Hello, I'm a dairy farmer from Lebanon county PA. My wife and I (plus two kids) own the family farm and milk 100+ cows that graze a portion of their diet during the growing season.
I'm new to the site but have been raising chickens for a couple of years now. It all started when I was artificially breeding some beef cows for my cousin as his Road Island Reds strutted around the barn. He was complaining a little about them and wanted to get rid of the 10 birds. I got done with the cows and he asked what I owe him. I said how about the chickens? He agreed and I came back a few days later to for the birds.
The Road Island Reds gave eggs but they were past their prime so I ordered some Barred Rock chicks from Murray McMurray. After raising the chicks in the garage, I moved the juveniles to another location 200 yards from the woods but next to some buildings. I lost nearly two third of the birds. We thought it was a hawk (without any evidence) but soon our dog killed a raccoon and the birds stopped disappearing.
The Rocks did well laying eggs but when our second child was born we lost the time and interest to take care of the chickens so both the remaining Reds and the Rocks went loose on the farm. I put some nest boxes in the barn and a few birds laid eggs there. However, a number of times I would go for some straw bales and find a pile of eggs. They were a little annoying when they scratched in the feed bunks...I hate chicken crap in my cows feed. They also started roosting on a tractor and they would crap on the tractor. I eventually gave them to a slightly handicapped teenager who sold them at a local auction
Somewhere in there we got some Cornish male chicks which we raised for meat. They did well but we thought the birds were tough and we should have butchered earlier.
When our oldest child (daughter) turned 3 I decided to teach her some responsibility and bought her some Road Island Red pullets plus two bags of feed. It was to be her business and she was to help take care of them. We would pay her for the eggs and she would buy her feed. She made money in the venture although I would have made sure she didn't loose money. It went well for a year until it got cold last winter and mom decided it was faster to take care of the birds herself. We decided we would just pay our daughter a little for her help with the birds and forget the 'ownership' mode until it comes time to cull the birds.
We now have around 20+ rainbow layers that are 4 weeks old. They are doing great. I had also got 10 jumbo Cornish x rocks males for meat with that shipment. In the 100 some chicks we've raised in the past we may have lost 3 or 4 chicks after the first week of life. The jumbo Cornish x Rocks we've lost 5 of 10. We're not happy with the birds and I would butcher the remaining birds now but don't have the time.
That brings me to my next venture in chickens and to the reason for my membership with this site. I'm now looking at breeding chickens. I'm very good with dairy breeding as it has kept my interest in farming during the bad times. I've done pure breeding in the past but am now 100% crossbreeding. I use recommended standard of dairy crossbreeding by using 3 distinct breeds and rotating them. My goal for breeding chickens is to breed a dual purpose chicken. I'm leaning towards crossbreeding the birds but I'm not sure how I'll do it. I could try to develop two breeds to eventually crossbreed for a once and done egg layer. I could just buy in the roosters to continually crossbreed the laying crossbreds I have. Your opinions are greatly appreciated on that!
I'm leaning towards having Barred Rocks again but haven't decided what other breed I may use. I like colorful birds and would prefer to stay away from a straight color. I love the Gold and Silver Wyandotte pattern but haven't researched them in detail yet.
Thank You!
I'm new to the site but have been raising chickens for a couple of years now. It all started when I was artificially breeding some beef cows for my cousin as his Road Island Reds strutted around the barn. He was complaining a little about them and wanted to get rid of the 10 birds. I got done with the cows and he asked what I owe him. I said how about the chickens? He agreed and I came back a few days later to for the birds.
The Road Island Reds gave eggs but they were past their prime so I ordered some Barred Rock chicks from Murray McMurray. After raising the chicks in the garage, I moved the juveniles to another location 200 yards from the woods but next to some buildings. I lost nearly two third of the birds. We thought it was a hawk (without any evidence) but soon our dog killed a raccoon and the birds stopped disappearing.
The Rocks did well laying eggs but when our second child was born we lost the time and interest to take care of the chickens so both the remaining Reds and the Rocks went loose on the farm. I put some nest boxes in the barn and a few birds laid eggs there. However, a number of times I would go for some straw bales and find a pile of eggs. They were a little annoying when they scratched in the feed bunks...I hate chicken crap in my cows feed. They also started roosting on a tractor and they would crap on the tractor. I eventually gave them to a slightly handicapped teenager who sold them at a local auction
Somewhere in there we got some Cornish male chicks which we raised for meat. They did well but we thought the birds were tough and we should have butchered earlier.
When our oldest child (daughter) turned 3 I decided to teach her some responsibility and bought her some Road Island Red pullets plus two bags of feed. It was to be her business and she was to help take care of them. We would pay her for the eggs and she would buy her feed. She made money in the venture although I would have made sure she didn't loose money. It went well for a year until it got cold last winter and mom decided it was faster to take care of the birds herself. We decided we would just pay our daughter a little for her help with the birds and forget the 'ownership' mode until it comes time to cull the birds.
We now have around 20+ rainbow layers that are 4 weeks old. They are doing great. I had also got 10 jumbo Cornish x rocks males for meat with that shipment. In the 100 some chicks we've raised in the past we may have lost 3 or 4 chicks after the first week of life. The jumbo Cornish x Rocks we've lost 5 of 10. We're not happy with the birds and I would butcher the remaining birds now but don't have the time.
That brings me to my next venture in chickens and to the reason for my membership with this site. I'm now looking at breeding chickens. I'm very good with dairy breeding as it has kept my interest in farming during the bad times. I've done pure breeding in the past but am now 100% crossbreeding. I use recommended standard of dairy crossbreeding by using 3 distinct breeds and rotating them. My goal for breeding chickens is to breed a dual purpose chicken. I'm leaning towards crossbreeding the birds but I'm not sure how I'll do it. I could try to develop two breeds to eventually crossbreed for a once and done egg layer. I could just buy in the roosters to continually crossbreed the laying crossbreds I have. Your opinions are greatly appreciated on that!
I'm leaning towards having Barred Rocks again but haven't decided what other breed I may use. I like colorful birds and would prefer to stay away from a straight color. I love the Gold and Silver Wyandotte pattern but haven't researched them in detail yet.
Thank You!
and Welcome To BYC! Sounds like you've had some adventures during chicken ownership, sorry about the flock you lost to racoons, they are a nasty predator. 
