I've gotten some really varied estimates on how big to expect a Black Australorp hen to grow. For example, Meyer Hatchery says 5 pounds on their web page and 6 pounds in their catalog!
I've decided I want to get 5 different types of hen so we can tell them apart easily, for the fun of...
Does anyone here keep Australorp hens in a place that gets very cold through the winter? In other words, do I need to worry about their combs freezing?
Y'all are being extremely helpful, and I love seeing all the pictures!
Cool. I do have a pressure cooker!
As far as coops go I am making my husband, techres (also a newbie here), deal with that part. He went to a class run by the Purdue extension, he's checking the web, and he's talking with friends who farm. We'll get that part sorted, I feel confident about that...
It certainly seems that way! Thanks so much for talking with me about it. Some enthusiasts are eager to encourage me to try some completely different breed I'd not yet read about, and then I find out they are insanely expensive, or remarkably rare and therefore inanely expensive, or little...
I want good layers but they don't have to be the best layers ever. They have to be good at laying, VERY good with children, good with me, and a decent dinner* someday when they're done laying! I want a breed that isn't picky, so I can get rid of table and cooking scraps. I want a breed that...
Beautiful birds! I am a complete newbie here, trying to decide whether to buy 5 (the maximum allowed in my town) Black Australorps, 5 Silver Laced Wyandottes, or maybe 5 Ameracaunas. I want beautiful hens with a high egg laying capability, acceptable as an eating/meat bird when they are done...