feathersaloft
Songster
I had chickens for several years, but haven't had any for about 15 years.
Egg prices doubled (and are still going up) and hubby and I talked about keeping some chickens for eggs to eat and sell.
We bought our first 8, young RIR, about 4 months old now, then traded a goat for 5 Comets. A friend gave us a Star after a raccoon attack ate all her chickens but the one.
We are adding 8 English Lavender Orps this weekend, and probably another dozen the following week. Our eventual goal is 100 hens.
We have moved our old hen house, which is made of solid barn lumber and plywood designed for concrete forms (coated with something and has held up amazingly).
We are starting with dog pen panels as we plan out a much larger pen.
Birds will also be allowed to range for a couple hours in the evening when I am home. We do have a fenced yard, but I know from experience that a 4' field fence will not stop determined chickens, but I'm thinking with only an hour or three before dark, they won't have a good reason to wander far.
As well as the chickens, we have a couple sheep, a bottle fed wether (now about 8 years old), a horse, 3 donkeys, a pair of Chinese White geese, a mixed breed gander, and 200 pigeons.
I raise white racers for funeral releases (did you know that pigeons are part of the dove family?), white fantail pigeons, and then have a loft of racing pigeons. My white birds pay to keep all the pigeons fed.
Egg prices doubled (and are still going up) and hubby and I talked about keeping some chickens for eggs to eat and sell.
We bought our first 8, young RIR, about 4 months old now, then traded a goat for 5 Comets. A friend gave us a Star after a raccoon attack ate all her chickens but the one.
We are adding 8 English Lavender Orps this weekend, and probably another dozen the following week. Our eventual goal is 100 hens.
We have moved our old hen house, which is made of solid barn lumber and plywood designed for concrete forms (coated with something and has held up amazingly).
We are starting with dog pen panels as we plan out a much larger pen.
Birds will also be allowed to range for a couple hours in the evening when I am home. We do have a fenced yard, but I know from experience that a 4' field fence will not stop determined chickens, but I'm thinking with only an hour or three before dark, they won't have a good reason to wander far.
As well as the chickens, we have a couple sheep, a bottle fed wether (now about 8 years old), a horse, 3 donkeys, a pair of Chinese White geese, a mixed breed gander, and 200 pigeons.
I raise white racers for funeral releases (did you know that pigeons are part of the dove family?), white fantail pigeons, and then have a loft of racing pigeons. My white birds pay to keep all the pigeons fed.
