Accidental Crossbreeding and Hybrids

[Athena2344]

My birds are going to be mostly foragers with a commercial feed available to them at night and in the morning. I do realize that they take longer to mature, but I am willing to put forth the effort and care to see through in my end results.

 

[junebuggena]

Unless your property has a lot of variety, they are going to need access to feed all day long. The amount of forage available also depends on the time of year.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Thanks, I meant the BO are going to be strictly for eggs and meat, and the SLW, is going to be a present for my mom, I was thinking about the future, and what all might happen. I am going to place an order to receive 16 BO, 1 SLW and a mystery chick to get here on the fifth teeth, on my mom's birthday, to surprise her. I'm probably going to do a communal flock tho, and let the chicks hatch to see what they look like, they may just end up being for meat in a few months, who knows... Thanks for all the input though, it's really appreciated.

That makes sense and no problem

 

[MeepBeep]

My birds are going to be mostly foragers with a commercial feed available to them at night and in the morning. I do realize that they take longer to mature, but I am willing to put forth the effort and care to see through in my end results.

A single chickens needs about 1 to 2 acres of good 'ripe' and 'varied' foraging land year round to sustain without supplemental feed, so you might want to consider offering supplemental feed 24/7 unless you have the necessary and appropriate acreage per bird...

 

[Athena2344]

The chickens have access to feed while in the coop at any time, they have a portable pen to forage while I'm home, if I'm not home they will be in the coop. But we have a large variety of weeds including sunflowers,clovers,grasses, and lots of different wildflowers including bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes. We don't have as many weeds in the winter, but there are still some grasses, and they will always have scratch mixture available along with the daily trets.

 

[ShrekDawg]

Sorry but i still think that you should put a separate feed and water container in the tractor. Weeds and grasses alone aren't enough to sustain a chicken

 

[Athena2344]

It is only when I am home, like on the weekends and after school, that they will be allowed to forage in the pen, becuz our neighbors have dogs. While i am gone, they will have majorady of the day to eat scratch and commercial feed. They will have water at all times no exceptions becuz it does get very hot in the summer. Sorry for the confusion, but they r not purely foragers.

 

[ShrekDawg]

It is only when I am home, like on the weekends and after school, that they will be allowed to forage in the pen, becuz our neighbors have dogs. While i am gone, they will have majorady of the day to eat scratch and commercial feed. They will have water at all times no exceptions becuz it does get very hot in the summer. Sorry for the confusion, but they r not purely foragers.

That makes more sense then but I'd probably still put an extra bowl with them, can't hurt. If they don't eat it they don't eat it. But then again when i let mine fully free range (rarely) they are usually too busy to go back in and eat cause they find so much so maybe you're talking something like that. But even then i always leave the run door open and do occasionally have one or two go in for a bite to eat or a drink so i think it's important for them to have the option. But it's good they wont be fully free range or without food. When you said it before it sounded like you meant only put a bowl down at certain times and take it away after but maybe i read it wrong

 

[robdog]

Always remember.. Most "mixed breeds" back then in the past are now their own breeds now.

 

[Athena2344]

For a better mental picture, there will be two or three feeders at all times in the coop, with two waterers, along with both a feeder and waterer in the mobile pen. The pen itself is maybe 8'-10' squared, by about six feet tall. The fencing is five foot high, but with the extra space there is a fencing roof nailed ontop to deter Hawks, and our cats. The coop is about 11'×11' and seven foot high with a slanted roof. The coop has one wooden wall and two half wood half wire, and the wire is further up to deter animals. The nesting boxes are against the all wood wall, and there is a 4'×4'×2' chick pen, which I will put in dividers once I have hens go broody. They have the rest of the coop to run around in, and their is a wooden ladder pushed up against one wall, which they LOVE at night. I currently have a couple of GLW older hens that a friend gave me, I will soon be placing an order for 17 chicks from Murray's McMurray Hatchery, 15 are No, 1 SLW and one mystery chick.