a few more in the mix

we have 40 now--no mo chicks here.

My white leghorns started laying this winter right around 5 months old. Since Jan 1 there have maybe been 6-7 days where we didn't get 100% egg laying. There has never been more than 1 hen not lay. They are producers! I have a mix of them, Plymouth Rock, silver Wyandotte, and Rhode Island Red. They are ready for some better weather

This year in chickens, I'll be hatching Malaysian Seramas, Butterscotch Old English Game Bantams, Ameraucanas, Silver Laced Wyandottes and Rhode Island Reds. I'll start setting chicken eggs this Sunday.

I''m currently hatching coturnix, button and bobwhite quail.

I'll also hatch guineas, silver pheasants, red golden pheasants and probably dark throated pheasants and peafowl.

Keith

Only had chickens for about two years when I lived at the coast. Enjoyed sitting on a bench and watching them. There is a pecking order for certain.

Once threw a bushel of pea hulls in their pen and the chickens were afraid of them. I suppose the hulls looked like snakes. The boss hen pecked one and threw it several feet. she attacked that hull for a few minutes then the other hens joined in the fight. Finally they ate the bushell of pea hulls.

I would like to try some ISO browns, production blues, production reds or amber links. Was raised with white leghorns but can't hardly sell white eggs out here people tell me they can buy white eggs in the store. I enjoy trying new to me breeds, right now I have red sexlinks, delewares, barred rock, Rhode Island reds and speckled sussex. All are much mellowed than leghorns. Sussex lay small eggs I probably won't get them again.
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We have Buffs and Barred rocks. Good for eggs or meat. We have one that lays a whale of a egg about once a month!

I can see now, this is gonna be a fowl thread..

want to get the blood testing done and get to selling chicks and eggs from these girls

Is there a certain breed of chickens that would be good for a beginner? I'm building a coop right now and I'm still not sure on what breed I should get. I was thinking buff orpingtons because I have heard lots of good things about them. I need something that will handle the cold of course because we have been down to -30 air temp this winter. Any suggestions would be much appreciated and I would also like to hear some opinions on insulation in chicken coops I have heard some say to insulate and some say not to. Thanks for any advice!

Legbars?

Most breeds are pretty darn good at handling cold temps from my experience. If you look for something with a rose or pea comb you won’t have as much frostbite problems as a single comb.

Make sure your roost is wide like the flat part of a 2x4.

Columbian Plymouth rocks are really good in cold weather. We have a bunch of them and haven’t lost any the past 2 winters that we’ve had them. Got down to -50C here and they’re fine.
Also Black Australorps have done very well in the winter as well. Only lost a rooster during the cold snap.

Most any breed can handle cold however the combs may get frostbite. The mediteranean breeds tend to have large combs so you may want to avoid them. Look to a rose comb version if you want a mediteranean breed. A couple developed in cold climates are the wyandottes and chantaclers.

I have a small hobby flock of salmon Faverolles (3hens 2 roosters) and Americans (14 hens). Handling the cold well. Faves 2 small eggs a week ameracaunas 4 eggs a week average through the cold. Ameracaunas can fly over 6foot fence faves can not. Both friendly and calm. Ameracaunas lots of colors. Both seem to be good foragers and also seem to be doing well in confinement. Look them up for more info or pm me.

I have a insulated coop. 8x12x8. No added heat. Plastic over windows. Cant keep water thawed overnight. Kind of frosty and wet inside but it's been a bad stretch of winter last 6 weeks. So they havent been outside and possibly might have to think about some sort of ventilation in the future.

ALSO want to try some Cochin, Wyandotte, turkens, speckled sussex, Brahma in the future. Any info on these breeds would be helpful. So chime in or pm me. Especially like to know if a 6foot fence will hold them when needed.

i like banty hens like old English game and seabrights.....but for eggs or meat their not much use..

a meat bird would be a light sussex cross indian game or modern game...well modern game anything I don't like commercial type broilers, I prefer a more gamey type meat

I really would like to try some Favorelles.

If anyone is looking for a bantam I highly recommend D’uccles. They do real well free range for me. Good brooder, great mothers, roost high...they are just good survivors. And pretty to boot!

Mine is insulated w 2" pink foam sheets behind osb plywood. The roost is mad from 4' closet dowels and is hinged at yhe top so it can be lifted up to a ceiling hook to clean under it. I have a single Heat lamp cage suspended down about 2feet above the floor.
The Red heat lamp also is keeping my Rubber water pan completely thawed. I use a rubber Oil pan for water and pour it outside each afternoon rinse it and fill with one bucket of well water.

Egg boxes are sm/ med totes screwed to the wall with screws and big small hole fender washers.

No heat excwhat comes off of the red heat lamp over the water.

I, too, am impressed with the leghorns. I always keep a few of them around. Small but hardy and pump out the eggs.

I didn't like the Buffs. Loud and annoying.

I get nervous anytime I see giant eggs like the one above. Those chickens always seem to get bound up and croak before long if it continues.

bielefelders

One of my neighbors has Brahman and they seem to do well in the cold and free ranging. Have been thinking about getting a few for myself as I've heard they are good demiener, good egg layers, meat birds and handle the cold real well. Anyone have any experience with brahmas?

Cotton, what else can you tell us about them? I know they are autosexing...are they a fairly broody breed?

I have quite a few bielefelders. Definately my favorite breed. Huge chickens, great temperament, even the roosters. Lay well and lay huge eggs.

have a few black americanas that are broody egg sitting son a guns.like doin it that way-kinda why we have over forty when we started with a dozen.

Your missin the boat on those bantam eggs! We have 8 oeg hens that lay pretty good. I like em boiled, mustard eggs and spicy pickled.
I'm guna go eat a couple right now!

Skunk Buster, I'm a very green chicken father. Just got my first dozen last year and went with Buffs. I have a 3 and 4 year old and wanted to get something that encourages them to start doing some chores, selling eggs, give them some responsibilities, etc. I love the Buffs so far. The kids carry them around like dolls and we've never had any problem with them being aggressive. They started laying at between 5 and 6 months and all winter they've each laid between 6-7 eggs a week. They've been cold hearty. I insulated my 8'x6' A-Frame coop and just heated it with a heat lamp. We have all hens and they're very quiet birds......but again this is coming from a rookie chicken keeper. Long story short, I'll go with Buffs again.

not had a hen get broody yet, do like chickens tho and man do they sell high around here.

Got some Dominique and buff orp chicks now.

I have 31 right now (27 hens, 4 roosters). Looking to sell off my polish flock of 4 hens and 1 roo, and replacing them with better bigger birds. As soon as I get the roof done on my meat bird coop, I'll be getting 75 meat chickens.

Haven't had chickens since i was a kid and am planning on acquiring both meat and laying chickens. Are there any issues in growing theses two breeds together? Can a coup be adapted for both breeds?

I would keep them separate. Your meat birds (likely Cornish cross) are going to rapidly outgrow your laying hens. Cornish cross are lazy and spend there days laying around gorging on feed and are pretty messy. By 7 to 8 weeks they have packed on the weight and should be butchered. Additionally your meat birds will need a higher protein feed to help them with their rapid weight gain.

Divide your shed/coop and raise them separate.

I remember dad buying 500-1000 poults for meat on the farm. I hated Saturdays because mom would sell to different women at work and we had to kill and pluck chickens .

They are very pretty birds. Did you have any trouble with the roosters getting aggressive? I have heard the D'uccle roosters are known to be on the agressive side, but I have never raised any myself.

Wouldn't mind trying a few someday.

What Cameron said^^^

I built my laying coop attached to a cattle loafing shed, which I am converting into a meat bird pen. My layers free range for about 12-18hr/day, and often get into the same pen as my meat birds but it hasn't been an issue. I raised Red Rangers for meat birds and they forage for a lot of their own food, so I set up a 600sqft run (without a canopy) for them to get out and be chickens. They will scratch and peck, chase bugs, take a dust bath and do everything else regular chickens do if you let them.

No I did not. But I am very hands off with my chickens. I have found that the more my kids played with the roosters on any breed the meaner the became. Also the strain or breeder has a lot to do with that.

As a whole I would not think D’uccles roosters were any more agressive than Cochin bantams.

D’uccles are kind of “girly” and most men will shy away from them but I have found they really are all all around good free range bird.

I never had them but Wyandotte bantams may be good too.

Do guys recommend any hatchery over the other ? I am going the exotic breed route plus some meat birds for the freezer. I am liking the wyandottes a lot as they are cold hardy-big-pretty. Might try a few Sumatras . I seen some called buckeyes anyone have any experience with these. Some birds are crazy $$$$$$$.

This has been our Sunday afternoon project for a few weeks. A chicken "tractor". Just have to build the door, put the wheels on, and screw a few boards on the ends of the rafters. My wife ordered 30 broilers 2 weeks ago.

ttt

I raise my laying chicks and meat birds together, never had a problem. I butcher the cornish cross at about six weeks. I ordered 50 meat birds, 10 production blue and 10 golden sexlinks for a May 3rd delivery. I like trying different breeds, my favorite so far are Delawares and Rhode Island reds.

Just won a dozen golden penciled hamburg eggs in an auction. Will be firing up the incubator this week.

I've always had good luck with Myers hatchery in Polk Ohio.

Very nice! You’ll love the tractor

I was hoping to ad some cream leg bars and cuckoo marans to my little laying flock this year- but they are either sold out or super expensive everywhere I look! Probably order up some americaunas for eggs and looking into a meat bird hardier than CornishX- I have had enough of them.

I just ordered 100 broilers last week, they should be here around the 4th of April.

I need to get some laying hens the broilers aren't much fun at all.

Ordered some salmon favorelles and cuckoo marans.

We will be replacing our entire flock this August. Bringing in 18 new chicks this May with 6 varieties (3 ea.) Barred Rock, Silver Laced Wyandotte, Golden Laced Wyandotte, Rhode Island Reds, Easter Eggers, and Speckled Sussex. Excited about the variety as we typically only had generic brown and generic red cross breads!

Chris