I missed your first message, sorry! They're livestock for us, and their purpose is to feed the family, so once they stop laying, it's time for freezer camp :)
Thanks for letting me know! We probably won't be ready to move them until the new chicks are ready to move into the coop, so probably summer. I will message you then to see if you're interested. And it's nice to meet another neighbor!
Hey, neighbor! I'd consider rehoming them, but I don't know anyone who would take them, I'll have to look into that. Right now, I intend to process them, use the meat for dog food and feed some to the next batch of hens, and use the bones for stocks/bone broth.
/circle of liiiiiife
Ooh, I didn't know we had state threads!
I'm in Medina (county, not the city). I've been keeping chickens for about three years now, I have nine layers and I tractor-raise a dozen meat birds every 18 mos thanks to my amazingly handy husband - he built both the tractor and the coop, aka...
You use pine pellet bedding in the run?
My husband installed drainage pipe under the run and covered with large gravel, but they managed to block it up - so we covered the run and are looking for ways to keep it dry.
I picked up my order of Green Queens this morning from Meyer and forgot to ask what breed my meal maker chick is. She’s a day old.
The photo of her in the brooder (standing on the feeder, of course) is to show the brown stripe marking on her back.
She may very well be a GQ, but the Meyer site...
Thanks for this informative post! I agree with @Penpal - You could publish an article in Backwoods Home or Self-Reliance magazines with photos and your setup. Lots of homesteaders start out in the suburbs and don't have a lot of room, so automatically assume they can't raise meat birds. I know I...
I really appreciate this. Because I'm new to chickens and I feel the same way about my flock - I appreciate their natural instincts, and want to balance that with the safety of both humans and animals.
I only have experience with Meyer, and I live about 30 min away so it's a no-brainer for me. I picked up my first order from them in summer 2023 and had one male. After some back and forth via email, they credited me.
Picking up a few Green Queens and a batch of meat chicks this coming April.
Hey, I found the Ohioans thread! :D
I'm originally from the Akron/Canton area, lived in the Cleveland suburbs for 23 years before we bought a home on 18 acres in SW Medina county. We're getting chickens this fall - I have an order for August for Cinnamon Queens, Buff Orps, Cuckoo Marans, and...
Great article - lots of info! We are keeping our chickens next to the garden, so we may enclose the entire area with electric fence.
One note - it appears that a few of the videos are 'personal' and can't be viewed any longer.
I appreciate this forum so much. I can't begin to tell you all how much help I've received just reading, reviewing, and making notes based on others' experiences and suggestions! 🥰
After lots of discussion, I'm going to adjust our hatchery order so that we have a mixed flock instead of all Buff Orps.
We're in NE Ohio, so they must be cold/heat hardy;
I can handle a couple of broody birds, but no more than that (which is why Black Australorps aren't on the list);
Main...