New to BYC- Norfolk MA. Hello everyone!

[phina]

Hi everyone, I live in Nofolk, MA. I’m a wife and mother of 3 and a registered Nurse. Been lurking here for a long time and finally by next Monday we should have the Coop- I got an eglu cube coop at an unbelievable price .. and I’m finally embarking on this dream we’ve had to start our own flock. My 9 yo twin boys and especially my 6 yo daughter are excited... hey, I’ll do anything to distract “ gaming” and get fresh eggs lol . We do not want chicks or your pullets We spoke with a nice man named Travis who has a farm in Westport. He recommended his year old hens who lay well. He said he will get back to us by end of next week when’s he’s put together a flock for us. We are looking for mixture of layers- rir, buff, black aus, bArred rock,
He told me a-year-old layers are only six months behind pullets - we will still get the eggs-daily- and they’ll be large eggs. What do you all think of 1yr old layers?
We want 10 chickens, and are looking for eggs for 2-3 household. So very excited!

 

[Brahmachicken240]

Welcome to BYC

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Welcome to our eggcelent flock here at BYC

 

[fldiver97]

Welcome, glad you decided to join Nice mix of breeds! Getting year old hens isn’t a bad idea, you’ll know your not going to have roosters if you can’t or don’t want them. You should get plenty of eggs for a couple of years, they may slow down a bit after that. My girls in my mixed flock are all 5-10 years old and I still get eggs even though my oldest only laid the occasional egg last year. Your kids will be so excited to find their first eggs

 

[ClucksAndCombs]

Welcome to BYC from the North Shore!

Feel free to ask questions, there are so many wonderful and knowledgeable people who will answer them

Enjoy your time on this amazing site!

 

[phina]

Thank you all for such a warm welcome. I was also considering started pullets was hoping to find someone on here selling near me in ma. I was thinking the year old hens would be a good idea too. just do not want to be changing them before couple years. I also wouldn't want someone to tell me they are a year old and they are actually older. he seems nice enough though. He did mention their eggs are nice and large-big, probably cause they are mature? would like them after a while to be able to free range while I am outside with them, but concerns they'll fly-are they normally with clipped wings. I liked the fact that he seems honest and told me that non one has complained about his year old hens-plus, they've been handled alot- a plus with the kids.

i also would like to find non-gmo layer feed reasonably priced, I do not know what is a good price Lol

 

[fldiver97]

@phina - check the forum section buy-sell-trade for chickens, also check out the where are you from section for your state. You may get some info on sources for chickens as well as feed and prices in your area. Feed prices vary quite a bit depending on brand and nonGMO/organic. I use a local source for organic feed, my feed store orders me 50 lbs bag as I need them. I think it’s $27 a bag (sorry, can’t remember exactly... I always buy a lot of other stuff there at the same time)

 

[Perris]

egg size varies with breed, but all start relatively small and get a bit bigger as they mature (but it is not going to go from xs to xl for example). 'Henderson's handy dandy chicken chart' will give you an idea of what to expect from a mature specimen by breed:
http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html
I wouldn't worry about flying - those that can and do struggle to get up and stay up