What are your chicken goals

[Kikilu]

I’m seeing this post I realized I needed to really think about what my goals are! I am kind of rushing in head first starting out and on day 18 hatching eggs tonight for my first chicks/chickens!

Goals
-multicoloured layers for myself, family and friends
-begin a more sustainable lifestyle producing eggs, compost and eventually meat
-teach my stepdaughter about taking care of animals and manual labor and making things happen for yourself (I’m building my own coop)
-start doing and not just dreaming
-have a beautiful flock that makes me happy to look at

 

[Meg22]

I’m seeing this post I realized I needed to really think about what my goals are! I am kind of rushing in head first starting out and on day 18 hatching eggs tonight for my first chicks/chickens!

Good luck with your hatch. We did much the same thing last year. My kids have never sat still for as long as they did watching an egg that had pipped waiting for it to zip.

 

[Kikilu]

Good luck with your hatch. We did much the same thing last year. My kids have never sat still for as long as they did watching an egg that had pipped waiting for it to zip.

Thank you!
We had a possible early internal pip last night and my step-daughter was sooo excited. We have been hovering around the incubator pretty obsessively lol

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

I’m seeing this post I realized I needed to really think about what my goals are! I am kind of rushing in head first starting out and on day 18 hatching eggs tonight for my first chicks/chickens!

Goals
-multicoloured layers for myself, family and friends
-begin a more sustainable lifestyle producing eggs, compost and eventually meat
-teach my stepdaughter about taking care of animals and manual labor and making things happen for yourself (I’m building my own coop)
-start doing and not just dreaming
-have a beautiful flock that makes me happy to look at

These are great goals!!
I've built all of my animal housing!! Hubby helped with the very first ever coop build, but there's 17yrs between us and I am on the younger side...just better on my body than his. he also doesn't do well in heat, which is when I built all I've built thus far.

He did help me build the screen door for the chicken chalet!

I have a lot of the same goals!! Especially the "stop dreaming and start doing!!!"

Good luck!

 

[MrsNorthie]

So in talks with my hubby, I am realizing my chicken goals are changing.
Originally I wanted a smallish flock (I have 19 girls, 1 cockerel) and whatever extra eggs we get I just give away, mainly at work.

(Literally keeping 60-80 eggs in my fridge, fam of 7, and likely give away 7 dozen or so a wk. )

I knew I wanted to raise our own meat chickens too.

In discussion, I realized I want more eggs to give away! (Yes I said give away, makes my heart super happy to just provide people with eggs) not only that, my kids would like to sell eggs at the farmers market.

So we are nixing the turkeys for now, focused on a second coop and run for abt 30 more chickens!!! These will be dual purpose as the goal to raise our own meat hasn't been eliminated. (Anyone have dual purpose breed suggestions?)

So as of now the goals are:
50 chickens or so running around.
A plethora of eggs to give away/ kids to sell
and meat for the freezer.

What are your chicken goals??

We are working towards becoming self-sufficient. I am the sole income, my husband is 'retired', but he does the lions share of property maintenance, gardening and animal care. (pretty impressive for a city boy from London. LOL) We also have my parents who are getting old so I feel like we will need to be able to provide them with food. We definitely started with the chickens for eggs, and possibly meat although I am extremely emotionally attached to our birds this is a bad thing for someone who is 98% carnivore..lol.

We would like to sell some eggs at the farmers market as well and increase our garden production to make a little money on fresh, organic veg. We have thought about raising a few pigs too, and possibly turkeys. We have the better part of 6 acres to homestead and the property taxes in South Carolina are really low, so if the world continues to go upside down, we could probably survive off-grid on our land, when my job goes away. So right now, we are sinking every penny we can into building bigger and better chicken environment.

We have 15 hen chicks coming in 2 weeks, and 15 more on their way 3 weeks after that. Our flock will be at 43. I have an incubator and we plan on hatching some to to keep the flock count stable. (Chicken math, the struggle is real.)

 

[MrsNorthie]

I think you have an awesome goal set. I don’t have any chicken plans, as I don’t have chickens or poultry anymore. But, I do have 2 dogs. Hoping to add a 3rd possible next year, of my dream dog breed.

3 is a good number, but beware, Dog Math is very similar to Chicken Math. If money were no object, I would empty the shelters and have all the dogs. ;-)

 

[MrsNorthie]

I knew I was in deep from the beginning lol. I had bought 12, then another 6, then another 6 all within 3wks

They are addicting, and time spent with our chickens is like therapy. Their purrs and coos are relaxing not to mention, most of our chickens like to sit on my lap and get petted and cuddled. It is definitely a life style that I want to maximize.

 

[GCrumb]

I want to goof around cross-breeding chickens. I want to use my fibromelanistic roo to make fibro pullets that will lay a variety of egg colors and be all around the same size, be black-on-black, and have furnishings so you can tell them apart -- different types of combs, crests, feathered shanks, muffs. Pet layers for aging goths.

 

[achiekitty]

To be able to go on a long vacation without worrying about our chickens, and I wish I could have more. But we‘re only allowed 3.

Moving forward; It’s okay if we don’t go on long vacations. Our neighbors down the street can check on them for a few days.

We have everything we need here; and 3 chickens are enough for us.They give us enough entertainment. I love it when they sit at my husband’s feet while he naps; and they come to me, running/flying, when I call for them.

Good feed is so expensive, I’ve been sprouting and growing fodder for them. They get their morning greens from perennial kale and collards. I’m growing black oil sunflower seeds that they love, especially our 9 year old Goldie.

Conclusion: the goal is to keep the chickens happy and healthy. They’re happy, we’re happy. They’re healthy, they give us a lot of eggs to eat, and give away.