- Mar 24, 2014
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I've been getting things ready for chickens, hoping to place an order in the next few days here. A few things to work out first.
The plan is to get a dual purpose breed, I want eggs and I want to breed for meat. If at all possible, I'd like to have some broody hens doing the incubating rather than trying to work an incubator/brooder past my initial order.
So here's my plan. Since I haven't found what I want locally, I thought I would order online. I was thinking 15 Buff Orpingtons, to have a good chance of at least 4 hens and 1 rooster. I was also thinking of adding in around 10 Cornish X, just to get some meat on the table faster. In case I get some hens that won't go broody, I was thinking of adding a silkie hen or two.
Now, eventually I'll end up with 4-5 laying hens, a rooster, and the silkies. If the silkies are for brooding only,should I simply keep them separated from the rest of the flock? Should I have two just so one doesn't get lonely? Would I be better served waiting to see if any of the laying hens will go broody often enough to get some meat now and then? I raise rabbits as well so I shouldn't need tons of baby chicks, but more than a few a year would be nice.
As for brooding these chicks, I was thinking (since I only want to deal with doing this once) of just putting two good sized carboard boxes side by side, with a hole cut through so they can walk through, the heat lamp in one of the boxes. Let them move closer or further as needed. I am hoping to be able to keep them in an unheated shed, right now temps are around the 80s - 90s in the day and low 60s at night. Figure that should be good enough?
Soon as they outgrow that is there any reason I can't move them straight into a coop with a heat lamp? The Cornish I was hoping to tractor, the rest in a coop till the tractor is freed up.
So, any problems with my plan? Am I underestimating the room these birds will need? Should I plan to separate the larger meat birds from the smaller ones? Thoughts on the silkies? Should I not do them in this climate? Summers can get over 110 degrees at times.
The plan is to get a dual purpose breed, I want eggs and I want to breed for meat. If at all possible, I'd like to have some broody hens doing the incubating rather than trying to work an incubator/brooder past my initial order.
So here's my plan. Since I haven't found what I want locally, I thought I would order online. I was thinking 15 Buff Orpingtons, to have a good chance of at least 4 hens and 1 rooster. I was also thinking of adding in around 10 Cornish X, just to get some meat on the table faster. In case I get some hens that won't go broody, I was thinking of adding a silkie hen or two.
Now, eventually I'll end up with 4-5 laying hens, a rooster, and the silkies. If the silkies are for brooding only,should I simply keep them separated from the rest of the flock? Should I have two just so one doesn't get lonely? Would I be better served waiting to see if any of the laying hens will go broody often enough to get some meat now and then? I raise rabbits as well so I shouldn't need tons of baby chicks, but more than a few a year would be nice.
As for brooding these chicks, I was thinking (since I only want to deal with doing this once) of just putting two good sized carboard boxes side by side, with a hole cut through so they can walk through, the heat lamp in one of the boxes. Let them move closer or further as needed. I am hoping to be able to keep them in an unheated shed, right now temps are around the 80s - 90s in the day and low 60s at night. Figure that should be good enough?
Soon as they outgrow that is there any reason I can't move them straight into a coop with a heat lamp? The Cornish I was hoping to tractor, the rest in a coop till the tractor is freed up.
So, any problems with my plan? Am I underestimating the room these birds will need? Should I plan to separate the larger meat birds from the smaller ones? Thoughts on the silkies? Should I not do them in this climate? Summers can get over 110 degrees at times.